PRESIDENT’S WEBPAGE
President's Message
A Note from Adnan Javed, P.E., M. ASCE
September 09
Happy 09/09/09 Day Dear
Members and Friends...I hope you are able to celebrate today's
calendrical anomaly in a unique and memorable way. Interesting enough,
not only does the date look good in marketing promotions, but it also
represents the last set of repeating, single-digit dates that we'll see
for almost a century (until January 1, 2101), or a millennium (mark your
calendars for January 1, 3001), depending on how you want to count it.
As engineers, mathematics and science always fascinate us...did you know
that September 9th happens to be the 252nd day of the year, and 2+5+2 is
equal to loving '9'?
Perhaps we could use similar number magic to attract the curious younger
generation towards Civil Engineering. Promoting our great profession of
Civil Engineering will take a lot of work. Starting a new school year is
the perfect time to help ASCE by engaging in various outreach
activities. Let's make a pact to mark this special day (09/09/09) as a
beginning of new engineering era, where each day we will do one such
action to benefit someone using our profession. Growing up I always
admired structural engineers and thought they were cool magicians who
built amazing big structures using magical numbers. Recently I had an
opportunity to witness such an extravagant magical structural, the
Skyway Bridge during Florida Section Annual meeting. Check out inside
this month's newsletter for some exciting pictures from this trip.
Florida Section Annual Meeting had a great attendance last month in St.
Petersburg FL. I hope you enjoyed the technical sessions and networking
as much as I. Moreover, mark your calendar for year 2010 annual meeting,
which is scheduled for July in Ft. Lauderdale. I had a distinct pleasure
of meeting our own Section's Kathy Caldwell, PE, M. ASCE our recent
National President-elect. She will lead ASCE well, and I look forward to
her leadership of our society in the years to come. It is that time of
the year, when we seek our SunCoast members' help in electing next
year's (2009-10) Branch officers. We have one candidate for each
position, which means voting may be very easy. Although, please remember
you may submit a write-in candidate for any position. Please take a
moment to fill out the attached ballots, and send it to Branch Secretary
or turn them in at the September Branch meeting. The new officers will
be inducted during our October branch meeting, so please plan to attend
and congratulate next year's officers. Another way to influence the
activities of SunCoast Branch is to get more involved in a variety of
committees and social events we have throughout the year. The level of
commitment is up to you, so please do not hesitate from getting
involved. Contact any of the Branch officers, if we can answer any
questions for you to help you make a committed decision. Thank you for
your continued support of the ASCE SunCoast Branch and I look forward to
seeing you at the September Branch meeting! Sarasota County Commissioner
Joe Barbetta will be our esteemed guest speaker, please show your
support for the local leadership with an RSVP.
Adnan
Javed
AUGUST 2009
Dear
Members and Friends,
Last
month or so has been a life changing experience for me as I recently
lost my mother, Iffat Javed, to cancer. “May god bless her soul.”
She was a kind lady with a strong will power, who was my best
friend and a life-long mentor. She taught me everything about life and
made me understand how love makes the world go round. I remember finding
a renewal of my attitude towards life and the precious relationships in
it 10 years ago, when she was diagnosed with cancer. Point in mentioning
all this is life is too short; please use it to spread the language of
love and peace, especially among your family members and friends.
Cherish what you have and make the most out of it while you can.
Mentioning parents and elderly, I urge you to honor our senior citizens
this month as August 21st is the National Senior Citizens Day. Please
show appreciation for the valuable contribution of our elders to home,
family and society. We will honor our life long members for the pivotal
role they play in our SunCoast community at our meeting this month.
I
cannot believe how fast this year has gone past, as we seek nominations
for the upcoming 2009-10 fiscal year. See inside this month’s newsletter
for more information about the ASCE SunCoast Branch elections. The
induction ceremony for the new Branch executive officers will be held
during the October meeting. On behalf of the present branch executive
board I thank our wonderful members for giving us this opportunity to
serve the local engineering community.
For
those of you who will be taking the P.E. exam in October 2009 and April
2010, the PE review sessions are in full swing. Please RSVP with me at
(941) 315-0194 or
ajaved@scgov.net.
The sessions are free of charge and open to all. This is a great benefit
to our young members, and I thank each of the volunteer instructors for
their time and dedication to teach these young minds.
Next
week is the ASCE Florida Section Annual Meeting, to be held at the
Bayfront Hilton, St. Petersburg from August 20-22. Please check out the
details at www.fla-asce.org and submit your registration for this Annual
Meeting. SunCoast Branch officers will also be in attendance, therefore
please let us know if you have any business you wish for us to discuss
at the Section Board of Directors meeting. We also ask you to come and
show your support for the local Westpoint Bridge contest winners who are
gearing up to take State on August 21st in St. Petersburg.
This
month’s Branch meeting features Manatee County Commissioner Dr.
Gwendolyn Brown. She will be speaking to us about the ‘stimulating
changes in Manatee County.’ We anticipate a good turnout for this
meeting, so please be sure to RSVP early!
Thank you for your continued support of the ASCE SunCoast Branch!
Adnan
Javed
JULY 2009
Happy Fourth of July fellow members! I hope everyone had a safe and
exciting celebration of our country’s independence!
ASCE
and your SunCoast Branch have several programs to advance your knowledge
this summer and to advocate civil engineering.
For
those of you preparing for the PE Exam in October (or perhaps next
April), your SunCoast Branch is again offering a series of 2 hour PE
review sessions from August through October. Please contact me at (941)
315-0194 if you are interested in teaching or attending these review
sessions. All courses will be held from 6-8 PM at the Sarasota County
Government Building at 1001 Sarasota Center Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34240.
There is no cost to attend for the members and guests, but advance
registration for each session is requested. The PE review courses
continue to be popular with our members, which is a testament to our
volunteer instructors. We certainly appreciate all the time and effort
being donated by our volunteers to help others achieve their goal of
becoming registered professional engineers. Please see inside the
newsletter for more information regarding the PE review course classes
and schedule.
ASCE
recently unveiled a new website geared toward developing young future
engineers. Please take the time to introduce www.asceville.org to all
the children and educators you know. It’s a wonderful resource to help
young people understand what civil engineering is all about with
exciting and interesting interactive content.
ASCE
is also hosting a free seminar that is not just for the ladies. The
Women Engineer Professional Advocates Network (WEPAN) will be conducting
a second FREE personalized Webinar for ASCE members on the Knowledge
Center for those interested in research, best practices, and
professional communities dedicated to advancing women in engineering.
The WKC currently holds 600 resources including research, reports,
assessment and practice, data and statistics, policy and law, diversity,
and much more.
Please email
diversity@asce.org
if you'd like to participate in this free webinar on Monday, July 20 at
2:00 ET.
As
most of you probably already know Florida Section Annual Meeting is just
around the corner and will be from August 20-22 in St. Petersburg.
Section has great technical sessions and tours lined up for you. If you
are in need of Continuing Education Credits, the Annual Meeting can
provide all the credits needed. To register, please visit the web site (www.fla-asce.org).
Thank you for your continued support of the ASCE SunCoast Branch!
Adnan
Javed
JUNE 2009
Happy Father’s Day (and parents’ day in general) fellow members! The day
is celebrated around the world to salute to the greatness of parenthood,
and is a wonderful occasion for families to come together. Please make
sure to take a moment this month to say thank you to your parents for
all they have done for you and your siblings. On a similar note, it is
an exciting time for our own Sonya, who recently gave birth to a baby
boy named Jonah, and is now a proud mommy of our newest honorary member.
To welcome Jonah to our group, we decided to give him the honorary title
of SunCoast baby of the year. I cannot believe summer is already here
and so is the rainy season. Despite heartbreaking weather forecast about
a hint of severe thunderstorms on May 15th, it was awesome to have a
successful and GREAT golf tournament! Having a group of approximately100
golfers at Bobcat Trail to show their support for the SunCoast Branch
was encouraging and a blessing given current tough economical times. A
big thank you goes to our newly appointed Golf Committee - coach Eric
for planning a great event, million dollar man Luis for taking care of
our sponsors, papa Chris for the delicious meals and Santa Zach for the
great gifts. My hats off to them for a well organized and fun filled
tournament. Although none of this would have been possible without the
support, good wills and generous donations from our corporate sponsors
and branch members…you are the best.
Highlighting Branch’s other activities and achievements, I am proud to
report to you that the Branch now has new and updated Bylaws, electronic
copy of which is available on our website. SunCoast Branch officially
adopted these Bylaws starting June 1, 2009. Also wanted to extend my
warmest wishes to Mike Elfers for making this year’s Math Aces contest
another successful event and heartiest thanks to all the volunteers and
supported who helped us. WestPoint Bridge Contest Committee hosted the
3rd SunCoast Annual Contest on May 16th at the Sarasota Square Mall. The
top 3 winners in two divisions - Middle School Division (grades 6-8) and
High School Division (grades 9-12), won cash prizes totaling $1,750.
Local winner from each division will be invited to compete at the Final
State round in St. Petersburg in August during the Florida Section
Annual Meeting. Paula, Andy, Richard and Sonya did great with organizing
this year’s contest. We thank you for your time and dedication. As most
of you probably already know Florida Section Annual Meeting is just
around the corner and will be from August 20-22 in St. Petersburg.
Section has great technical sessions and tours lined up for you. If you
are in need of Continuing Education Credits, the Annual Meeting can
provide all the credits needed. To register, please visit the web site (www.fla-asce.org).
For those of you preparing for that little test coming up in October (or
perhaps next April), your SunCoast Branch is again offering a series of
2 hour PE review sessions from August through October. Please contact me
at (941) 315-0194 if you are interested in teaching or attending these
review sessions. All courses will be held from 6-8 PM at the Sarasota
County Government Building at 1001 Sarasota Center Blvd, Sarasota, FL
34240. There is no cost to attend for the members but advance
registration for each session is requested. The PE review courses
continue to be popular with our members, which is a testament to our
volunteer instructors. We certainly appreciate all the time and effort
being donated by our volunteers to help others achieve their goal of
becoming registered professional engineers. Please see inside the
newsletter for more information regarding the PE review course classes
and schedule. We anticipate a good turnout for this month’s meeting, so
please be sure to RSVP early. Thank you for your continued support of
SunCoast and hope to see you on June 18th! Last but not least, please
remember to vote…
Adnan Javed
MAY 2009
SUNCOAST BRANCH NEEDS YOUR HELP!!!
Dear
Members and Patrons, although SunCoast Branch’s 14th Annual Charity Golf
Tournament is less than two weeks away, we can still use your help in
fundraising for this year’s major charity event. While our community
faces an economical recession, your Branch is striving hard to continue
to make a difference through local contributions by promoting our
outreach activities including annual scholarships for local High School
and College students in the field of science and engineering, and
contests like annual Math Aces, Toothpick Bridge, Regional Science Fair
and WestPoint Bridge Building to name a few. Please remember your
sponsorship of this event is paramount to continuing our engineering
outreach and education program to the local community. Your generous
support is greatly appreciated by all involved and those who will
directly benefit from this fundraising event. All donors will be
recognized at the golf tournament. Your donation is tax deductible. ASCE
SunCoast Branch is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization and our Tax ID
number is 85-8014931170C-9. I hope everyone had a very Happy National
Volunteer Week (April 27 – May 1, 2009). What a perfect opportunity to
thank you - our members and volunteers - for your time and talent as you
assist your Branch reach our goals. A personal special thanks goes to
our board and sub-committee members for their dedication. Our gratitude
is doubled because we recognize that you have families, jobs, friends
and other important commitments vying for your attention. We appreciate
your loyalty and support to your Branch to fulfill our mission to serve
you better. Winston Churchill so rightly said that, “They make a living
by what they get, but they make a life by what they give.”
ASCE
national elections are in June 2009 and it is easy to vote online. So
please remember to VOTE! Only voting members with a valid e-mail address
on record as of May 15th, 2009, will receive an electronic signature via
e-mail starting June 15th. So please visit the website and update your
email address. As you may know, Kathy Caldwell is on the ballot for the
next President of ASCE. As the past president of Florida Section and the
Past Director of Region 5, Kathy has done a tremendous job for ASCE. Her
leadership has been very valuable to ASCE. We wish her the very best in
the upcoming elections. Florida Section ASCE will be presenting the
following awards: Engineer of the Year Award, Young Engineer of the Year
Award, Government Engineer of the Year Award, Branch of the Year Award,
Project of the Year Award, Student of the Year Award, Student
Outstanding Service Award, Graduate Student of the Year Award, and
Faculty Advisor of the Year at the 2009 Annual Meeting in St.
Petersburg, Florida. All nominations for awards must be received by June
1st, 2009. Check out the FSACE website for additional information,
http://www.fla-asce.org/. I
encourage you to submit your nominations to me before June 1st, so your
Branch can endorse the nomination and submit it to the Section on your
behalf. Our May meeting is a joint meeting with FES and will be held on
May 13th at the Holiday Inn Lakewood Ranch. Join us and learn from
Stuart D. Goldenberg of Shields and Company about investing in these
difficult economic times! Thank you for your continued support of ASCE
SunCoast Branch. And we look forward to your help in making this year’s
fun-filled golf tournament a great success!
Adnan Javed
April 2009
On Behalf of SunCoast Branch – Happy Earth Day and Easter greetings
fellow members!
First, I want to thank our members who took time to send in their
nominations for 2009 annual branch awards. Your participation is highly
appreciated! Secondly, planning is well underway for our 14th Annual
Charity Golf Tournament scheduled for Friday afternoon on May 15th at
North Port’s 4-1/2 star rated semi-private golf club, Bobcat Trail. We
need both players and sponsors for this year’s charity event. Please
remember your sponsorship of this event is paramount to continuing our
engineering outreach and education program to the local community. We
are also seeking golf tournament volunteers to help us run the event. Do
not hesitate to contact us for more information. Thanks and be sure to
make it to this years' ASCE Charity Golf Tournament. It will be an event
you do not want to miss!
I am very proud to share our branch’s accomplishments with you, as we
continue to make headways with our community outreach program. We have
received 16 scholarship applications this year, an all-time record high
by far. There are 3 applications for the high school scholarship, and 13
for the Civil Engineering scholarship. As part of our outreach efforts,
we are looking for a few good ASCE members for some public speaking and
to represent our profession in presenting the 13th annual 'Math ACES'
award at one (or more) of 13 local high schools within the next few
weeks. Please contact Mike Elfers, Chair Math ACES at 747-2971 or
melfers@georgefyoung.com to volunteer. This story cannot be complete
without the honorable mention of our branch’s first time participation
in '54th Science and Engineering Fair of Florida' from April 15-17 2009
in Lakeland.
In a continuing effort to
commemorate branch’s 25th anniversary, we are currently in the process
of revamping our SunCoast website, so please take a moment to send us
your ideas or suggestions. Simultaneously a group of dedicated branch
members took it upon themselves to help us compile a long lost history
of our branch officers. So if you have served as a SunCoast branch
officer in the past, please contact me so we can update our database.
Moreover, we recently launched a Facebook page for our SunCoast
community. Go check it out on www.facebook.com to sign up and show your
support for your favorite branch. For those of you who will be taking
the P.E. exam in October 2009 and April 2010, the SunCoast Branch will
once again be holding the P.E. review sessions beginning in August.
Please contact me at 941-315-0194 or ajaved@scgov.net, if you want to
teach a 2 hours class on topics covered in P.E. exam. The instructors
are recognized for their dedication to the profession with a certificate
of appreciation. You can use it to earn PDHs for the renewal of your PE
license. We will post more information about the venue and the class
schedules in the forthcoming months. Surprisingly, a recent poll of our
readers revealed that many young members are interested in activities to
get their blood pumping. This month’s newsletter gives you a scoop and
contact information for several of the local activities. In addition, we
ask of you to let us know of your group that meets regularly for sports
or miscellaneous fun activities, so we can let your fellow members know
where to go. Besides our monthly meetings, to provide our members with
an informal venue to network, your branch intends to host an icebreaker
in the first two weeks of Independence (July) month. Shoot us an email
with ideas and suggestions. Please note, when we ask for your ideas and
help, it’s only because we value your suggestion and your branch is
constantly seeking for ways to provide the best to you, as we are
committed to your success! Thank you for your continued support and I
look forward to seeing everyone at our next branch meeting on April
23rd.
-Adnan Javed
March 2009
On Behalf of SunCoast Branch - Happy St. Patty’s Day and International
Women Day, and a Big Shot out to those crazy Spring Breakers!
In
this joyous month of Spring I wish all our members and friends “Slainte
agus tainte!” meaning “Health and Wealth” to you all. Our Branch had a
busy yet another eventful month (of February). Branch’s 25th Anniversary
Cruise was a great success. Thanks to you all for making it such a
memorable occasion…what could be better than a venue consisting of
sunset, live music, company of family and friends, Eric’s chicken wings,
Sundae’s Turkey sauce and Sonya’s meat balls. Well you may ask what I
was doing there, so I got lucky because of my good looks and warm
personality (but don’t tell my wife that I said this). Talking about
Engineers week, for the very first time this year ASCE was honored by an
Engineer’s Week Proclamation from Manatee County publicly recognizing us
Engineers. I also want to thank everyone who joined us for hosting the
20th Annual Toothpick Bridge Building Contest (TBBC). In addition, don’t
forget the TBBC Award’s Ceremony is this coming Tuesday (March 10th) at
6:00pm at GWiz.
Did I tell you my valentine’s gift for this year was a free trip to a
local famous psychic (sorry I was so psyched that I forgot to ask her
name). Nonetheless, she told me 2009 is going to be a great year for me,
and my lucky numbers are 14 and 25. Well number 25 (hint: branch’s
anniversary) made sense, but wasn’t sure about 14, until recently when I
recognized that it’s about time to gear up for our 14th Annual Charity
Golf Tournament. This year’s tournament will be at Bobcat Trail in North
Port on Friday, May 15th. Moreover, it is my pleasure to announce our
newly appointed golf committee consisting of Eric Rose, Luis Herrera,
Zach Z Zehnder and Chris Stratton. At the same time, I would like to
thank Garry Downing and Spencer Anderson for volunteering their time to
help the golf committee in hosting this year’s golf tourney. Attached
you will also find ballot for Young Members Group (YMG) and Outreach
Volunteer form. We value your suggestions and time, so please take a
moment to advise us of how we can provide the most to you in the best
possible way. Our March 17th meeting will be focused on excellent
transportation network by Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation
Authority (TBARTA). Authority’s mission is to improve mobility and
expand multimodal transportation options for passengers and freight
throughout the seven-county region, and specifically about the Regional
Transportation Master Plan. We hope to see all on March 17th. Finally
yet importantly, we are still seeking nominations for the 2009
outstanding engineers and/or projects in our area. Make sure to
recognize your noble hard-working coworkers and great projects worthy of
recognition. It would be good to see some more competition; otherwise, I
am going to win all these awards, and boy I don’t like sharing at all.
See you soon!
-Adnan Javed
February 2009
Happy 25th Anniversary & 2009 Engineers Week!
I start writing
this message while sitting in New Jersey in my hotel room looking
outside the window at 4” – 6” of snow. Interesting enough I saw the snow
after almost 5 years. Thursday night when Eric and I arrived at the
airport, the temperature was in single digits, but we didn‟t care much
about the cold weather as we were excited to attend the 2009 Annual ASCE
leadership conference. The two of us had a great time networking with
members from other Sections and Branches, representing local SunCoast
engineering community at the national level, learning new leadership
skills and sharing our accomplishments with others. The highlights of
the conference included discussion on topics like. Focus on America‟s
and Florida‟s failing infrastructure report cards‟, „Challenges faced by
the Engineering Community in today’s world‟, and „Professional licensure
and changing academia requirements‟, and „Order of the Ring ceremony‟,
to name a few. Given the size and demographics of our Branch, we were
pleased to learn that we are actually among the forerunners in how we
serve our local members. We learnt more about the Young members‟ forum.
We do not yet have a local Young members‟ forum, but we are interested
in hearing our members‟ feedback on this. So please take a moment to
write back to me at ajaved@scgov.net giving us your valuable input.
During this month of February the
SunCoast officers will be attending local jurisdictional Commission and
Council meetings to accept Engineers Week proclamation from several of
the area municipalities. The proclamations recognize and honor the
continuing contributions of America‟s engineers with the motto:
“Engineers make a world of difference.” In this regards I would like to
sincerely thank Pat Collins, PE (City of North Port) and Jim Harriott,
PE (Sarasota County) for their relentless leadership and for
representing local engineering community while accepting these
proclamations. I will be attending the Florida Section Board of
Directors Meeting in Jacksonville on February 21, 2009. My attendance at
the Florida Section meeting provides the SunCoast Branch with a direct
link to the ASCE functions within our state. If you have any question or
concerns that maybe addressed at the state level, please contact me at
941-315-0194. On behalf of Florida Section Science and Engineering Fair
Committee, I am proud to report that this year we will be sponsoring the
“Outstanding Engineering Project” in both the Middle school and High
school categories at the 54th Science and Engineering Fair of Florida.
Committee is currently seeking for the volunteers to judge the Florida
Section Awards at this event to be held on April 16th at the Lakeland
Center. Additional information on the fair can be found under the
“Science and Engineering Committee” link in the Florida Section website
(www.fla-asce.org). Finally, I hope to see you all at our Spring Social
aboard the LeBarge sunset cruise in Sarasota Bay on Feb 13th to
celebrate Branch’s 25th Anniversary. Additionally, I want to thank our
Sponsors (RS&H CS, Hyatt Survey, LPA Group, AECOM, PBS&J, HDR, Scheda,
ADS and Dunkelberger) this year for helping us graciously with the
planning of Spring/Winter Social Cruise.
-Adnan Javed
January 2009
Happy 2009 Dear Branch Members!!!
Hopefully this New Year will help you achieve your personal and
professional goals with more enthusiasm and vigor. I am sure by now you
have already started to act on your new year’s resolutions…I know I
have. One of my dear friends was kind enough to help me come up with my
list of 10 things to do in 2009. (1) Spend more time with family and
friends, (2) Tame the bulge, (3) Get it done, (4) Enjoy life more, (5)
Get financially smart, (6) Learn something new, (7) Help others, (8) Get
organized, (9) Support a charity and (10) Plan for the future. And oops
did I forget to mention that the 11th item out of my list of 10 for 2009
is to promote our Branch activities. Starting from bottom up, I am proud
to say that as we head into 2009, we have yet another eventful year
planned and I look forward to your continued support and participation.
It
must be exciting times for those who passed their PE exams recently.
Congratulations to you, and good luck in your new role of
responsibility! Like previous years 2008 Sarasota-Adopt-A-family was
again a success. Thanks to everyone who supported and helped us in
raising $116 for this annual charity event.
Our
first 2009 Branch meeting will be held on January 22nd. Ms. Elizabeth
Wong, P.E., Stormwater Manager, City of North Port will be our esteemed
Guest speaker, and she will talk to us about
“Proposed Changes to Stormwater Design Criteria in the City of North
Port Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) and Comprehensive Plan”.
Once again I would like to remind you that we are now accepting
nominations through March 31, 2009 for the following awards: Engineer of
the Year, Young Engineer of the Year, Government Engineer of the Year,
and Project of the Year.
Please note that there will be no branch meeting next month as we have
lined up an exciting sunset cruise aboard LeBarge for all our members to
commemorate Branch’s
Silver anniversary. Hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served. We are
currently looking to our corporate sponsors and patrons to help us
subsidize the cost of this event.
Please see
inside the newsletter for opportunities to make this a successful event!
And most importantly do not forget, it’s your Branch, so we are always
open to your suggestions and comments to improve upon our services to
you.
Also as part of
the annual celebration of National Engineer’s Week in February, our 20th
Annual Toothpick Bridging Building Contest is scheduled to take place on
Saturday, February 21st at G.WIZ Hands on Museum in Sarasota from 10:00
am to
4:00 pm. This
year, there will also be an award for bridges built by teachers and a
friendly competition between local engineering firms! If you are
interested in being a sponsor or volunteering your time at this great
event promoting our profession, please contact any one of your officers
for more information. Besides ASCE Annual Golf Tournament scheduled for
May 2009, other exciting events hosted by your Branch in first half of
the year will include National Engineer’s proclamation ceremonies in
February 2009, State Science Fair in April 2009, Outreach activities in
February through April 2009, Math Aces competition in Spring, West Point
Bridge Design Contest finals in May 2009 and Joint Meeting with FES in
May 2009. These events offer opportunities for you to take an active
role with the SunCoast Branch – so if you are interested in volunteering
time to any of the above activities, please let US know. Finally, if you
already haven’t done it yet, please remember to renew your PE licenses
by February 28th!
I look forward
to seeing you all at our Thursday meeting and the Winter Social aboard
LeBarge next month.
-Adnan Javed
December 2008
Holiday Greetings fellow members and friends,
Looking back at
this year’s achievements, our branch had another very exciting and busy
year. We could not have made it thus far (referring to branch’s 25th
anniversary in
2009) without everyone’s support. To celebrate branch’s 25th
anniversary we
have arranged for an exciting evening under the stars for our members in
the month of February. On behalf of Branch executive board, I would like
to invite you to the sunset cruise on Sarasota Bay aboard Le Barge. It’s
a day before Valentines Day (perhaps we can call it a ‘Valentine eve’),
so what a great way to start the Valentines weekend. I am sure all you
love birds out there will appreciate the funfilled Friday evening.
Holiday season
is the time of the year, when we share and spread the word of love and
peace throughout the world. Let’s make this holiday season even more
special by giving out generously to those who are less fortunate. We are
again this year coordinating the Branch’s Adopt- A-Family effort. Please
contact Paula Wiggins, me, or make a donation at the branch monthly
meeting next Thursday. I also want to remind you
that do not forget to renew your 2009
membership by January 1st, and please remember to check the box for “Section and Branch
Dues” below the national dues when renewing online!
SunCoast Branch has given the following awards in the past: Engineer of
the Year, Young Engineer of the Year, Government Engineer of the Year
and Project of the Year. If you would like to submit a nomination for
any of the awards, please see details inside the newsletter.
We
are currently setting up visits to local middle and high schools during
National Engineer’s Week, and are looking for volunteers to speak at
these visits, so please contact me at
ajaved@scgov.net
if you are
interested. We have videos, posters and brochures to supplement your
speeches, so help support us in promoting civil engineering to the
youth! In addition, I am excited to share with you that recently I
accepted to become the Florida Section
Chair of the Science Fair Committee.
The next State
Science Fair is in Lakeland in April 2009. ASCE sponsors this event
every year and the Section is currently soliciting for judges. Please
refer to the following website for more information,
http://www.floridassef.net/.
I
wish each of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.
May the peace and goodwill of the season fill every heart and warm every
home. God Bless!
-Adnan Javed
November 2008
Happy Holiday
Season…
I feel honored
to be the chosen one for this upcoming year to carry the badge of honor
and to represent local ASCE community at the Section and National level.
I want to thank all the fellow members and friends for their relentless
support of the local Branch over the years and for their trust in me. I
also like to extend my sincere appreciation to Spencer Anderson for his
services and dedication as SunCoast President 2007-08.
It is my
privilege to announce that 2009 is SunCoast Branch’s 25th
Anniversary! We
will be planning celebrations to commemorate this big event. Please
contact Eric, Sundae, Sonya or myself with your suggestions, so we could
make it a memorable year.
To begin the 25th
year celebrations with the bang, we are honored to host a joint meeting
with the APWA Suncoast Branch on November 20th.
Some of the other upcoming activities and attractions for 2009 will
include Branch’s Annual Spring Social in February, Annual Golf
Tournament in May, Annual Scholarship program, Local
Outreach program, and National Engineer’s week celebrations.
Together we can create a culture that serves and support our local
communities by hosting activities and programs, therefore I ask for your
full participation and help.
It has been an
overwhelming year for our nation, as we made history last week. These
are some interesting economic times we are going through, and there will
be a continuing need for what we do as the new government promises to
quick-jolt our economy by investing in public works and infrastructure
build-up. Please join us in working together for our great organization.
Keeping our
Branch tradition alive to support annual Adopt-a-family program, this
holiday season we are again collecting monetary donations during
November and December 2008 Branch meetings to make one local family’s
holiday special. Please help us by donating generously, especially
during this tough economical times. Remember, every penny counts and
together we can make difference.
Lastly, on
behalf of the ASCE SunCoast Branch Executive Board, I wish all the
members and their families a happy and safe holiday season.
- Adnan Javed
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Scott McKenna, Webmaster, ASCE SunCoast Branch
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