The Awesome adventure is back!

You will not want to miss one of our most popular program events. In this action packed session, we network, share war stories and best practices among FM’s and vendors. This event is always a winner!

Date:  October 17th
7:30 AM – 9:30 AM7:30 AM   Registration
8:00 AM – Networking
The Adventure Begins!

Place:  Expedia Corporate Office

**Making the Most of Your Space” (oasis)

Tenant **Improvements/Construction Costs (The Maus Group)

**Pest Control (DIane Chapel with Amgen)

IFMA Members – Your Golf Event Committee is looking for your help.

We are putting a call out for items for the annual fund raising raffle at the Golf Event on September 13. We are looking for donations of golf items, sports tickets, electronics, gift certificates, vouchers for experiences, or bottles of wine for the very popular wine wagon.

Bring your donation to the next IFMA meeting on August 20th at the Columbia Winery or Contact Chris Lewis at 206-226-1650. Chris can arrange to pick up your donation individually ahead of time, at the Winery tour or at the golf event.

Last year your donations supported Special Olympics, Child Haven, the Sander Abrams Memorial Scholarship at the UW, the Forgotten Children’s Fund and the Building Operators Certificate Scholarship. We hope to outpace last year’s donations and need your help.

Thank you for your support!

Summer Social and Volunteer Appreciation

Join us August 30th for a summer social and volunteer appreciation afternoon at Columbia Winery in Woodinville. Our event is a great time to network and get to know your fellow IFMA members. We’ll enjoy some delicious hors d’oeuvres, say thanks to the board and committee members who have worked hard to keep IFMA Seattle vibrant, and enjoy a private tour and wine tasting.

Unbeknownst to him and not knowing where it would lead him, Bill Blau began his career in Facilities Management by acquiring his AA in Interior Design. He was then hired by Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee, WI as their Assistant Facilities Manager. This is where Bill first learned of IFMA, which would turn out to play a contributing role in his career growth.

After a few years in the workplace, Bill made the decision to return to school; this time in Visual Communications/Computer raphics. “I wanted to integrate my design skills with technology”, recalls Bill.

After graduating 1994, he acted as Multimedia Producer at a Milwaukee marketing firm for two years before relocating to  Asheville, North Carolina. Not finding many technology opportunities in NC, Bill took a position with a marketing research start-up. As that company grew to nearly 100 employees, the need for someone to handle the growing pains became evident. As their VP of Operations, he played key roles in real estate negotiations, relocations, tenant improvements and other “Facilities” related projects.

In 1998, Bill’s wife was transferred and it was again time to relocate – this time to Seattle – and Bill remembered IFMA from his time at Baird. While performing his job search/networking from NC, he contacted the IFMA Seattle Chapter president at the time (Bill Bucey). Bill expressed his interests in FM and after two months of interviews, was informed of an open Planner position at Adobe Systems. “It was an unreal opportunity as I was very familiar with Adobe’s products from my education and work in the multimedia field.”

A year later, Bill was promoted to Adobe’s Seattle Facilities Manager post. Bill has been a long time IFMA member, holds the CFM designation and joined the IFMA committee as our newsletter co-editor.

Member Recognition by:
Matt Gibson – Getty Images

If you would like to be recognized in an IFMA newsletter, or know a FM who should be,
please email Matt Gibson at matt.gibson@gettyimages.com with your profile.