Articles

President's Message - November 2016

Greetings Dallas Branch Members.  I am excited and honored to serve as your Branch President for the next 12 months.  Over the past several years of my involvement in Branch Leadership, both Brad Hernandez and Angela Matthews Pflanz have helped lay the groundwork for our continued success.  I look forward to continuing our Branch’s tradition of going above and beyond in furthering the interests of the Civil Engineering Profession.  One big highlight from last year: our Branch raised and/or contributed $16,000 toward our Branch Scholarships!  What a way to promote the next generation of Civil Engineers. 

I would like to begin with sharing some information that is crucial to our Branch, from a financial standpoint.  That said, there are no changes that you will see as a general member; all the additional costs to the Branch will be covered in the current meeting cost.  We have all become accustomed to attending our monthly meetings at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Addison, and this will continue.  It is a well-placed central location.  However, as our economy continues to improve, costs are increasing.  Beginning in January, our rates at the hotel will be increasing 5% for our meals.  You have surely noticed the new paid parking and valet system in place at the hotel.  Again, beginning in January the hotel will begin directly charging the Branch for parking.  In an effort to speed your process of arrival to the meeting, we elected to pay this cost directly to the hotel as a flat fee, rather than require each member to pay as they arrive.  Our A/V costs are also expected to increase.  I implore our members to attend our monthly meetings; the larger our attendance, the lower our cost per person becomes.  We are committed to securing worthwhile presentations to encourage your attendance. 

We have assembled a fantastic and diverse group of officers and committee chairs this year.  Some are veterans, some returning after a year or two off, and we have yet others who are brand new to a leadership role.  Please give your support (and patience) to our volunteer leaders as the year progresses.  As is tradition, we held our leadership kick-off meeting in mid-October where officers and chairs were able to share goals and ideas for the upcoming year.  Some of these goals include:

•        Promotion of the ASCE Dream Big film premier at the Perot Museum - http://www.asce.org/dream-big/
•        Holding a fun and memorable golf tournament
•        Partnering with our local student chapters hosting events
•        Promote our local Future City teams and programs
•        Publicize the ISI/ASCE Envision Program to our local municipalities
•        Investigate hosting the Regions 3/6/7 Leadership Conference (MRLC)

If you would like to know more about what we have planned for the year, reach out to me, or any other officer or chairperson.  Better yet, attend our monthly meetings to be sure you don’t miss an announcement of interest to you. 

Our next Branch meeting will be held on Monday November 14^th and is an ASCE-SAME Dallas Post joint meeting.  Please welcome our sister organization of active, reserve and retired military service members helping to secure our nation.

See you at the meeting,

Frank Pugsley, PE
President
ASCE Dallas Branch, 2016-2017