Tuesday, October 8, 2013

PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE: PART 2/2

September / October 2013
President's Perspective
by Carolyn Berg
President, 2013-2014

Here I stand, at the beginning of my sixth year with our ASCE Branch Board. Within a mere blink of the years, it has been my good fortune of getting to know our local civil engineering community, of being inspired by the dedicated individuals involved in our Branch and of growing personally as a community member and a leader. Throughout those years I have witnessed true testaments to dedication, enthusiasm and genuine interest in building our local community. Thanks to you, it is now my opportunity to give back to our members while serving as Branch President.

To jump start my efforts in this new role, I attended the ASCE Presidents and Governors Forum in Washington D.C. Several speakers asked us to consider why we got involved in ASCE. And more, why we continued to stay involved. Essentially pointing us to figure out what about ASCE brought value to each of us. What we found was that people get involved for a whole gamut of reasons (my first boss, John Hollenbeck, strongly “encouraged” my involvement by setting an Annual Review goal to participate in ASCE – I had no idea the impact that would have). Whatever the catalyst though, many of us now find ourselves rooted in this wonderful community.

I encourage each of you to reflect on why you first engaged in ASCE. And digging deeper, consider why you have continued to stay involved in our local ASCE Branch. The reason I stay involved is ultimately the hope of touching lives, building a stronger community, and (cliche as it is) making a difference - all of which start here with our local members and volunteers, YOU. Whatever your reasons may be, thank you!

Our Board works hard each year to bring value to your Branch and your experience of ASCE. Each officer brings particular strengths and ideas to the table, but we all look to you to help define where our Branch should focus its efforts. This year is no exception. We are fortunate to have an energized, creative and hardworking Board at the ready - looking for ways to improve ASCE. Please take a few minutes to fill out our survey later this month and help us to bring the most value to your ASCE experience.

With your input and help, we hope to continue to build on the momentum and hard work of last year’s Board members by: engaging in Younger Members Forum events (thanks to the dedicated efforts by Kyle Anderson, Wes Thomson and the YMF Board!), continuing our annual K-12 Outreach efforts (thanks to Cara Martinez’s leadership and our many volunteers!), advocating for infrastructure improvements (thanks to Mike Britton for attending the last year’s Fly-In!), spreading the word about what we as CEs do (thanks to Wes Thompson for creating our local ASCE SLO blog!), mentoring and working with the Cal Poly SCE students (thanks to Jazz Gilbert, Gregg Fiegel, and the SCE officers), or encouraging members to grow into leaders, as Tom Martin did so effectively over the past year. I welcome you all to jump right in this year and get involved – welcome new members, talk with the SCE students, volunteer or come to events, and take ownership of your Branch!

Again thank you so much for your participation in our local ASCE activities. I look forward to seeing you all soon! Please feel free to reach out to me with any ideas you have or to get involved in our many wonderful opportunities.

Carolyn K. Berg
ASCE SLO Branch President

Monday, October 7, 2013

BRANCH MEETING: OCTOBER 2013

SAN CLEMENTE DAM REMOVAL AND RIVER RE-ROUTE

Known as the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the history of California, the nationally recognized San Clemente Dam Removal and River Re-route will lay a precedent for future dam removal and river restoration projects.

The 106-foot high concrete arch dam was built in 1921.  Approximately 18.5 miles from the ocean, the reservoir has become over 90% filled with sediment, and the dam has been deemed seismically unsafe by the California Division of Safety of Dams.

Water Systems Consulting, Inc. (WSC) has been managing the project for California American Water since 2009, and is currently serving as Project Manager and Construction Manager for this $83 million, multi-stakeholder project.  By removing the dam and restoring the river, safety issues will be permanently resolved, and native species are expected to repopulate.

Jeffery Szytel, Project Manager and President & CEO of WSC, will present the process of this precedent-setting dam removal and river reroute project.  He will be joined by Dylan Wade, who serves as the Resident Project Representative for the multi-year design-build project.  Please join in welcoming Mr. Szytel and Mr. Wade while they discuss the project design, funding and multi-stakeholder process, construction considerations, restoration goals and approaches, and the lasting benefits to the Carmel River.

LOCATION:
Pappy McGregor’s
1865 Monterey St.
San Luis Obispo

DATE & TIME:
Thursday, October 17, 2013
12:00 p.m.

MENU (OPTIONS):
1. Blarney Burger: 1/3 lb. Hearst Ranch burger with applewood bacon, crispy onion ring, bbq sauce and Irish Chedder cheese.  Served with beer battered garlic fries.
2. Buffulo Chicken Sandwich: Crispy boneless chicken breast, melted bleu cheese, spicy bbq sauces on a focaccia roll.  Served with beer battered garlic fries.
3. Baja Shrimp Tacos (3): Jumbo beer battered prawns, onion, cilantro, purple cabbage, cheese, salsa verde.
4. Chopped Salad: Avocado, tomato, onion, almond, bleu cheese crumble, creamy balsamic.

RESERVATIONS:
Please sign up by 1:00 p.m. Friday, October 11th, at the Branch web site (www.ASCESLO.org). Please attend the luncheon if you sign-up – some restaurants will charge the Branch for every seat we reserve, regardless of the actual attendance. If you have specific dietary restrictions or have questions, please contact Ryan Hayes, ASCE Secretary at rhayes@rickengineering.com or (805) 544-0707. The cost is $20 for members and guests and $10 for students.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE: PART 1/2

September / October 2013
Wrapping Things Up
by Tom Martin
President, 2012-2013

My term as president of the ASCE SLO Branch is complete and I thought I would look back on the past year. Personally, it has been one of my most challenging and rewarding experiences (the best rewards come from overcoming challenges, right?). It is one of those experiences that you really can’t have a full understanding of until you live it. Fortunately we had an excellent Officer Board that had my back and I never felt like we couldn’t do what we needed to do. That’s the true joy of working with a great team.

ASCE serves an important purpose as it is the place where private consultants and public agency representatives come together. There are a number of other engineering organizations out there (I belong to many of them), but none that quite match ASCE’s professional diversity. We try to emulate that here in the SLO Branch in a number of ways. We purposefully plan our monthly meetings at different locations to draw in members from a fairly wide geographical area. We also look for diversity in our meeting speakers. For instance, this year we had two presentations that focused on structural issues, which brought out professionals from that civil specialty. Our meetings on water issues were especially timely and a number of new faces showed up. Hopefully some of these new people will see the value in ASCE and become new members. My favorite meeting may have been the Union Valley Parkway talk in Santa Maria – we had representatives from both the City and Caltrans, design and construction, and best of all we got a tour of both the City and Caltrans projects. It’s not every day that you get to walk on a new interchange bridge in the Central Coast!

Many thanks go to our Officer team who put in countless volunteer hours behind the scenes to make all these experiences happen. The fact that we didn’t have many glitches is a testament to their hard work and tenacity. Just like in Civil Engineering, it’s all the things you don’t see that are often most important. Your new president, Carolyn Berg, is off to a running start and has lots of great ideas. I am positive that the Branch is in for another great year.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve our Branch and ASCE.

Tom Martin
Past President, ASCE SLO Branch