ASCE ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND "THE STATE OF TRANSPORTATION IN BROWARD"

I just returned from ASCE's 137th Annual Civil Engineering Conference held at Lake Buena Vista Palace in the Orlando, Florida metro area this past week. While there I attended the Younger Members Symposium, Florida Section Board of Directors meeting, Plenary and General Sessions.

Exiting National President William F. Marcuson III had some empowering comments in his Farewell Address. Our Past President left us with the following key points that I would like to recollect and pass on to each of you:

1. When you speak of our Society, refer to it as a Professional and a Technical Society


2. Our Profession must be founded on Integrity and Ethics. Integrity is 'Doing what you say you will do'.


3. Civil Engineers need to earn the public trust and take ownership of the engineering infrastructure failures and be leaders in the profession in regard to the public safety and welfare.

The three recent catastrophic infrastructure failures including the Bridges and Levees in New Orleans, the collapse of one of the Big Dig Tunnels in Boston, the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis and the bursting of a gas main in New York City are examples to the public that the nations infrastructure is failing and needs to be addressed.

I take this moment and ask you the Broward Branch members to take an active role in 2008 in spreading the message of the soon to be released Florida Section Infrastructure Report card to our elected officials at the state, county and municipal level. Frasor Howe (Chair) and the rest of the Florida Section Government Relations Committee of the ASCE will be releasing the data and facts of this Report Card in early 2008.

We will convene in early 2008 at one of our Branch meetings to review this process with a member of the ASCE National Government Relations Committee along with reviewing the details of the Report Card with Frasor Howe. It is one of our duties as a member of the ASCE to get involved with public policy as it relates to Civil Engineering.

I look forward to this months program entitled "The State of Transportation in Broward". Please help me welcome FDOT District Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos and other Transportation leaders to our November 29th meeting.