January 2017 – President’s Message
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – JANUARY 2017 NEWSLETTER
President’s Message
by Lorraine F. Htoo, PE, LEED AP, M. ASCE, President, San Francisco Section
Greetings everyone! 2017 is here and like every new year, there are resolutions we make for change, growth, and renewed hope. Already, we have braved storms, but we worry a little less about the drought. We have had to sit in more traffic but we are thankful to be headed to work.
Last year brought us steps forward with the Sustainability Committee. We held our first Order of the Engineer event. And momentum continued with the Section’s new Structural Engineers Institute.
2017 brings North Coast Branches’ annual Crab Feed. Now that crab negotiations are behind us, we look forward to this greatly attended event.
The new year also brings us the much anticipated IMAX release of Dream Big: Engineering Our World, which kicks off our Engineer’s Week activities for the year. On February 17, 2017 the Section, Branches, YMFs and other groups will participate in a gala event at the Tech in San Jose to celebrate the release of Dream Big. Our red carpet event promises to put the Oscars to shame. Our branches outside of the Bay Area have plans to for local theater releases throughout the year. Be on the lookout for announcements. We encourage membership to continue to spread the word, especially to the younger generations and express their joy in their profession.
This year, Daren Gee, former ASCE Section President and current Transportation Engineering Manager at SCVTA, will be the Section’s representative for the BART oversight committee. The committee was formed last year to provide independent and public oversight over the expenditure funds from sale of Bart’s general obligation funds. The ballot measure passed in last November and Daren is steadfast with his participation with this committee.
Our Section and Region Infrastructure Report Cards are under update. News on the release of both report cards to be forthcoming. With their releases, we will see our infrastructure for Water, Wastewater, Goods Movement, Roadways, Bridges and Structures, Transit, Parks, and Urban Stormwater and Flood Control measure up to the previous ones.
This year’s Region 9 Infrastructure Symposium and Awards Ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on March 31, 2017.
If you have not renewed your membership already, remember to take time now to do so. Encourage your peers to join ASCE as a way to keep up with news about the profession. Check the San Francisco Section Membership box. Remember also that projects submitted for Section Award consideration must be submitted by current ASCE members. In most cases, individuals nominated for awards must also be current ASCE members. The benefits of membership greatly outweigh the annual fee when you consider the continuing education, technical resources, networking opportunities and exclusive member discounts.
Until next time!