Wyoming ASCE

Winter 2000 Meeting Minutes

February 3, 2000;    Holiday Inn, Cheyenne, Wyoming

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by President Rick Estes at approximately 2:45 p.m. All officers were in attendance.

II. Old Business

Approval of Minutes

Minutes for the Fall 1999 meeting were approved as submitted. The vote was unanimous.

Treasurer's Report

Treasurer Keith Haiar delivered the Treasurer's report. Total assets were reported at $21,361.77 as of December 31, 1999. It was noted that the mutual fund performance was poor during the period. The report was approved as submitted. The vote was unanimous.

State Public Affairs Grant

Rick Estes mentioned that ASCE (national) has developed a program over the last three years to promote the public appearance of civil engineers. The Wyoming Section was authorized $263 to use for this purpose. Rick asked if there were any ideas as to how to utilize this money for the promotion of the profession. He explained that we have to spend the money by September of this year if we want to use the money.

Jim Gores mentioned that monthly advertisements are being run in Freemont County to show what engineers do and how engineering affects daily life. Rick Estes asked for other ideas. Keith Haiar will e-mail a directory of e-mail addressees to everyone at the meeting. He asked people to e-mail ideas to the officers regarding the use of the public appearance money.

A suggestion was made to place the e-mail list on the Wyoming ASCE web site.

III. New Business

Tom Pilch - District Information

Tom Pilch (District 16 Director) said that he has not yet been to a national ASCE board meeting. Tom then asked for opinions on the ASCE decision to support the master's degree as the "First Professional Degree" to become a professional engineer. The discussion centered around the following :

o As long as Master's degree programs remain as specialized as they are, general civil engineers may not need a master's degree.

o The degree may have to be different than the current master's degree and it will be an evolving process.

o The degree may be more of a business rather than technical degree. Requirements will have to be uniform across the country.

o If civil engineers lose our professional recognition, engineering services will be based on bid price only

o Universities are requiring less credits to graduate than 15 years ago.

o What will become of those of us with Bachelor's degrees only? Will these people be considered technicians if this policy is accepted.

Tom asked for a show of hands on this issue. More opposed than for. Tom will take these results to the next board meeting.

Tom Pilch stated that there is a proposal for an ASCE dues increase in 2001. He said that the increase will be between $20 and $25. It has been five years since the last dues increase. Tom asked for a show of hands on this issue. More opposed than for.

ASCE 150^th

Keith Haiar discussed ASCE's 150^th anniversary. ASCE sees it as a golden opportunity to promote the profession with a year-long campaign. National ASCE will handle the large-scale projects such as television advertising and celebrations. The State Sections will be asked to hold their own activities at the local level. Keith said that he has volunteered to be the Wyoming Section coordinator for these activities. He asked for ideas and stated that we need to come up with funding. He proposed that we set up an idea page on the State Section web site.

Membership

Keith Haiar stated that we have had approximately 260 ASCE members in Wyoming for the past few years. He tried to put together a membership drive with prizes for those who recruited the most members, but got no response.

A student member suggested that membership need more contact between state section members and students to encourage UW graduates to stay in state after graduation. Rick Estes asked Joel Farber (student liaison) if he could ask people to speak more often in Laramie to allow the students more contact with engineers throughout the state. Joel then asked what he could do to improve the situation. Dr. Edgar then suggested that we should use e-mail to find out what students and members want to hear about and schedule speakers accordingly. Keith Haiar will get the e-mail list to Joel Farber.

Newsletter

Rick Estes stated that anyone who wants to do a newsletter is welcome to do so. Just contact one of the officers. Rick also mentioned that we might add some newsletter information to the web site.

Student Chapter Report

The UW Student Chapter President stated that the Student Chapter is working on the concrete canoe and steel bridge projects. They are running low on funds.

Rick Estes mentioned that the State Section has given three $500 scholarships to UW students in the past. There was a motion to continue the scholarships and the vote was unanimous.

Other

Dr. Edgar stated that the ASCE continuing education classes are going well. He is thinking about having a national speaker next time, possibly someone from national ASCE. He said he would like to hear opinions on what topics are of interest.

Rick Estes stated that we had been asked to contribute $250 for coffee breaks at the WES Conference. There was a motion to pay the amount. The motion was opposed by membership. The motion was then unanimously denied.

Three State Section members (Leon Borgman, Frank Cole, and Peter Jorgenson) were honored with framed certificates as lifetime members. None were present.

Rick Estes mentioned that the Zone III Management and Leadership Conference would be held in Denver February 4-6. Tom Corontzos would be attending the conference.

Rick also stated that a member is needed to fill an officer position to be open in September.

IV. Meeting Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 3:58 p.m.