Join SMPS Colorado for the rescheduled
2020 Marketing Excellence Awards!

SMPS Colorado made the difficult decision last week to reschedule our annual awards celebration due to the recent outbreak of the novel corona virus across the United States and the world. The safety of our members and event attendees is of utmost concern, so we'll be postponing the Marketing Excellence Awards until Thursday, July 16.

Hopefully by that time we will have regained some sense of normalcy in routine so we can all celebrate together. We'll continue preparing for the event in the background as if this never happened, but if you have questions regarding the implications of our decision to change the event date, please reach out to the Marketing Excellence Awards Chair, Regina Pilot, for more information.

Come July, we hope you'll join us to celebrate the outstanding achievements of Colorado’s top AEC firms and professionals. It will be an evening of networking, great food, and recognition of our 2020 award winners!

brand-obsessed strategist / keynote speaker / cmo / photographer / bold brand 2.0 author / caffeine addict / podcaster & chief future officer

Josh is the Chief Marketing Officer for SMPS, the only North American organization for marketing and business development professionals in the A/E/C industries. Josh is also CMO for Codelicious, a startup delivering comprehensive, full-semester computer science curriculum for grades 3-8, that any educator can teach. 

As a past TEDx presenter, Josh speaks coast-to-coast, including hosting the podcasts Obsessed Show and PSM Show. Josh is the author of “Bold Brand 2.0 - How to Leverage Brand Strategy to Reposition, Differentiate and Market your Professional Services Firm.” And is an advisory board member of the Purdue University Lamb School of Communication. Josh previously co-founded MilesHerndon, a branding agency specializing in brand strategy, corporate identity, website, and user interface design. Josh’s unique point of view on branding, design, and marketing has been sought after by organizations, corporations, and university design programs. Josh was honored as one of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, and was also named 40 Under 40 by Delta Sigma Phi.

Josh loves to take photos, write, cook, eat anything with bacon, hit the gym, play the guitar, and travel to new places. Josh lives in Carmel, Indiana with his two ridiculously cute kiddos!

Barbara Shuck, FSMPS, CPSM
Owner | Everest Marketing Services

Barbara Shuck, FSMPS, CPSM, helps people and companies get from here to there. She regularly shares her energy, passion and 35+ years’ experience to teach, challenge, motivate, and inspire others to achieve new heights. She has worked for general contracting, engineering, construction management, and architectural firms. As a consultant, she helps clients with internal communication and initiatives, and external efforts that win work through compelling and persuasive content and messaging.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts and French, and a master’s degree in Business, (marketing emphasis), along with expertise in sales, printing, publishing, teaching, and marketing in the AEC industry.  

She has been an active member of SMPS for more than 25 years, and served as the President of the Society in 2014-2015. She is currently a Trustee for the SMPS Foundation, and is a regular SMPS speaker locally, regionally, and nationally. Barbara has extensive experience working with small and large firms, building strong marketing and communications programs, and crafting successful strategies and tactics. She assists clients with marketing research and strategic planning; project pursuit strategy, development and writing; communications planning; award submittals; public speaking and presentation skills; customized leadership, marketing and business development training; marketing collateral, websites; and more. 

Brad Thurman, PE, FSMPS, CPSM
Principal & Chief Marketing Officer | Wallace Engineering

Brad Thurman, PE, FSMPS, CPSM is a principal and Chief Marketing Officer of Wallace Engineering, a structural and civil engineering consulting firm. He joined Wallace in 1987 and is a licensed Professional Engineer in four states. Since 1998, Brad has helped lead Wallace's marketing and business development efforts across two disciplines and six offices. He is a past-president of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, served as the 2013-14 President on the SMPS National Board and currently serves as president of the SMPS Board of Trustees.  Brad is a Certified Professional Services Marketer, was named a Fellow of SMPS in 2009 and was inducted into the SMPS Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2015.

Karen Courtney, AIA, FSMPS, CPSM
Chief Marketing Officer | Fanning Howey

Karen Courtney, AIA, FSMPS, CPSM, has focused her 30 year career on marketing and business development with firms from 40 to 1,400 and has worked for architecture, engineering and construction management companies. From her work in business development, strategic planning and branding, Ms. Courtney has helped her firms grow their revenues, open new geographic locations and markets, launch new brands and build name recognition, plus develop technical professionals as recognized thought leaders. The Chief Marketing Officer for Fanning Howey, a national education design practice, Karen has won 32 national and regional marketing communications awards and was recognized with the 2013 SMPS Weld Coxe Marketing Achievement Award for her lifetime contributions to professional services marketing. Karen was the 2005 SMPS National President and serves on the national AIA Practice Management committee. She is a founder of the SMPS Business Development Institute and has taught business development classes across the country for SMPS for 11 years.

Marci Thompson
Chief Growth Officer | Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS)

Marci Thompson is the Chief Growth Officer for the Society for Marketing Professional Services. In this role, she offers strategic direction for the future of member engagement and learning. Thompson draws on a career’s worth of strong experience curating and designing education and learning experiences. Thompson brings an in-depth background of educational development within the A/E/C and association arenas. She previously served as chief learning officer of Zweig Group, a leading research, publishing, and advisory services resource for firms in the A/E/C industries. Before joining Zweig, she held the position of chief learning officer at SMPS, where she revolutionized the learning programs, significantly grew training revenues, and expanded learning opportunities for members.

Marci studied Social Work at Bowie State University, an alumni of Seth Godin’s altMBA leadership program and holds certificates in Association Management, the Business of Meetings and Instructional Design.

Marisa Pooley, APR
Public Relations & Communications Director | AIA Colorado

Marisa Pooley, APR, is the Public Relations & Communications Director for The American Institute of Architects Colorado. In her role, Pooley oversees all facets of marketing, communications and public relations for the statewide organization.

Previously, Pooley managed strategic communications for the Boettcher Foundation where she helped the $300 million-endowed foundation launch its first communications department in 75 years. She also has experience in the wine and tourism industries from her time as a public relations consultant for Montevibiano—the first zero-emissions vineyard—in Perugia, Italy.

Pooley has served on a variety of boards and committees, including as a member of the 2019-2020 PRSA Colorado Board of Directors; the media relations chair for the Lupus Foundation Colorado Walk to End Lupus; the at-large director for AIA Denver; and a member of the 2015 Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation’s Impact Denver class. She also earned her Accreditation in Public Relations—a designation held by less than 100 people in Colorado. Pooley attended the University of Denver where she earned degrees in strategic communications, marketing and leadership.

Matt Connor, CPSM
Head Coach | Coach Connor Consulting

With more than 25 years of relationship-driven, executive-level marketing and business development experience, Matt’s talent lies in creating authentic and effective connections and networks, inspiring teams, and guiding individuals to achieve both personal growth and professional success. As a Speaker and Coach, Matt forges sincere connections with his audience and adds meaningful value regardless of subject, setting, or size. Speaking nationally on a variety of topics, he delves into universal challenges such as: Burnout, Public Speaking, Leadership, Employee Engagement, and more.

His personality and presentation style is engaging, and thought-provoking. Matt is a Certified Coach, Professional Services Marketer, and Infinite Possibilities Trainer, and his passion shines when he is helping others prosper. Matt is Head Coach of Coach Connor Consulting and lives in Houston, Texas with his wife, Shelly, and their children, Trent and Peyton.

Nancy Usrey, FSMPS, CPSM
Strategic Pursuit Director | HNTB

 Nancy Usrey – A talented, multi-faceted professional with over 30 years in the industry, Nancy guides A/E/C firms to successful development and implementation of marketing and sales initiatives. Her skills and experience in every phase of marketing make her a sought-after advisor whenever complicated marketing/BD questions come up. 

Nancy was recruited by HNTB in 2008 to help the national transportation firm leverage its experience in the design-build marketplace into a major component of their portfolio. She works closely with pursuit teams and the marketing and sales organizations in seven geographic divisions to prepare teams for efficient and effective design-build pursuits. She is an advocate for integrated pursuit teams that include marketing as an essential discipline on par with technical components, each having responsibility for implementing project management principles, and assuring budget, schedule and quality compliance. 

Prior to HNTB, Nancy was a recognized marketing consultant to AEC firms, known for her understanding of Federal marketing and SF330 preparation strategies as well as her ability to guide firms to successful development and implementation of marketing and sales initiatives. She is an accomplished industry speaker and panel moderator, and a respected coach and mentor, frequently working with individuals and teams at all levels within a firm’s organization. Nancy has served as President of an SMPS Chapter, the SMPS Foundation and the Society. She was a member of the inaugural class of SMPS University and one of the subject matter experts involved in developing Markendium, the SMPS Body of Knowledge.

Terry Hawley, CPSM
Client Development Manager | Terracon

 Terry Hawley, CPSM, has worked in a marketing or client development role in the A/E/C industry for more than 20 years. He is a Client Development Manager for Terracon Consultants, Inc., a 150-office firm that provides geotechnical engineering, materials testing, environmental, and facility services. Terry also serves as the major project pursuit champion for Terracon’s northern division, covering Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. He is responsible for developing a client development culture and preparing all levels of technical staff for business development practices. Terry has been active with SMPS since 2000. He is a Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM), earning his designation in 2012. Terry has been an SMPS Nebraska board member for 10 years, serving as Chapter President in 2013. He co-chaired the 2015 SMPS Missouri Valley Regional Conference. Terry received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Creighton University.

For more information, please contact: 

Regina Pilot, Committee Chair
Martin/Martin | [email protected]

Mae Ann Saas, Committee Co-Chair
Eidos Architects | [email protected]

Photos and/or video will be taken at the event. By taking part in the event you grant SMPS Colorado full rights to use the images resulting from the photography/video filming, and any reproductions or adaptations of the images for fundraising, publicity or other purposes to help achieve the group's aims. This might include (but is not limited to), the right to use them in their printed and online publicly, social media, press releases and funding applications. If you do not wish to be photographed please inform an event organizer.