2018 FAEP Conference Recap
Orlando, Florida
Hosted by: CFAEP
The 2018 Florida Association of Environmental Professionals (FAEP) annual Conference was a huge success with over 300 environmental consultants, engineers, attorneys, Florida Department of Environmental Protection staff, Florida Department of Transportation staff and other regulatory agency staff attending in sunny Orlando, Florida from September 19-21, 2018.
From left to right: Tim Perry, Jennifer Cummings, Todd Hodgson, Jennifer Cummings, Todd Hodgson, Kelley Samuels, Brooke Bayer, Flomari Blackburn, Hannah Rowe, Victoria Bruce.
The CFAEP (Central Florida Association of Environmental Professionals) Board started conference planning in October 2017 and ended up delivering a 55-speaker event with 30 exhibitor booths, 30 sponsors and 3 field trips creating a jammed packed two-day event. CFAEP partnered with the Transportation Research Board, which enriched our attendance with the transportation planning industry — an integral focus of the conference. We were honored to have the following keynote speakers: Orange County Commissioner Betsy VanderLey and Nancy Bray, Director of Spaceport Integration and Services, National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) as well as other esteemed speakers that presented in breakout sessions. The Breakout Sessions included important topics such as: assessment and remediation, environmental consulting practice, natural resources, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), regulations and policy, assumption of CWA § 404 permitting by Florida, and more.
If you have ever planned a conference, you will know it is no easy feat, it involves many details that environmental professionals usually do not face on a regular basis, such as selecting a conference venue, negotiating the right space and right terms, and the little things like: how many gallons of coffee do we order (20 cups to a gallon) and how many hors d’oeuvres we order per person (typically 4-5 pieces).
Many thanks to Kelley Samuels, my co-chair who took the lead on coordinating the speakers and the moderators to obtain and upload presentations, headshots and introductory bios on our Mobile App, “Agenda Pop” (which was the first time FAEP ever used a conference application in lieu of printed materials). The use of this app will continue at the 2019 annual conference in Tampa as part of CFAEP’s legacy.
And big thanks to:
Flormari Blackburn, Vice President of CFAEP, who took the professionalism of the conference to the next level and ran registration flawlessly!
Todd Hodgson, President of CFAEP, who oversaw each aspect of the conference to make sure it ran smoothly!
Hannah Rowe, who basically was a champion on all aspects of the conference!
Scott Martin, who assisted with securing 30 sponsors and 30 exhibitors, without this, our conference could not have been possible!
Jennifer Cummings, who helped the conference run smoothly and with utmost diligence.
Brooke Bayer, who stepped right up into a new role and took on many various tasks that were essential to running the conference!
We thank those who traveled near and far for this event as attendees, speakers, exhibitors and/or sponsors!
It was a pleasure to run this event with the CFAEP board. I encourage each of you to get more involved in your local FAEP chapter. Get out of your comfort zone. Do something you have never done before. You get back what you put in!
On behalf of CFAEP, we thank you for the honor of hosting the FAEP conference in Orlando this year!
Thank you,
Victoria K. Bruce, Treasurer- 2018 FAEP Conference Co-Chair
The Mitigation Banking Group, Inc.
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