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President's Message - November 2021

Hello ASCE Dallas Branch Members!

I am very excited and proud to take the reins of our Branch and build upon the accomplishments of my predecessors. We are continually top ranked in the country for our efforts, and I will work hard to continue that tradition.

The pandemic has been difficult for many Branches, but I am hopeful that we will soon be able to fully transition to regular in-person meetings in the coming year. Until then, we will continue our current in-person/virtual hybrid format broadcasting our monthly meetings for our members. However, as the pandemic winds down I will reconfigure the virtual part of our meetings. We will broadcast our presentation to a central location in each county within our Branch. This format ensures that our members will have very valuable networking opportunities with other local engineers in their community at each meeting.

I want to make everyone aware of a few leadership opportunities available within the Branch that are described below. In addition to these positions, I encourage each Committee Chair to recruit their successor and add that person to their committee. If you are interested in becoming a Committee Chair next year, please join that committee this year!

Virtual Meetings: This new committee will develop a “Virtual Branch” model where we can broadcast our presentation to a central location in each county within our Branch. This program will create new volunteer opportunities at both the hosting location and at each of the “Virtual Branch” locations.

The Bridge: We are looking for a few Younger Member volunteers to take over the hosting duties of ‘The Bridge’. This program focuses on seminar topics to help guide the new graduates and EITs into the profession. 

Institutes: There are several open institute VP and Secretary officer positions available. We are also creating two new institutes this year: Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) and Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute (UESI). 

CECON: This coming year, CECON will be in Frisco! Please save the date, September 14th through the 16th. Look for volunteer opportunities for planning this event in your Texas Section correspondence.

MOSAIC: There's a popular proverb that says: ‘The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.’ In that spirit, the new MOSAIC (Members of Society Advancing An Inclusive Culture) Committee will work in conjunction with the ASCE Global MOSAIC committee focusing locally on education and outreach. We are looking for volunteers to join this committee.

Warm regards,

Ed Penton, P.E.