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It is with great admiration that I write my final President’s Message for the 2010 – 2011 Branch Year.  I have felt very privileged and honored to have served as the President of the Dallas Branch of ASCE for 2010-2011.  The experience has been rewarding, enlightening, and at times, of course, a bit challenging.  But through it all, it has been the spirit of the officers, committee chairs, volunteers and members of the Branch who have helped and made this year so enjoyable and successful.   

In my first President’s Message in November, 2010, I made the statement,

‘After taking the gavel from Rachel Hayden at the close of the Annual Branch Meeting on October 4^th, 2010, I challenged every member in attendance to volunteer to help us with just one activity the Branch has in store for the upcoming year – the same invitation goes out to ALL members of the Dallas Branch.  To facilitate this, we will be publishing a full calendar of events on the Branch Website within the next month, along with a sign-up sheet for volunteers.  After your new Board of Directors has the initial planning meeting in October, we will publish our goals for the upcoming year – we can meet and exceed these goals if we have the full participation and support of the Branch.’ 

Well, the results are in, and I am happy to report that the goals have been accomplished!  The 2010 – 2011 Dallas Branch Board of Directors consisted of nine officers and 20 committee chairs.  The hard work and dedication of these board members made my job as President much easier – the Board has been very professional and easy to work with.  Many other Branch members stepped up to help when there was an educational or humanitarian outreach event that needed additional volunteers. 

Through the efforts of the Branch officers, committee chairs and volunteers, we were able to accomplish the main goals we set as a Board at the beginning of the year.  Specifically, the goals accomplished, and those leading these efforts, is summarized below:

1)    The date for Dallas Branch meetings was moved to the 2^nd Monday of the month.  The location was changed to the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum Hotel.  Both changes were readily accepted by Branch members.

2)    The Branch Guidelines of Operation were revised to coincide with the by-laws and updated in 2011.  President-Elect Doug Smith did a great job leading his effort.  New guidelines were formally adopted by the Board of Directors at the September 12^th Meeting. The approved edition will be posted on the Dallas Branch Web Site.

3)    This year the Communications Committee was added to the Board to oversee the Branch Web Site, newsletter, announcements and all forms of communication to the Branch members.  Chair Ed Penton oversaw committee activities, and updated the announcement slides for the Branch meetings.

4)    With the help of the Communications Committee, the Board increased transparency and awareness on ASCE operations.   Governing documents, board goals, calendar events, and volunteer opportunities were posted on the Branch Web Site.   

5)    The Board prepared and signed a new Conflict of Interest form.  These efforts were headed by President-Elect Doug Smith.

6)    Several special presentations were planned at Branch meetings to recognize various groups including: Membership Day (January), Life Members (February), Younger Members (April), Texas Section Officers (joint meeting with Fort Worth-June), G.B. Mann Scholarship Recipients (July), Memoriam for 2010-2011 Deceased Members (August), Officer Elections (September), Past-Presidents (October), SAME Joint Meeting (November).  Our Programs Chair, Edra Brashear, organized a great venue of speakers for the Branch Meetings throughout the year.

7)    Rachel Hayden, Immediate Past-President, attended the annual Fly-In in Washington D.C. and headed up the public outreach events.  She also did a good job chairing the Nominations Committee this year – a great slate of officers has been elected to lead the Branch next year.

8)    Led by Branch Director Audrey Demeter and Younger Member Chair Kayla Lorentz, there was increased Branch awareness and participation in the Younger Member events and outreach activities.  The Younger Members oversaw the May Board and Branch Meetings, and are moving towards developing the YM Group as a subsidiary organization to the Board.

9)    The Education Committee was led by Chair Alison Smith.  Alison spearheaded Branch participation and organized volunteers for many educational outreach events throughout the year including Coppell High School Engineering EXPO, Julian T. Saldivar ES Career Day, Frisco Heritage High School First Talk Event, Future Cities, and the Engineer’s Week & Discover Construction Exhibits at the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science.

10) The Hospitality Chairs Brad Hernandez & Ashley Kelly worked with a local vendor to create and promote the sale of Dallas Branch Apparel to our members this year, in addition to their normal duties of preparing nametags for all Branch Meetings.  A special word of thanks to Brad for stepping up to the role of Secretary when a vacancy occurred, and to Ashley for taking over the additional role of Hospitality Chair.

11)  Approximately $4,000 was raised in net proceeds from the 2011 Dallas/Fort Worth Joint Golf Tournament at The Legends Golf Club in Frisco.  The Golf Committee was successfully chaired by Matt Gautreaux, who received assistance from the committee and the younger members.

12) The Branch awarded $6,000 in scholarships to three (3) outstanding high school graduating seniors who are pursuing a degree in civil engineering.  These efforts were led by Scholarship Chair Nicole Carrillo.

13) Additional meetings were held with the officers to get information on past scholarship funding efforts, and discuss formation of a Long-Term Financial Planning & Scholarship Fund Committee.  These efforts will be carried into the next fiscal year by Doug Smith, the 2011 – 2012 Branch President.  

14) Technical group seminars were offered to the membership each month following the monthly luncheon.  These efforts were led by Kristin Green, Technical Chair, and the individual Technical Committee Chairs: Shri Yamijala (Geotechnical), Kevin Zhou (Structural), Roger Behgam (T&D), Anu Kancherla (Construction), Ashley Kelly (E&WR) and Colin Blankenship (Sustainability/EWB).

15) Many other goals were accomplished that are too numerous to name, but they would not have been successfully completed without the leadership and efforts of the other members of the Board of Directors, including:

o   Sean Merrell – Vice-President, 2013 Texas Section Centennial Committee Chair & “All-Around Communicator & Coordinator”;

o   Lena Peter - Treasurer & “Chief Financial Advisor”;

o   Angela Matthews - Texas Section Director & “Coordinator of All Things Texas”;

o   Lowell Seaton – who has graciously given of his time to serve as our Membership Chair for many subsequent years;

o   Monica Malone - Newsletter Editor, who really “Raised the bar for the Branch Newsletter”;

o   Jack Furlong - Honors Chair who continues to be a Leader at the Texas Section level;

o   Phillip Alcorn - Webmaster & “Everyone’s Go-To Guy”;

o   Mark Boyd - “Wearer of Many Hats including Sponsorship & Technical Group Advisor”;

o   Faisal Syed & Ivan Nicodemus - Student Chapter Advisors and Liaisons between the Branch and UTA & SMU, respectfully; and

o   Craig Koudelka, History & Heritage Chair. 

Please congratulate these leaders when you see them, and thank them for a job well done this year.  We are fortunate to have so many ASCE members that contribute to the success of the Branch, and participate in activities – they are a shining example of what it means to be a Civil Engineer! We should never take this for granted, but instead, strive to change with the times and improve in the areas where we can make a difference. 

Annual Branch Meeting – October 10, 2011

We are proud to have Andrew Herrmann, P.E., 2011 – 2012 ASCE National President, as our main speaker at Noon on October 10^th for the Annual Branch Meeting. He will also install the 2011 – 2012 Branch Officers. For his presentation, Mr. Herrmann will give the Dallas Branch updates on ASCE efforts at the Federal level, the National Infrastructure Report Card, and the need for a clear national infrastructure vision as we MOVE forward. 

In closing, I thank all of you once again for the privilege to serve as the President of the Dallas Branch.  I know that Doug Smith will do a great job as incoming President. Please continue to give him great support as he leads the new Board of Directors and this outstanding Branch over the course of the 2011 – 2012 Branch year!