• 2008 Workshops for Section and Branch Leaders
  
  Ask Counselor Tara (ACT)
  
  Region Fundraising Idea
  
  Membership
  
  Taking the Report Card to the Next Level-Grassroots Tools to Drive Community Action on Infrastructure Improvement
  
  Design Squad Outreach Grants Available! DEADLINE EXTENDED
  
  K-12 Outreach Volunteers Needed in Louisiana!
  
  Listserv Available for Continuing and New History & Heritage Section Chairs
  
  2008 Conferences
  
  Continuing Education Webinars
  
  Mark Your Calendar!
  
  
  Region Boards of Governors
  
  Committee on Geographic Units
  
  Executives
  
  Geographic Services Department
  
  Contact Information
  
• ASCE

Nomination forms for the Workshop for Section and Branch Leaders were due back in October, however, Geographic Services will continue to accept nominations. Sections without Branches may send two reimbursable delegates and Sections with Branches may send one reimbursable delegate. Each Branch may send one reimbursable delegate.

The dates for the Multi-Region Leadership Conferences are as follows:
Regions 1, 2, 4, & 5-January 11-12, Baltimore

Regions 3, 6, & 7-January 25-26, Austin, TX

Regions 8 & 9-February 8-9, Las Vegas

Couselor Tara,

Our Section is reviewing a contract for a hotel where we will be holding our Annual Section Meeting.  Are there specific things that should be included in the contract?

Negotiation of contracts with hotels, vendors, or service providers is a common task of Section and Branch officers. Contractual agreements offered by such providers may range from a short statement of obligations to a lengthy, highly detailed tome, including page after page of boilerplate language and legalese. Short of obtaining a degree in contract law, how can one be sure that a contract carries the necessary elements to ensure proper performance and protect your Section or Branch’s interest?

Association law attorney Jefferson C. Glassie suggests that association officers follow a method he terms the WIPIT approach to make a general assessment of a contract’s acceptability. The acronym “WIPIT” stands for the five provisions Glassie feels are most central to an agreement for products or services: Warranty, Intellectual property, Payment, Indemnification, and Termination.

To read the rest of the article , visit WIPIT

Region 1 is offering companies the opportunity to be featured on their Region’s Web site (http://region1.asce.org/). For a contribution of $250/year a firm or individual's business card/logo, with hyperlink to their homepage will be posted on the Region 1 Web site. Sponsorship funds will help defray Region 1 operating expenses and future event costs associated with advancing the goals of the Society.

Renew today to be entered in ASCE’s last renewal drawing

Congratulations to Henry E. Goodhue Jr., P.E., M.ASCE for renewing early and winning the 80GB Apple iPod with Video!  Remind your members they have one last chance to win a prize in ASCE’s Renewal drawings. How can they enter to win a Dell Latitude D430 Laptop or a Sharp AQUOS 46” LCD TV? Simply renew by December 14. 

Member-Get-A-Member December Drawing

Do you know someone who would be a great addition to ASCE?  New coworker?  Recent graduate?  When you recruit a new member, and he/she joins ASCE before Dec. 31, you will be entered to win your choice of a Nintendo Wii or $250.  Visit www.ascedrive.org today and tell us who you would like to recruit and we will take care of the rest!

ASCE has partnered with Engineers Without Borders-USA

ASCE is proud to introduce its partnership with Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA), a non-profit, humanitarian organization that helps developing communities worldwide build sustainable life-improving infrastructure.  ASCE members can renew or join EWB-USA professional membership on your ASCE renewal at a 40 percent discount and help to build a better global quality of life. 

Point your members to more information at www.asce.org/ewb or tell them to join today when they renew by visiting www.asce.org/renewal/.

Apply to become a prestigious ASCE Congressional Fellow

ASCE’s Congressional Fellowship Program offers unique opportunities to become directly involved in the process of crafting federal legislation and advising members of Congress.  The Federal Legislature deals with a multitude of technical issues, many of which directly impact how civil engineers conduct their professional practice.  Become a Congressional staffer for a year and be the voice of your profession.  Encourage your members to apply for this unique opportunity by visiting www.asce.org/pressroom/publicpolicy/cfprogram.cfm. 

FTP Hint-Contact December Graduates

With graduation nearing, get prepared to welcome newly graduated Student Members who have upgraded to Associate or Affiliate Member to your Section or Branch. Use membership data to identify these members and contact them with a personal e-mail, phone call or letter to invite them to attend meetings and other activities or to participate on a committee.

To identify these members, look for Associate Members and Affiliate Members with recent grade dates. Members whose grade date does not equal their election date joined ASCE as a Student Member and recently transferred to Associate or Affiliate Member grade. For example, an Associate Member with a grade date in June 2003 and an election date in September 2001 joined ASCE as a Student Member in 2001, recently graduated, and transferred to Associate Member grade in June.

If you have any questions about how to use or access membership data via File Transfer Protocol (FTP), contact Michael Cook at 800.548.ASCE (2723) ext. 6121, 703.295.6121 or mcook@asce.org.

Important deadline approaching

February 1 is the date on which nominations are due for younger member awards:  Collingwood Prize, Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement, Daniel W. Mead Prize for Younger Members and the Younger Member Group Award.  Comprehensive information about these awards can be found at www.asce.org/awards. Can’t figure out which award your candidate fits?  There’s a brand new tool on the Web that will help.  Visit www.asce.org/awards and click on What Award Am I Eligible For?

Liquid Assets, a new documentary and outreach program being produced by Penn State Public Broadcasting and sponsored by ASCE, aims to educate the public on the condition of drinking water, wastewater and storm water infrastructure in the U.S. and drive community action for its improvement. Using the Liquid Assets resources as a model, ASCE will host a day-long, interactive workshop to help civil engineers and related professionals plan and conduct effective community outreach programs focused on infrastructure improvement. These one-day workshops will take place Jan. 10 in Baltimore, Jan. 24 in Austin and Feb. 7 in Las Vegas. Topics to be covered include planning and executing effective community outreach program, working with media partners, funding your program and other related topics. Registration is free but space is limited. Advance registration is required.

For more information on the training session contact Katie Gorscak at (703) 295-6409 or kgorscak@asce.org. For more information on the Liquid Assets program, or to see a video preview, visit www.liquidassets.psu.edu.

Through the support of the United Engineering Foundation (UEF), grants are now available to support the implementation of outreach programs and events in association with the newly televised PBS series Design Squad.  Grants may also be used to conduct training workshops for engineers and/or educators using Design Squad resources.  Programs must be multidisciplinary in nature and the grant recipient must contribute direct or indirect matching funds. To learn more about Design Squad, visit http://pbskids.org/designsquad/ Applications can be downloaded at http://www.asce.org/kids/ or by emailing outreach@asce.org The extended deadline is Friday, December 14, 2007.

ASCE is co-sponsoring the Louisiana Children’s Museum City Structures outreach event on Saturday, March 15, from , 11:00a.m-3:00 p.m. ASCE members in the New Orleans area are invited to help introduce children to the excitement of engineering with activities from ASCE-sponsored outreach programs such as Zoom Into Engineering, Building Big, FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman, and Design Squad. Interested members should email outreach@asce.org with City Structures in the subject heading.

ASCE has a listserv for the ASCE History & Heritage Community. This listserv is here for you to discuss history and heritage-related issues, ask questions of each other, distribute history & heritage-related information, etc.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a listserv is defined as “…a small program that automatically sends messages to multiple e-mail addresses on a mailing list. When someone subscribes to a mailing list, the listserv will automatically add the address and distribute future e-mail messages to that address along with all the others on the list.”

To join this History & Heritage listserv, go to http://lists.asce.org/history/  and you will be directed to the listserv subscription page. Then, just follow the subscription instructions on this page. Once you sign up, you should receive an email from @lists.asce.org asking you to confirm your subscription.

When someone else takes over your position as H&H chair or Historian, please let them know about the listserv and how they may join. At this time, you may elect to be removed from the listserv or remain.

EWRI invites Section & Branch members to the annual World Environmental & Water Resources Congress. This year, the event will be held in Honolulu, May 12-16. There will be a strong Section & Branch presence, as usual, including a welcome reception on May 12. This reception will feature a traditional Hawaiian Hula presentation, including the performance of Mele Oli (an introductory chant) and Hula Kahiko (the traditional form of hula dance practices prior to contact with westerners). The performance at the Section & Branch Reception intends to express the theme of this Congress, Ahupua'a, which is the ancient Hawaiian system of sustainable land management. While the reception is included for both Full and Student Registrants at the Congress, additional tickets can be purchased for $25.  

For more information on the Section & Branch Reception, and the EWRI Congress in general, please visit http://content.asce.org/conferences/ewri2008/.

Jan 3: The Modern Roundabout As A Traffic Signal Alternative, Part I**

*Now 90 mins**

Jan 8: Design of Steel Lintels in Masonry Walls

Jan 9: Monitoring Project Budgets and Schedules: Earned Value Method

Jan 10: The Modern Roundabout As A Traffic Signal Alternative, Part I **Now 90 mins**

Jan 15: Marketing 101: Sleazy Activity Or Mutually Beneficial Process?

Jan 16: Writing: Producing Action-Oriented Documents ~ Part I

Jan 17: Signalized Intersection Safety

Jan 22: Foundations for Metal Building Systems

Jan 23: Writing: Producing Action-Oriented Documents ~ Part II

Jan 24: Odor Management at Solid Waste Facilities New Webinar

Jan 25: Negotiating Better Engineering and Architectural Contracts

Jan 29: Quality Management in the Design Organization New Webinar

Jan 30: Effective Presentation Skills for Engineers: When You Talk, Is Anyone Listening? New Webinar

Jan 31:Design of Moment-Resisting Foundations for Pre-Engineering Buildings

To register for a webinar, please visit http://www.asce.org/webinar/list

Jan. 15: Nomination deadline for Walter LeFevre Award

Feb. 1:

• Nominations are due for National ASCE Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement, the Daniel Mead Prize for Younger Members,the Young Government Civil Engineer Award, the Younger Member Group Award and the Collingwood Prize.

March 1: Nomination deadline for Civil Government Award, Edmund Friedman Professional Recognition Award, Daniel W. Mead Prize for Students, John I. Parcel-Leif J. Sverdrup Civil Engineering Management Award

April 1: Nomination deadline for Harold R. Peyton Award for Cold Regions Engineering

June 1:

• Deadline for submission for the Outstanding Section and Branch Web Award Competition
• Nominations due for Ralph B. Peck Award, H. Bolton Seed Medal and the Professional Practice Ethics and Leadership Award

Aug. 1: Nominations due for Younger Member Employer Recognition Award

Aug. 1: Submission deadline for the State Public Affairs Grant Activity Report

Aug. 15: Nominations due for Casagrande, Construction Management, Kapp and Terzaghi Awards

Oct. 1:

• Nomination deadline for Distinguished Members, OPAL and Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prizes
• Outstanding Membership Champion nominations due

Oct. 30:

• Nominations due for the Workshops for Section and Branch Leaders and the Younger Member Council Meetings .
• Nominations due for the National Outstanding Section/Branch Award.

Nov. 1:

• Submission deadline for the Outstanding Section and Branch Newsletter Award

• Nomination deadline for Arid Lands, Bartholomew, Bechtel Pipeline, Bechtel, Jr. Energy, Bickel, Biot, Can-Am, Cermak, Chow, History and Heritage, Computing in CE, Croes, Duke, Einstein, Freese, Freudenthal, Greeley, Shortridge Hardesty, Herring, Hilgard, Hinds, Hoffman, Horner, Howard, Hydraulic Structures, Innovation in CE, International Coastal, Laurie, Lynn, Masters, Middlebrooks, Moffatt-Nichol, Moisseiff, Newmark, Norman, Peurifoy, President’s Medal, Reese, Rickey, Roebling, Hunter Rouse, Rowland, Scanlan, Smith, State-of-the-Art, Stevens, Surveying and Mapping, Terzaghi, Tipton, Turner, von Karman, Wellington, Winter, Wisely.

Nov. 9: State Public Affairs Grant applications due

Nov. 30: Section Annual Reports are due at ASCE World Headquarters.

             Region Annual Reports are due at ASCE World Headquarters.