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President's Message - March 2021

Howdy ASCE Dallas Branch Members!

I hope that this message finds you and your loved ones feeling a little warmer after the record-breaking, and havoc-wreaking winter storm we experienced in mid-February. It was a very, very tough week and a half with many people and families going through long stretches without power, internet, water, or heat. It was especially hard on the homeless community. If you’re looking for a way to donate money to organizations that are providing support and relief to those severely impacted by the 2021 Texas Winter Storm, I recommend you check out this list here. This was a list of organizations that was previously shared by the ASCE Texas Section as well.

I want to remind you all about a couple of important things coming up for our Branch. First, we have the upcoming Power Skills Workshop on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. This is a workshop we have scheduled via ASCE HQ for our Branch membership, and I hope you consider spending the time on Friday, March 12^th to attend it. ASCE Dallas supports and encourages the equitable opportunity for participation of all people within the civil engineering profession without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, or physical challenges. We hope that all our members would carry this vision forward into their workplaces as well.

This month is also when we are looking for the applications for the G.B. Mann Scholarship to start rolling in. The deadline for application submissions is 5pm on March 26^th. The ASCE Dallas scholarships are awarded on an equal opportunity basis to current high school senior students in the Dallas Branch region (Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Navarro, and Rockwall Counties) and who will be pursuing a degree in civil engineering in the fall of 2021.

Finally, thank you to all our members who watched our February virtual meeting and donated $10 for their PDH certificates. From these PDH certificate proceeds, we were able to donate $925 each to the G.B. Mann Scholarship Fund and the STEM initiatives of the non-profit Communities in Schools Dallas Region. This month, we will be splitting the proceeds from our PDH certificates evenly between the ASCE Dallas G.B. Mann Scholarship and OurCalling, the non-profit organization that managed and led the shelter at the Dallas Convention Center during the Texas Winter Storm.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I am here to serve you as your Dallas Branch President, and my virtual “door” is always open.

-Jonathan Brower, P.E.

[email protected]