Onyx Group Supports the Army Ten-Miler
Alexandria, VA—October 4, 2009—The Onyx Group participates for its sixth year in the Army Ten-Miler. Each year, tens of thousands of runners and spectators gather in Washington, D.C. for this prestigious event. The race starts and finishes at the Pentagon, passing by D.C. landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Capitol Building.

The Army Ten-Miler is a meaningful event for The Onyx Group. Onyx believes that supporting community is a natural fit with the company vision, mission, and core values.

“We have been fortunate in having the opportunity to help many Army installations provide the necessary facilities to support the troops who protect and defend our nation,” says Phil Rush, ASLA, Onyx Chief Executive Officer. “The Army Ten-Miler is our chance to visibly thank the troops and our clients for including us as part of the national defense team.”

The Onyx Group has provided a team to support the Trophy Tent for the past 6 years. This year Onyx added the Trophy Stage during the Army Ten-Miler to its volunteer effort. In addition to providing support help, The Onyx Group also fielded a team of runners who participated in the race.

The Army Ten-Miler is produced by the Joint Force Headquarters – National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, the Army Ten-Miler proceeds benefit Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation, a comprehensive network of support and leisure services designed to enhance the lives of soldiers and their families.

Onyx/G&O JV Wins Major Contract
ALEXANDRIA, VA– September 17, 2009 – The Onyx Group/ Greenhorne & O’Mara (G&O) Joint-Venture (JV) announced that it has been awarded a 5-year, $12M Indefinite Quantity contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District. The award enables the Onyx/G&O JV to offer best in class military planning and programming services to a wide range of Department of Defense (DoD) clients.

The Onyx/G&O JV will work in a large geographical area spanning U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices, U.S. Army installations, U.S. Air Force bases, U.S. Naval and Marine Corps bases, and other Federal government-owned facilities, installations or real estate within the South Atlantic Division.

Projects may include preparation of long-range or short-range components, capital investment strategies, master plans, comprehensive plans, planning charrettes and project programming documents, engineering studies and/or analyses, projects associated with design standards for installations, and geographic information systems.

“Onyx and G&O have worked together in the past, and because of that success, we decided to create a formal Joint-Venture so we can offer our expert services to clients around the world. Together, we are able to provide the most comprehensive service available for military master planning,” said Terry Spencer, RLA, Onyx/G&O Joint-Venture principal.

“Clients will benefit tremendously from this Joint-Venture. Both companies have proven track records of completing projects on time and on budget, and our combined expertise will only take that to the next level,” said John Voycik, AICP, PMP, Onyx/G&O Joint-Venture principal.

The JV of Onyx and G&O was formed to bring together base and installation master planning and military program support for Army, Navy, and Air Force clients, worldwide. The firms combined have access to nearly 700 architectural, engineering, planning, and related professionals, with more than 50 professionals devoted exclusively to planning and programming support for DoD clients.

Greenhorne & O'Mara (G&O) is a full-service engineering consulting firm that provides public and private sector solutions in the areas of civil, transportation, environmental, and water resources engineering; information technology and GIS, and hazard mitigation and security services. G&O's 17 offices support projects located throughout the United States and overseas. Founded in 1950, G&O is an employee-owned firm that is consistently ranked by Engineering News Record among the top architectural/engineering design firms in the United States.

The Onyx Group participates in the Back to School Book Bag Program with Carpenter’s Shelter of Alexandria
Alexandria, VA—August 28, 2009— The Onyx Group takes part in the Back to School Book Bag Program with Carpenter’s Shelter of Alexandria as part of the company’s fall community service program. Every year as summer draws to a close, The Onyx Group works with Carpenter’s Shelter to help improve the lives of families living in the shelter and those who have moved on but still need support.

This year, Onyx employees were able to provide, put together and deliver back to school book bags for 25 children living in Carpenter’s Shelter, as well as making supplies available for 100 aftercare children whose families have been able to move from Carpenter’s Shelter, but still need some help.

“As a company, we frequently look for ways to contribute to our community,” says Julie Oakley, Onyx Senior Planner/Project Manager. “This one is particularly dear to my heart because my husband is a teacher and we enjoyed shopping for school supplies with our son as we taught him the value of giving back to the community.”

The vision of Carpenter’s Shelter is, “A community where all live safely and affordably.” They are a proactive partner with the City of Alexandria and the greater Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area working to find solutions to homelessness and creating safe, affordable housing for all. The Onyx Group is proud to be a support mechanism for Carpenter’s Shelter and look forward to many more years of collaboration with a community service that takes care of its own.

Carpenter's Shelter is Northern Virginia's award-winning homeless program, dedicated to offering housing and hope through respect, responsibility and results. It provides services to the homeless, promoting lifelong self-reliance.

ESOP Month
The Onyx group has an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and in October it was our first celebration of National ESOP Month. We had 8 Olympic teams competing in several events: Putting for ESOP Success; POSE for ESOP; Everyone Pitches in for ESOP; Guess the M and Ms ; ESOP Slogan Competition.

In addition to the Olympics, we also participated in an ESOP supported lunch each week with fun and games... ESOP Chain, Rock Band, ESOP Bingo, Pie Chart Game and last but certainly not least our annual Halloween Potluck and Costume competition. As you can see by the picture, there were many people who "dressed out" this year. Thanks to all who participated by bringing something to eat and also to those who participated in our costume contest. It was a great end to a great month!!!

Small Trick – Big Treat
What to do if you don't have a costume and a neighborhood to go Trick-or-Treating? This is the case with 25 children who currently live in the Carpenter’s shelter in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Throughout the year our firm supports this homeless shelter with school supplies, food, and preparing a meal during the Holidays. We thought it would be nice to surprise them during the national “Make a Difference Day” with a special treat, on October 25th we provided the 25 children in this shelter with our handmade Halloween masks and a bowl of candies. This way they could safely Trick-or-Treat inside the shelter building and a have a moment of fun similar to you and me and hopefully a warm and positive memory they'll cherish for a long time.

We submitted this small project to the "Make a Difference Day Event" and entered for a chance to win the Carpenter’s shelter an extra BIG treat of $10K!

Back To School Update
Letter from the director of volunteers for the Carpenter's Shelter:

"On behalf of the children and families of Carpenter's Shelter, please share my thanks with the wonderful employees of The Onyx Group for the generous donation of backpacks and school supplies.

The first day of school has always been a fun, exciting and slightly anxious occasion for students everywhere and Carpenter's kids are no exception. Despite the fact that they call a shelter "home", Carpenter's kids started the first day back to school much the same as other children. They dressed in their fine new clothing, proudly hoisted their bright new backpacks onto their little shoulders and marched off to face the new day with a smile.

Thank you again for supporting Carpenter's Annual Back to School Drive. Because of your generous contribution of school supplies, 21 children in our residential shelter and an additional 60 children in the community received the supplies needed for a successful school year.

With your support, we are able to continue our mission to end homelessness through services, education, and advocacy - one child, one family at a time."

Onyx Group Awarded NAVSEA Seaport-E Contract
ALEXANDRIA, VA—May 29, 2008—The Onyx Group has been awarded a NAVSEA SeaPort-Enhanced Contract as a Prime Contractor. This Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract provides military customers access to a range of engineering, technical, and programmatic services. The U.S. Navy has designated SeaPort-e as the acquisition vehicle of choice for competitive acquisition of engineering, financial, and program management services.

Through this contract vehicle, Onyx will be able to provide services to a number of Naval Commands, including The Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Air Systems Command, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Naval Supply Systems Command, Military Sealift Command, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Naval Supply Systems Command, Strategic Systems Programs, and the United States Marine Corps. Activities also may provide support under this contract to other Department of Defense (DoD), non-DoD, or joint agencies.

“We are pleased that the Navy has chosen to recognize The Onyx Group’s capabilities with this contract award,” says Phil Rush, ASLA, Onyx Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to using this contract vehicle to serve our Navy customers as well as their partners.”

Under this contract, Onyx has teamed with Zoldak Group, Inc. (ZGi), a provider of occupational safety, health, and medical information systems to the DoD, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, and other public- and private-sector organizations. This arrangement will allow Onyx to offer an agency-wide decision-support toolset supported by senior subject matter experts in occupational safety and health as well as information technology.

The Onyx Group is an employee-owned company dedicated to improving the places where we live, work, and play. The firm has provided land use, facilities planning, environmental, architectural, design, and technology services worldwide for more than 25 years.

The Onyx Group Has Been Awarded A Contract For Facility Planning And Engineering Services For Various Locations NAVFAC, Washington
The Onyx Group teamed up with Earth Tech and Greenhorne and O'Mara as their leading partners for this IDIQ with NAVFAC Washington. The other team members are:

• Lewis Scully Gionet, Inc. for Landscape Architecture
• Marstel Day for Encroachment and Scenario Planning
• Woods Peacock Engineering for Project Documentation and Engineering
• MRInnoveers, LLC for MEP
• Downey and Scott, LLC for Cost Estimating/Analysis
• Booz Allen Hamilton for Business Case/Economic Analysis and Integrated Logistics Systems
• TAI Realtor Advisers for BCA, Economic Analysis, EUL, PPV

This contract requires facility planning and engineering services primarily within the Area of Responsibility (AOR) of Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Washington. On occasion, the contract may receive task order requests for other locations in the continental US and Hawaii.