• Save the Date! Let’s Make a Difference in Chicago
  
  National Capital Younger Member Forum Defeats ASCE National Headquarters Staff
  
  Membership
  
  
  A New Source of News
  
  Participate in ASCE's 2007 Issues Survey
  
  SPAG Update
  
  Oregon Section Environmental and Water Resources Group Receive EWRI Award
  
  Local Structural Technical Group and SEI Chapter Chair Retreat
  
  2006-2007 Conferences
  
  ASCE Offers Live P.E. Exam Review Course on the Web
  
  Continuing Education Webinars
  
  Mark Your Calendar!
  
  
• ASCE

Sunday, October 22, 2006

7:30 A.M. — 5:00 P.M.

Rebuilding Together, location to be determined.

The ASCE Committee on Volunteer Community Service and Rebuilding Together®, an organization devoted to revitalizing houses for low-income homeowners, proudly announces their fourth annual community service event at the Annual Conference.  Last year’s event in Los Angeles involved installing an indoor ramp, painting, outdoor bench and table replacement, repairing damaged bridge railings, and more.

Don’t miss this opportunity to put your engineering skills to work for a good cause and help us make a difference in Chicago! 

If you are interested in participating, please contact Alicia Karwoski at 800-548-2723 ext. 6324 or akarwoski@asce.org.  Look for more details on the Web and in the Section Informant as they become available. 

It is 3 PM on Friday afternoon in Reston, VA. The skies are quiet, but for the crackle of thunder and stinging crash of lightning. Around the DC area, 15 young engineers are e-mailing each other, discussing strategies to defeat the ASCE National Headquarters staff in a ferocious competition. “We can do it,” they type to each other, “but we must do it together, and we must wear yellow, and we must pull our socks up to our knees.”

Meanwhile back at ASCE Headquarters, 18 brave staff members are acutely aware that the onslaught is coming. They have prepared all week for this moment. The only thing keeping them from their destiny is the downpour beyond the bricks and mortar which house them. They pray and hope, begging for the rain assaulting their windows to subside.

It is 3:30. The rain has stopped.

ASCE National Staff arrive at the field of battle an hour before the National Capital Section Younger Member Forum. As they take the field, a Headquarters staff member holds in his hands the gauntlet which will be thrown down between the combatants as both sides prepare to display their domination.

The proverbial gauntlet is thrown to the ground, only to bounce back into the hands of its possessor. It is red. It is round. It bounces. It is a kickball.

And let the games begin.  It is 18 of the National staff’s bravest combatants squared off against 15 of the Washington, DC area’s most voracious kickballers, who just happen to also be, engineers. They are members of the local ASCE Younger Member Forum, also known as “Civil Disobedience.”

As the rain departed and the skies cleared, a pitch is rolled. An aggressive member of the Headquarters staff approaches, kicks, and the battle commences. With epithets and put-downs being hurled like so many              plumb-bobs across the field at the other side, ASCE National takes an early lead on a Katie Gorscak kick to start things off.

However, too little too late? Was it too little too early? No. It was too little, period. ASCE National was only able to muster one more run and fell to the local, young upstart engineers, 14-2.

At the next meeting of the National Capital Section YMF, a trophy will be presented by ASCE National to the victors by a humbled ASCE National staff. And rumors are abounding that from a meeting of local Civil Engineers, another kickball game may emerge, should they have the courage for a rematch.

What’s in it for you?

Perhaps a local kickball game is just the way to jumpstart your Section’s participation, networking and all-around morale. For two years, that is just what The National Capital Section Younger Member Forum team, Civil Disobedience, has been doing. With the creation of a local kickball team through the World Adult Kickball Association (www.worldkickball.com) , local Washington area engineers have created a closeknit network of friends who have helped them to find jobs and meet other engineers while having fun (yes, engineers can be athletes, too). The activity also assists with brainstorming for recruitment and fundraising.

Start a kickball team in your area, or just a game, and watch your network grow. With summer just around the corner, perhaps a kickball game is just the way to improve lagging participation. The guarantee: low intensity, low risk, low skill, low expectation fun. Words foreign in the day-to-day life of an engineer, may be just what the doctor ordered.

Nominate an Outstanding Membership Chair

Your Section/Branch Membership Chair can be key in the success of the Membership Drive, as well as membership growth and retention.  Now is the time to recognize your Membership Chair for his/her hard work by submitting a nomination for the 2006 Outstanding Membership Chair Award.

The winner and the Section/Branch, selected by the ASCE Membership Committee will each receive $250.  In addition, the winner will be honored at the 2007 Leadership Conferences.

Nomination forms are due July 15 and are available online at www.asce.org/inside/files/doc/2004OutsMemChairNomForm1.doc or by contacting Susan Blodgett at (703) 295-6008 or sblodgett@asce.org.

Tell ASCE What Matters Most to You and Your Members

ASCE’s products, services and resources are designed to meet the civil engineering needs at all levels and in a variety of specialties.  We want to know what specific interests and professional needs will maximize the benefit of membership.  Tell your members to watch their in-box over the next three months for portions of ASCE’s Personal Interest Inventory.  For every section completed, they will be entered to win various iPod products.  Members can start filling out their Personal Interest Inventory by visiting www.asce.org/interests.

You and Your Members Save with GEICO

Good news! Our partnership with GEICO means members can save significantly on auto insurance, over and above GEICO’s highly competitive rates, and still receive outstanding service and the financial stability of a company rated “A++” by A.M. Best. Click here or call (800) 368-2734 for a free rate quote today.

Recognizing Excellence

It is not too early to submit nominations for the 2007 selection cycle!  The deadline to receive nominations for the Casagrande, Construction Management Award, Kapp, Middlebrooks, Peck Award, Seed Medal, and Terzaghi Award is August 15th.    

For complete information on this and all Society awards, please visit www.asce.org/awards on the Web. Help ASCE reward great achievements and technical merit! 

Welcome Students Who Have Recently Upgraded

It is the perfect time of year to welcome newly graduated Student Members who have upgraded to Associate or Affiliate Member to your Section or Branch. Use membership database to identify these members.Contact them with a personal e-mail, phone call or letter.  Invite them to attend a meetings, other activity or to participate on a committee. 

To identify these members, look for Associate Members and Affiliate Members with recent grade dates. Those 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 2005 and an election date in September 2003 joined ASCE as a Student Member in 2003, recently graduated and transferred to Associate Member grade in June.

Recruit New Members

First ASCE gave you the iPods for recruiting new members.  Then you loaded them up with your favorite songs using iTunes gift cards.  Now, ASCE wants to fuel your summer by giving away 10 $50 gas cards.  Remember, each person sponsored who joins ASCE earns an entry into the drawing.  This Drive is vital to ASCE.  In fact, it’s one of the most effective ways we bring in new members. Help your colleagues discover the professional benefits of ASCE membership and the contributions it can make to their success. 

Visit www.ascedrive.org to start recruiting today!

Do you know a Membership Champion?

ASCE needs your help to launch its newest program to grow our membership and increase the prestige of our Society.  The ASCE Membership Division is implementing a new program called “ASCE Champions.”  This program targets exceptional members at government agencies and corporations to promote ASCE within their companies by engaging potential members and facilitating the participation of existing ones.  Champions represent the personal “face” of ASCE within an organization.  They will act as a company liaison to ASCE, increasing the Society’s visibility at the grassroots level.  They will also work closely with membership chairs.

Tasks a Champion may perform are:

• Ask prospective members to join ASCE

• Remind current members to renew on time

• Invite members to join an ASCE Institute, Section/Branch or Younger Member Group

• Notify current/prospective members of upcoming events such as the Annual Conference, the next Section/Branch meeting or a workshop in their area

• Distribute information about key services and programs ASCE offers and how members can participate

• Inform current members about opportunities to participate on committees

Do you or your members know any champions?  Please send their name, e-mail and company to Doris Lewis at dlewis@asce.org before July 15.  The program will begin in fall 2006.

ASCE’s podcast, Civil E. Speaking, is a great new source for news about the civil engineering profession.  With subjects ranging from the 2006 hurricane season predictions to innovations in transportation financing, Civil E. Speaking is sure to hold the interests of all members of the profession.  Please tell everyone at your Section/Branch meetings to view it out at http://www.asce.org/podcasts. 

Also, if you have any questions or comments about the podcast please e-mail them to govwash@asce.org, or leave a message in Civil E. Speaking’s voice mail box by calling 202-789-7853.

Time is running out to help chart the Society’s public policy course for 2007!  Submit your views by completing the Priority Issues Survey.

Results from the survey help the Committee on Government Affairs and the Board of Direction determine the Society’s public policy priorities for the coming year.

Please note:  You will need your six digit ASCE member ID number to complete the survey.  If you need help identifying your ID number, call 800-548-2723 for assistance.

Thanks for your input!  Please encourage your fellow ASCE members to participate by announcing this at your next meeting.

Questions?  Contact ASCE Government Relations at govwash@asce.org or 202-789-7850.

It’s easy!

Visit http://www.asce.org/govrel/survey.cfm to complete the online survey before Friday, July 14.

If you have questions :

Zones  1 and 2: please contact Lauren Bailey, (202) 789-7845, lbailey@asce.org, or  

Zones  3 and 4: please contact Laura Humphrey, (703) 295-6407, lhumphrey@asce.org.   

They are available to review your media or public relations materials, assist you in developing a media list, or offer advice on how to keep your local legislators and government officials informed on the issues that impact your community and the civil engineering profession.

Thank you for being part of the 2006 SPAG program . Your efforts are what make the program  successful!

The ASCE Oregon Section Environmental and Water Resource Group was the recipient of the EWRI Outstanding Technical Group of the Year at EWRI’s 2006 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress held in Omaha, Nebraska in May. Van McKay, who currently serves as President, accepted the award onsite at the Congress. 

The Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) is arranging a retreat for all Local Structural Technical Group chairs and SEI Chapter Chairs in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 6-7, 2006. 

This is an opportunity to share ideas about programming, to learn what’s being done in answer to recent disasters, to help new and smaller groups grow, and to hear how various problems are being solved in other parts of the country. There will also be time to brainstorm about issues, concerns and efforts in structural engineering in general.

SEI will sponsor one representative from each local Structural Technical Group or SEI Chapter to attend the retreat. Sponsorship will follow standard ASCE travel reimbursement policy which covers airfare plus $100.00 in daily expenses for each of the two meeting days.

Please e-mail Mary Ellen Saville, SEI Administrator, at mesaville@asce.org for more information about this gathering.

2007 Ports™ “30 Years of Sharing Ideas…1977-2007”:  Join us March 25-28, 2007 in San Diego, CA.  This will be the 11th in a series of international port and harbor development specialty conferences held on a tri-annual basis.  The conference will feature technical short courses, plenary session, concurrent technical sessions, exhibition and technical field tours to sites of interest in San Diego Harbor.  

For additional information visit us at:  http://www.portsconference.org

Coastal Sediments 07: The Intercontinental Hotel is open and ready for our business!  Be sure to join us in New Orleans, May 13-17, 2007 for an international exchange of information among coastal engineers, geologists, marine scientists, shallow water oceanographers and others interested in the physical processes of coastal sediments transport and morphology change.  For additional information visit us at:  http://www.asce.org/conferences/cs07

The 9th International Conference on Applications of Advanced Technology in Transportation (AATT) 2006:  Registration Now Open!  Transportation professionals from around the world and from public and private sectors— engineering firms, automotive and aerospace companies, transportation agencies, consultants, researchers, and educators—will find this conference an excellent learning forum to examine an array of innovative technologies to solve various transportation problems in the areas of infrastructure, operations and planning, and information systems.  As well as to discover innovative strategies to address such problems as congestion, safety, security, data collection and management, asset deterioration and management, planning and modeling and effective implementation of advanced information technologies in the lifecycle of transportation systems. 

For additional information visit us at: http://www.asce.org/conferences/AATT06/welcome.cfm

Mark your calendar!  Join General Barry R. McCaffrey, USA (Ret.) to explore "Surviving the Future" as he delivers his keynote address at the 2006 Annual Civil Engineering Conference.  This year's conference will take place at the Westin Chicago River North Hotel October 19-21, 2006.  Technical sessions addressing the issues of surviving future natural disasters and planning for adequate security to maintain public safety have been planned.  A student program as well as several technical tours will be offered.  Please visit us at: http://content.asce.org/conferences/asce2006/.

Pipelines 2007: Boston

Online Abstract Submission is Open!

Abstracts Due: September 15, 2006

The ASCE International Pipeline Conference 2007 is the ideal forum for attendees to increase their knowledge and connect with fellow pipeline professionals. The theme for this international event is Advancements & Experiences with Trenchless Pipeline Projects. The conference will highlight the evolution of trenchless products, processes, and projects, and emphasize associated design, permitting and construction considerations.

For additional information and online abstract submission, please visit http://content.asce.org/conferences/pipelines2007/

ASCE will offer a live P.E. Exam Review Course on the web to assist members in preparing for the Fall 2006 P.E. Exam. The course will be presented as a series of 12 two-hour sessions held over a six-week period, with the first session taking place on September 12, 2006. ASCE's very popular live web seminar format will be used. You pay a single site registration fee and an unlimited number of individuals can attend at your site.

ASCE Sections and Branches may wish to consider the possibility of registering for and hosting the live P.E. Exam Review Course on the Web and charging individual members a nominal fee to attend the course at your site.

For additional information on the course or to register, please go to http://www.asce.org/conted/distancelearning/peexamreview.cfm.

Tuesday, August 1, 2006 ~ Noon - 1:30pm Eastern Time  
An Introduction to Roadside Delineation and Safety Systems Newly Updated

Wednesday, August 2, 2006 ~ Noon - 1:00pm Eastern Time 
Renovation of Building Facades New Webinar

Tuesday, August 8, 2006 ~ Noon - 1:00pm Eastern Time 
Renovation of Pre-Engineered Buildings New Webinar

Wednesday, August 9, 2006 ~ Noon - 1:00pm Eastern Time 
Delegation: Why Put Off Until Tomorrow What Someone Else Can Do Today?

Tuesday, August 15, 2006 ~ Noon - 1:30pm Eastern Time 
Tort Liability ~Part I: The Public Agency Perspective New Webinar

Wednesday, August 16, 2006 ~ Noon - 1:00pm Eastern Time  
Satisfying Customers (Clients)... What Does it Take?

Tuesday, August 22, 2006 ~ Noon - 1:30pm Eastern Time  
Tort Liability ~Part II: The Civil Engineer's Role as a Witness New Webinar

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 ~ Noon - 1:30pm Eastern Time 
Speaking to Make Good Things Happen: Preparing, Presenting and Following Up

Tuesday, August 29, 2006 ~ Noon - 1:00pm Eastern Time 
Renovation of Slabs on Grade

Wednesday, August 30, 2006 ~ Noon - 1:00pm Eastern Time  ßMgmt
Scope Creep: Preventing and Resolving

2006

July 15:  Outstanding Membership Chair Deadline

              Deadline for Membership Champions

August 1: Younger Member Employer Recognition Nominations are due.

August 4: Deadline for submittal of State Public Affairs Grant Activity Report to ASCE Washington Office.

August 15: Nomination deadline for Casagrande, Construction Management, Kapp, Middlebrooks, Peck, Seed and Terzaghi Awards

September 14:  Membership Audio Conference/Webinar

October 30: Nominations for the Workshops for Section and Branch Leaders and the Younger Member Council Meetings are due.

Nominations for the National Outstanding Section/Branch Award are due.

November 1: Submission deadline for the Outstanding Section and Branch Newsletter Award.

November 3: SPAG applications due

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

The Geographic Services Department (GSD) is charged with providing support to the local units of the Society and ensuring effective coordination and cooperation among the Regions, Sections, Branches, Younger Member Groups and Staff. This newsletter is produced to help meet this charge. Questions, comments and suggestions regarding this newsletter are welcomed and should be directed to Jennifer Lawrence at: jlawrence@asce.org.