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President's Message - September 2011

Elections and a Salute to our Subscribing Members and Volunteers

Elections are underway for the 2011 – 2012 Dallas Branch Board of Directors. If you are a Subscribing Member of the Dallas Branch of ASCE, you should have recently received an electronic ballot to vote for Branch members that have been endorsed by the Board of Director’s Nominating Committee to be officers for the 2011 – 2012 Branch Fiscal and Operating Year. This is an important step in choosing the members that will lead our organization at the local level and toward fulfilling the mission of the Society.

So just who are the Subscribing Members of the Branch? The Dallas Branch currently has 1,080 Subscribing Members within our geographical boundaries. The definition outlined in the current edition of the Branch Bylaws is:

‘Subscribing Members. All members of the Society of all grades, who subscribe to the Bylaws of the Dallas Branch and the Texas Section-ASCE, and who have paid the current dues of the Branch and Texas Section, shall be Subscribing Members of the Branch.’

Though this definition is “short and sweet”, it carries a lot of weight and responsibility as well. Subscribing members are the backbone of the Society as a whole, and of the Dallas Branch. The Dallas Branch Bylaws are posted on our Web Site for all to review. Likewise, National and Texas Section Bylaws and governing documents are posted on their respective web sites. These documents form the basis of what ASCE stands for and represents, so it is important to know and understand them in order to “subscribe” to them.

In addition, we look to our members and member organizations for financial support. Without that support, we could not fully reach out to our communities, colleges and institutions and let them know what we do as Civil Engineers, and as members of ASCE. This is a volunteer-based and not-for profit organization, so having members willing to serve and support the Branch is what makes the organization strong.

A Big Round of Thanks - On that note, I truly want to thank everyone who has volunteered to help with the activities supported by the Branch this year. During my first Branch Meeting as your President, I asked for everyone within the Branch to step up and volunteer for at least one (1) outreach event for the upcoming year. Through the generous giving of your time and talents, we were able to participate in many educational outreach opportunities this year including the Coppell High School Engineering EXPO, Julian T. Saldivar Career Day, Future Cities, and the Engineers Week and Discover Construction Exhibits at the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. In addition, our Younger Members have volunteered their time to help with these events as well as several community outreach events and fundraisers, including the Joint Dallas/Fort Worth Branch Golf Tournament, held at the Tribute Golf Course this year, which raised over $4,000 in scholarship funds. In total, we had over 200 members volunteer to support these outreach opportunities. The Branch appreciates those who volunteered and/or took the lead in organizing these events!

September Branch Meeting – Our next Branch Meeting will be at Noon on Monday, September 12th at the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum Hotel. Our Speaker will be Mr. Walter Jones, AIA from Parkland Hospital. Mr. Jones’ presentation will be about “Parkland Renovation Updates”. There will also be a Technical Group Seminar sponsored by our Transportation & Development Group immediately following the Branch Meeting.

SEE YOU AT THE NEXT DALLAS BRANCH MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 12th!

Jeff Hawkins, P.E., President
ASCE Dallas Branch, 2010 – 2011