Artificial grass is no longer just for the putting green or the football field—it's finding its way onto hallowed ground across America, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal. The new synthetic grass is reportedly a big step up from traditional artificial grass that some critics found to be too carpet-like.

As churches are feeling the pinch during tough economic times, the benefits of replacing hard-to-maintain grass with the all-season synthetic turf are becoming evident to some. One church that's made the change, reportedly saving money and conserving water, is Our Lady of the Snows Church in Floral Park, New York. Our Lady's artificial grass, supplied by Rutherford, New Jersey's JM Synthetic Grass Surfacing, also alleviated the church staff's need to fertilize.

Together, Jon Luckasavage, facilities manager for Our Lady of The Snows and the church's Monsignor Raymond Chappetto made the decision to install the grass for the facility's August 5, 2008, dedication. "… we will not have to bring in somebody to cut the grass every week, and that [alone] will be a savings," Luckasavage states.

www.olsnows.org | www.jmsyntheticgrass.com

A Church's Outdoor LED Beckons to 1.8 Million Residents

A new mega LED sign at World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, is helping the ministry communicate to both its members and to commuters who traverse the area's major state highway.

World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, is colossal within itself, serving nearly 10,000 members. Since the church is located between Columbus's outer belt and a major state highway, thousands of cars pass the facility each day as well.

To both improve communications with its congregation and to spread the word of upcoming events for the surrounding Columbus metropolitan area, church staff upgraded the facility's static neon sign with an LED sign from Watchfire by Time-O-Matic that measures 5-feet, 4-inches high by 22-feet wide.

The sign is programmed with hundreds of messages and graphics that convey the offerings and events at World Harvest Church. Just one year after its installation, church staff reports that the LED sign has become a key component of their overall communications strategy.

"Our initial sign limited our ability to communicate to the congregation," says Scott Moses, publications manager for World Harvest Church. "Our messages had to be very short and they had to be updated manually, which took away precious staff time from other church duties." Additionally, the original sign didn't provide visual features that attracted the community's attention, such as colorful graphics, photos, inspirational blessings, and messages that reflect the church's mission, Moses reports.

The sign is programmed to run messages from 6:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. daily, which is consistent with Columbus zoning regulations. Each message appears for a minimum of 15 seconds before it changes. The church reports that the new sign's content is professional in appearance—an in-house church artist designs images for the sign in addition to using artwork included with Ignite, Watchfire's free programming software.

World Harvest Church | www.watchfiresigns.com

Reed Construction Data Announces BIM Program to Include Product Manufacturers

Reed Construction Data of Norcross, Georgia, a provider of construction information and a strategic partner with the Washington, D.C.-based American Institute of Architects (AIA), has announced a SmartBIM Partnership Program. BIM, or Building Information Modeling, is data-driven software for 3D modeling of a building space. The new partnership will reportedly give building product manufacturers the opportunity to have brand-specific BIM objects modeled exclusively after their products, called SmartBIM Objects.

SmartBIM Objects are designed to simulate actual products and contain product data and specifications that can be used during 3D modeling of a space. In addition to creating objects, Reed Construction Data will provide its BIM content in a searchable environment on the Internet, as well as within a SmartBIM Library.

"Our inaugural SmartBIM partners recognize the opportunity to be leaders in the evolving BIM design environment," says Richard Remington, vice president of product development with Reed Construction Data. "Through the SmartBIM Partnership Program, building product manufacturers have the opportunity to showcase their products within a building during the design phase."

To date, SmartBIM partners include five manufacturers: Kolbe windows and doors; Karona Inc., a custom architectural wood door manufacturer; Da-Lite, manufacturer of projection screens; Hager, a manufacturer of commercial hardware products; and Draper, a maker of window shades, projection screens, video projector lifts, and gymnasium equipment.

For more information on Reed Construction Data's SmartBIM, visit www.reedconstructiondata.com/bim.

www.reedconstructiondata.com | www.aia.org | www.kolbe-kolbe.com | www.karonadoor.com | www.da-lite.com | www.hagerhinge.com | www.draperinc.com

Engineering News-Record Offers Ranking of Top 100 Green Design Firms

New York, New York's publication of all things building, Engineering News-Record (ENR), has released its 2008 "Top 100 Green Design Firms" ranking. The objective of the list, according to ENR, is to measure the market and rank designers based on 2007 revenue from projects that were registered and actively seeking certification from "major third-party environmental standards or ratings organizations" such as the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) of Washington, D.C.

The ENR top 100 green designers generated a combined $1.74 billion in 2007 revenue from green projects around the world.

The lists top five firms are HOK of St. Louis, Missouri; URS Corp. of San Francisco, California; Gensler of San Francisco, California; HKS Inc. of Dallas, Texas; and Fluor Corp. of Irving, Texas.

For a ranking of the top 50 firms or to purchase the full list in PDF form, visit http://enr.construction.com/people/toplists/GreenDesign/topGreenDesign_1-50.asp.

enr.exnext.com | www.hok.com | www.urscorp.com | www.gensler.com | www.hksinc.com | www.fluor.com | www.usgbc.org

Five Sound Financial Maneuvers for your Church: Part 1

To help church staff weather current tough financial times, Worship Facilities Newsbyte consulted Scott Rolfs, managing director of Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Ziegler Capital Markets – Church and School Finance division. Read below to learn five tips Rolfs provides to help churches over the hump of recession.

Tip #1: Get your operating budget in shape. For many growing churches, budgeting has been an easy process the past few years—simply assume that revenues will increase by "x" percent and build from there. With the challenging economy and $4-a-gallon gas, churches now need to focus on what their ministry would look like if their revenues declined 10% a year, or worse. This means some hard choices. It is better to formulate a plan and have expense cutback contingencies that can be implemented each month or quarter if giving does not improve. Many churches do not recognize how quickly they need to act when expenses outpace revenues. Better you have contingency plans ahead of time rather than hearing that the church checking account is overdrawn and payroll is fast approaching next week.

Tip #2: Leverage volunteers. In an item related to the first tip, figure out what areas of your ministry can be served by volunteers rather than paid staff. In the past 20 years, churches in America have moved toward becoming the "professional church," where many ministry functions are handled by a paid staff member. This has resulted, in a number of cases, in churches having better and more dedicated staff than in the old days, where many houses of worship got by with an all-volunteer staff. However, if your church's current level of donations will not support the level of paid staffing, it isn't a bad idea to figure out where you can use the paid staff to leverage volunteers.

Tip #3: Build up cash reserves if possible. If things are going well financially for your church, use this time to build up some reserves. Building reserves can be a double-edged sword for churches, because most members do not want to keep giving when the gifts end up not being used. That said, every church should strive to have liquid cash reserves on hand to handle 3-6 months of full operational costs. Having such a reserve helps you make needed spending adjustments down the road, without requiring abrupt and disruptive adjustments. Additionally, as we head into fall, that means hurricane season for the Gulf States and winter for the Northern States. Nature can sometimes cause the cancellation of Sunday services and it can be tough to recoup those lost potential donations. Reserves are needed and can help out during those times. Encourage your members to sign up for electronic giving, which will help ensure that you do not lose out on needed offerings when weather causes a cancellation of a service.

Tip #4: Be realistic on expansion projects. The lending community has lost a material percentage of its recent capacity in the past six months as a result of the sub-prime housing/lending crisis. Add to that the fact that the economy hasn't really decided which direction it is going to go, and you have an uncertain environment in which to raise and borrow funds. Conditions may get better or worse as we finish out 2008. If you have an expansion project on the table, talk with potential lenders well in advance to make sure any required borrowing needs are realistic and that the lender can truly fund the transaction. As you talk with stewardship consultants, be realistic in the dollars you think will be raised. This is not an environment in which to forge ahead at all costs assuming that future events will all break your way. It is a very different environment for many ministries than what existed 2-3 years ago.

Tip #5: Take a deep breath—you'll make it just fine. Churches have a unique ability to survive in economic downturns when compared to companies in the for-profit sector. Remember that you have some operating advantages that others do not, such as being able to operate free of income taxes, property taxes, and a fair amount of governmental regulation. Additionally, some positions can be filled with volunteers if needed. Finally, there is a well of faith and stewardship that exists in a church that binds people during tough times rather than pulling them apart. Pastors and administrators should remember that the services their churches provide are needed more than ever by the flock during challenging economic times.

www.ziegler.com

Auralex Acoustics Introduces Ceiling Tiles at InfoComm