MY TERM AS BROWARD BRANCH PRESIDENT NEARS END

September 5, 2008 12:00 p.m.

I have enjoyed leading the Broward Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers over the past year as President. It seems that time flys when the gavel is placed in your hand. I want to thank the current Board for their continued service to the Society and volunteer time that made this such a great year.

As I reflect on the past twelve months, I want to think back to the goals we set at the summer planning meeting in August of 2007. Some of the main milestones that we set forth to improve the Branch have been accomplished. They included the following:

1. We were going to improve our web site and the reach that it can provide to our membership. Bob Wilson had previously been our web master and retired from that Committee position. I want to start by thanking Jean Carlos Rosario-Montalvo for his willingness to take on this Committtee role as webmaster. It seems that I only hear good things about the web site and that is a true testament to the efforts that J.C. has put forth in this important Branch endeavor. On behalf of the Board and the Branch, thank you for all that you have done to improve the web site.

2. We were going to switch banking institutions and reevaluate the placement of Society/Branch funds. This was accomplished and the bank accounts were created and a money market fund was established to assist in creating reserves for the Branch as they may become necessary in the future. Thanks to Angelina Rosenberg and Shaun Bamforth for accomplishing this goal of the Branch.

3. We held the joint meeting and roundtable discussion with FES, ITE and WTS with the program entitled "State of Transportation in Broward". I am proud to say that we were able to secure our keynote speaker, FDOT Secretary of Transportation, Stephanie Kopelousous and other Transportation leaders in the industry for this exciting event in November. We drew almost 200 people to this joint meeting, which was a success for our Branch. Thanks to all that helped make this happen. You know who you are.

4. Continued growth of active participation and advocacy in Government Relations by the Broward Branch. I have covered this in detail in past blogs, but we were represented in Washington D.C. by 3 Branch members during the ASCE Leadership Training in Government Relations. This was coupled with the release of the Report Card by the Florida Section where our Branch was represented and volunteered. Nice job to all that assisted with this important strategic initiative by the Florida Section.

5. The Younger Members group was active and led successfully by Jennifer Fought. This is a key group that helps the Branch with continued increase in membership from the younger member level (especially students who transition from college to the workforce). Keep up the good work.

6. We received recent appointments by members to ASCE National Committee's starting in November. Talia Garcia was appointed to the National Engineers without Borders Committee, Eric Czerniejewski was appointed to the National State Government Relations Committee, Shaun Bamforth was appointed Corresponding member, etc. This continued leadership will serv the Branch well.

7. The Branch continued to be represented at the Region and Section level with Peter Moore as Section Officer, Secretary/Treasurer; Jose Acosta continued as the At Large Region 5 Governor.

8. Chris Zavatsky led the Bowlathon Committee to another great event recently in July. This Bowlathon again raised money for our scholarship award. The event was again held at Don Carters lanes and we filled the whole bowling alley for the first time. Nice job to all the helped out.

There were other accomplishments that I could add, but I need to wrap this up. I have enjoyed my four years of service to the Broward Branch Board of Directors. I will continue to assist where appropriate as Past President next year. Good luck to the Board next year as you continue to improve the Society Branch operations and provide the membership all of the great benefits they deserve.

Take care, I hope to see you at the 40th Anniversary celebration on the 11th next week where we will install our officers and hand out our awards.

Eric Czerniejewski, P.E.

ASCE Broward Branch President: 2007-2008