Articles

President’s Message - November 2011

I am very excited about the upcoming year for our Branch. There have been over 30 members who have already committed to serve in everything from helping with educational outreach to planning for our 100 year anniversary coming up in 2013. We held a Branch planning meeting late last month and the ideas and opportunities that were discussed were great. So much to do . . . so little time!

I do not have drastic operational changes planned for the upcoming year. We plan to stay at the Marriott Quorum and are currently negotiating with them for 2012 and maybe 2013. Our goal is to keep the cost the same, but there are still details to be worked out. If you have a comment regarding the cost or quality of our current arrangement, feel free to contact either me or Brad Hernandez.

I also plan to continue to emphasize our education outreach and I know that Matt Ludwig has already committed to provide programs to a number of schools and organizations. Participation in these types of events is a lot of fun and it allows you to share your own experiences. Who knows, you may influence a youth to become a civil engineer down the road. I know that a program like that influenced me in high school. I still remember the name of the engineer (now retired) who spoke.

We also plan to continue with great luncheon speakers and technical seminars starting with Lieutenant Colonel Jim Cline, P.E., who will discuss his experiences while serving in Afghanistan. Jim returned from deployment in July and will talk and show slides about the daily life and activities of the troops under his command. This will also be a joint meeting with the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and will be held just a few days after Veterans Day. Come ready to say thanks to those who have served our great country.

There are also a few areas of new focus for the upcoming year. One is a topic that Jeff Hawkins has discussed in previous President’s Messages, and that is the management of our Scholarship program. The Branch currently maintains a sizable fund and has provided over $40,000 to individuals and to an endowment fund at UTA over the last five years. In addition, a large Branch contribution in 2009 was matched by UTA, increasing our impact on college students by an additional $25,000. My goal is to put the Branch in a position to continue with our outstanding support of college students planning to become civil engineers. Past-President Cissy Silo has agreed to lead this effort and has assembled a solid team to manage our funds and efforts.

So, the 2011/2012 year is underway and is moving full speed ahead! There are lots of fun times ahead!

Douglas L. Smith, P.E.
President
ASCE Dallas Branch, 2011 - 2012