SEATTLE, November 19, 2008: Dexter + Chaney ( www.dexterchaney.com) will showcase new features in its Spectrum(R) Construction Software at the company’s 13th annual users’ conference April 23-24, 2009, at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on the Seattle waterfront. The conference also will offer a new, four-part executive management series of classes conducted by Dexter + Chaney and FMI, the nation’s largest provider of management consulting and investment banking services to the construction industry.

“The executive management series will give contractors ‘take-away’ tools to obtain long-term, profitable growth,” said John Chaney, Dexter + Chaney co-founder and vice president. FMI and Dexter + Chaney will also conduct a one-day workshop, “Pricing and Bidding Strategy for Contractors,” on April 22, the day before the conference opens.

Dexter + Chaney expects more than 500 clients, representing construction companies throughout the U.S., to attend the users’ conference. Nearly 40 individual sessions covering all aspects of Spectrum will help clients learn new and better ways to manage their jobs and their businesses. They’ll enjoy networking opportunities with their fellow Spectrum users and Dexter + Chaney personnel. Plus, they’ll experience the great food, entertainment and natural beauty that make Seattle one of America’s top destination cities.

“Our job at Dexter + Chaney is to offer products and services that help our construction-company clients grow their businesses,” said Chaney. “The users’ conference is a critical element of that effort. It’s our annual opportunity to hear directly from our clients about the tools they need in Spectrum, and for us to share our ideas with them. That two-way, face-to-face feedback is essential for our mutual success.”

SPECTRUM SESSIONS
Many of the individual sessions will be devoted to new features and capabilities in Spectrum Version 13. Those include “Getting Ready For Version 13’s Equipment Control Module,” “New Features In Service Management,” “Preventive Maintenance: Using Maintenance Work Orders,” “New Features/Reports In Equipment Control,” “New Features In The Payroll Module” and “New Features In Document Imaging.”

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT SERIES
The four-part FMI executive management series is designed to help CEOs, owners, CFOs, vice presidents and other top executives enhance their companies’ operational performance. The sessions will cover “Contractor Strategies for 2009: Strategies That Will Allow Your Firm To Not Only Survive But Thrive In 2009,” “Turning Your Project Managers Into Business Managers,” “Strategies For Improving Productivity” and “Good Contractors Become Successful Contractors.”

The April 22 workshop, “Pricing and Bidding Strategy for Contractors,” will teach contractors how to increase their share of profitable work and decrease the chance of being the low bidder on unprofitable or even disastrous jobs. They’ll learn financial budgeting techniques to determine the proper mark-up to get more profitable work more often. Ken Roper, an FMI principal who’s implemented profitable growth strategies with construction companies throughout the U.S. for 30 years, will conduct the workshop.

FUN, TOO
A major highlight of the users’ conference—and one reason that many Dexter + Chaney clients attend every year—are the “extra-curricular” activities that take place outside of the sessions. As usual, the conference will open with a Wednesday night (April 22) welcoming reception at the Fish Club, an upscale restaurant at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront.

On Thursday night (April 23), conference-goers will travel to the nearby Pacific Science Center for dinner and entertainment. They’ll dance to the music of Jerry and the PhilBillys (featuring Dexter + Chaney’s Phillip Alan Smith), see an IMAX® film, view a planetarium show or watch a laser show featuring the music of Led Zeppelin. The optional Friday night (April 24), conference-ending event will be dinner and the national production of “Wishful Drinking,” starring Carrie Fisher, at Seattle’s world-renowned Bagley Wright Theatre.

“Many of our clients come to Seattle a day or two before the conference and stay one or two days afterward, to enjoy the beauty and the many activities that the Puget Sound region has to offer,” Chaney noted. “All in all: the users’ conference has proven to be a great way for our clients to learn about Spectrum, share ideas with fellow Spectrum users and Dexter + Chaney, and enjoy themselves in the process.”

ABOUT FMI
FMI, founded in 1953 by Dr. Emol A. Fails, is the largest provider of management consulting and investment banking services to the worldwide construction industry. FMI’s management consulting practice provides a wide array of services, including strategy development, training and talent development, leadership and organizational development, compensation and rewards, marketing and related research, business development and project execution. FMI’s investment banking practice provides merger and acquisition advisory services, capital placement and financial advisory services. For information, call 800-669-1364 ( www.fminet.com).

ABOUT DEXTER + CHANEY
More than 1,000 construction companies throughout the United States use Dexter + Chaney’s Spectrum Construction Software. Spectrum includes 30 integrated modules that handle project management, construction accounting, equipment management, human resources, document imaging, service management, remote connectivity and data sharing tasks. Contractors who use Spectrum report they have improved profitability and have grown their businesses more than 300 percent without adding financial staff.

More than 7,500 total users make use of Spectrum’s Document Imaging software, which addresses a typically painful problem for construction contractors: giving management, office staff and project managers the fast, electronic access they need to important documents like contracts, change orders, time cards, invoices and others.

For more information about Dexter + Chaney or Spectrum, contact Brad Mathews, Vice President of Marketing, Dexter + Chaney, 9700 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-2347; phone: 800-875-1400 or 206-364-1400; fax: 206-367-9613; e-mail: Email Contact; http://www.dexterchaney.com/conference

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