Member Value Takes Center Stage at Board Meeting, Convention in Denver

Kwame Agyare, P.E., M.ASCE, your Region 9 Director, is a member of the San Francisco Section.  Kwame represented you at the Oct. 11-12 Board meeting in Denver, kicking off the ASCE 2018 Convention.

As always, the annual ASCE Convention was an exciting time to connect with members and ideas from all over the Society. It certainly was a great weekend in Denver! Fittingly, the Board of Direction put member value at the forefront of our meeting. We’ve been developing a strategic plan for ASCE over the past two years, and this month we voted to elevate one goal to the top of our list – the goal that “an ever-growing number of people in the civil engineering realm are members of, and engage in, ASCE.” Additionally, we voted to approve a package of expanded member benefits for the 2019 membership year. Learn more in the ASCE News story.

Our members are our top priority. Always.

Additional highlights of the Board meeting
  • The Board approved one new policy statement as well as updates to six existing policies. The new policy – Policy Statement 557 Smart Cities – expresses ASCE’s support for the integration of technology into transportation infrastructure systems and shares ASCE’s broad vision on how it should be accomplished. The six revisions are part of the standard review and update of our 173 policies on a three-year cycle. All ASCE policies can be viewed at the website.

  • The Board welcomed two guest panels as we continue to connect the decisions we make to the significant changes in civil engineering that our members are putting into practice. The first panel focused on sustainability and sustainable water use. The second discussed various ways ASCE groups and committees are protecting the public health, safety, and welfare.

  • The Board enjoyed a tour of the Panasonic Smart City Solutions site in Denver. It was a valuable look at how diverse groups of stakeholders are collaborating to use innovative technology to make communities safer, more efficient, and more connected. It was especially interesting given the Board’s work on ASCE’s Future World Vision project.

  • The Board engaged in strategic discussions focusing on sustainability with a representative of the National Renewable Energy Lab, ASCE credentialing with a representative of Civil Engineering Certification, Inc., and claims and risk management with the chair of the Society’s Task Committee on Claims Reduction and Management. 

  • The Board received an update from the Academies and voted to support and promote the Academies and Board Certification as an established way to advance the civil engineering profession.
The next Board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 23 in Orlando, FL.

Congratulations to Region 9’s 2018 Distinguished Members, inducted and honored at the ASCE 2018 Convention.

Robert E. Bachman, P.E., S.E., F.SEI, Dist.M.ASCE, a developer of modern seismic building codes

Hugo A. Loaiciga, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, Dist.M.ASCE, a pioneering researcher of the effects of climate change on aquifers

To share your views or provide ideas on how ASCE can better serve its members and the profession, please email Kwame.
                                                                        October 2018
Region 9 Director's Report