Flying Together as One

Here in Michigan, you can really feel the change of seasons – swings from cold and snow to freezing rain to blue sky and the sounds of migrating birds. It’s that time of year. A few weeks ago, a colleague told me of their drive across Nebraska toward Denver when a gigantic murmuration of Snow Geese swirled and moved as one across I-80 West. While I know of starling murmuration, I had no idea that huge geese could do the same. Search “snow geese murmuration” on YouTube and see for yourself.

This got me thinking about the journey we’re on as Bodwé Group, four AE firms coming together under one mission to grow the economy and legacy of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. Each of our firms came to Bodwé with their own focus, capabilities, process, scale, and history and we are now making astonishing progress in learning to fly as one, with purpose, spontaneity, and grace. As we’re finishing up audits and closing the books on 2022, it’s a good time to reflect on what the cycle of last year brought us and to prepare for what is emerging this year.

Many Opportunities and Many Farms.

As a group of companies, 2022 brought record totals in projects won and projects completed, and we signed multiple seven-figure AE contracts in one year for the first time. One of those projects is a large and complex school campus redesign for the students and staff of Many Farms High School in Many Farms, Arizona. Deep in the desert of Navajo Nation, the project plan spans 15 months, and the project team includes the entire Bodwé Group family of companies. Students and faculty will benefit from a wholesale renovation and enhanced learning environment, including new student dorms for over 100 students and 30 units of off-site staff housing that will help Many Farms to recruit additional talented teachers and administrators more easily. Many Farms is the largest partnership to date between the Bodwé Group and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Welcoming new people.

To support the business growth, we grew our staff by more than 10% in 2022, totaling 15 net new positions across planning, architecture, interior design, engineering, and support services, with more positions currently open. And thanks to all the hard work that went into our systems and benefits consolidation, integration, and upgrades last year, no matter the company or location, all new full-time employees benefit from hybrid work environments, unlimited PTO, parental leave, and more.

Expanding our place.

In early 2022, WBK Engineering renovated and expanded their Battle Creek, MI office as collaboration on tribal and federal projects continues to grow with Kalamazoo-based sister companies Seven Generations A+E and Steelhead Engineering. Founded and headquartered in St. Charles, IL, WBK also seeks to bring their decades of experience with Illinois municipal and transportation infrastructure and environmental resources to customers here in Michigan. The WBK expansion was closely followed by the opening of a new satellite office for Seven Generations A+E (7GAE) in San Antonio, TX. A key regional outpost for the 7GAE federal contract staffing business, San Antonio also serves as another progressive market in which to access and hire talent across the Bodwé companies.

Tulsa and beyond.

Not to be outdone, Blue Star Integrative Studio (BSIS) also renovated and expanded their office in Tulsa, OK. Key to growing our presence in Oklahoma and throughout the Great Plains the Blue Star office combines the original space with another suite, now totaling nearly 2,700 square feet with room to hire additional architecture and interior design staff. Notable office additions include a “Welcome” sign in eight Indigenous languages, celebrating the many diverse tribes we work alongside, and a land acknowledgement inscribed on one wall, honoring the traditional caretakers of the land that now makes up Tulsa. Grand opening festivities included presentation of handmade star quilts, received by team members from across the Bodwé companies and including Julio Martinez, CEO, Mno-Bmadsen.

Newswire from Japan and Guam.

7GAE Field Staff members Rachael Kenney and Franco Francois are part of the DHA Facilities Enterprise - Initial Outfitting and Transition (FE-IO&T) Contract, defining the agency’s furniture, fixture, equipment, and low voltages system requirements. In January, they took a sight visit to the Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan as part of the FY25 Inpatient Hospital Alteration/Design Charrette. To the south and a bit east, Angela Webster made her second visit to Guam. Angela joined the 7GAE Field Staff as one of our Transition Coordinators, with primary responsibility to directly monitor and coordinate initial outfitting, transition, and activation efforts for assigned DHA projects in the US Territory of Guam.

Adding QA and CA to our AE staffing services.

Building upon our AE-related staffing experience with the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), we are now engaged on multiple design-build school projects with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to provide Quality Assurance (QA), Contract Administration (CA), and Commissioning (CX) staffing services. 7GAE Field Staff supports the BIA and helps ensure that the construction contractor fulfills the specifications of and is compliant with their contract. Responsibilities also include oversight of design, installation, testing, and maintenance of components, materials, and systems.

Elevating tribal education end to end.

Since 2019, the Bodwé companies have completed many BIA school assessment projects, evaluating the physical condition of dozens of facilities as well as providing perspective on the needs of the educational experience. Now, through our new staffing work as well as the 7GAE construction administration team, we are helping the BIA close the loop and ensure quality for these new, renovated, and expanded schools. In between, we are leading design projects for the BIA, including Many Farms High School and Pierre Indian Learning Center, an off reservation boarding school serving 200+ first through eighth grade students from 15 different tribes in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Having recently submitted schematic design, Pierre is an opportunity to redefine Native Education for current and future generations.

Turning the corner.

With 10 years of association with Mno-Bmadsen, the Bodwé Group companies are at an inflection point. Our largest company, Seven Generations A+E, no longer qualifies as a small business in the engineering and architecture NCAIS codes, and no longer qualifies as an Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise, the main vehicle for BIA contracts. In addition, 8(a) status, a primary qualifier for many federal contracts, will soon expire for 7GAE. We have been preparing for this for a few years, resulting in WBK qualification as an 8(a) company and application currently in process for Steelhead. This year, we are leaning in to operating as one integrated portfolio with services across the six phases of the Building Life Cycle. This includes leveraging all our firms as prime consultants and expanding our capabilities to provide staffing services.

Blue Star, Steelhead, and WBK as prime.

Much work has been accomplished in 2022 to prepare all the Bodwé Group firms to lead contracts with private clients and the federal government. Blue Star is leading a project with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin to design a new Adult Detox Center. Currently in schematic design, the project builds upon extensive BSIS experience with other recovery, behavioral health, and supportive housing facilities. The Alliance|Steelhead JV team is soon to be awarded a VA Health project to renovate and expand the Sterile Processing Service at the VA Medical Center in Cleveland. WBK Engineering has been awarded a 5-year Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) IDIQ as part of the Great American Outdoors Act to provide AE services for the Department of the Interior throughout the continental US, including the Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and BIA.

Staffing as a focus.

Historically, our consulting and staffing services have been awarded through Seven Generations A+E via 8(a) sole-source contracts. This has provided 7GAE with excellent qualifications and past performance that we can now leverage to pursue larger competitive awards with different agencies. Bodwé Group is now in the process of creating a staffing division and we are submitting on staffing contracts with the BIA for business support services, project management and industrial engineering consulting services, and information technology support services. These contracts will now be held through Steelhead, Blue Star and our new company, Bodwé Technology Solutions, LLC, which is focused on delivering IT and cyber solutions to clients in the federal space, work we are already doing in some capacity for USACE.                                  

Flying together as one.

As spring is upon us, we are eager to see the growth from our efforts, knowing that we are aligned in our mission and that the results of working together will be beautiful.