National Board News

National board members met for a regular board meeting on January 26, 2001, at the Ramada Inn in New Stanton, Pennsylvania. National President Domenic Piccolomini presided over the meeting. The following are highlights of the committee reports and board actions:

Membership:
There is an increase of 53 members since the October 2000 meeting, Secretary Conner reported. Total membership in ASHE now stands at 5,136.

President's Report:
President Piccolomini attended ASHE section meetings and dinner events including Pittsburgh, Altoona, Mid Allegheny, Southwest Penn and Franklin. He participated in the Region 1, Annual Luncheon and board meeting held in Columbus, Ohio. Also, he participated in judging of the Annual PQI Awards that will be presented at Pennsylvania's Transportation Industry Spring Conference that will be held at Hershey, Pennsylvania in March 2001.
A highlight of Piccolomini's activities included attendance at the North Florida Section's charter dinner meeting in Tallahassee, Florida. President Piccolomini conducted the chartering ceremonies and installed the new Board. The Charter was presented to their President, David F. Snyder and, Tom Barry, FDOT Secretary, spoke on issues facing the Department of Transportation.

New Sections:
First Vice President Cooper Curtis reported that the "North Florida Section" was chartered on January 11, 2001, with 41 members in attendance. Many interest areas have been identified and prioritized to expand existing regions.
Director Ron Purvis is compiling information for a PowerPoint presentation to aid in the start-up of new sections. He requests assistance by providing materials of interest that will help in promoting ASHE.

Conference Committee:
David Jones presented the new "National Conference Guidelines" which were reviewed by the board and adopted upon discussion and minor modifications. Some of the highlights include: a request to host the conference must come from the region no more than five years in advance; the conference should be affordable to encourage member attendance; the first $10,000 in conference profits remain with the host region, while the amount over $10,000 will be split between the host region and national; and, advance startup funds up to $3,000 will be available from national depending on financial need.

Director Frank Lopez presented a written request from Region 3 endorsing the Pittsburgh Section's desire to host the National Conference in 2005. The board approved this request.

Ethics & Practice Committee:
Secretary Conner lead discussion on ASHE's membership in IACET to provide CEU's for conferences, workshops and technical training provided by ASHE sections and regions. Upon approval of the board, ASHE will continue registration with IACET.

Web Site Committee:
David Jones discussed the redesign of ASHE's web page that is being done through John Wanner's executive services contract. Some of the features include: complete redesign of the home page; link to the national conference web page; FAQ page to handle queries to ASHE; Section's Operating Manual; ASHE Strategic Plan; national map & local sections links; and, organization links page.

Student Sections:
Second Vice President Sandy Ivory is collecting information on what sections are doing to promote student interest in the highway industry. There is much activity including high school visits, scholarships, Engineers Week activities, etc. This project will result in a future guidance document in the "Section's Operating Manual". Ivory also reported there is some interest in establishing a scholarship at the National level.

Nominating Committee:
Immediate Past President Charles Flowe announced the following slate of officers and directors for the 2001-02 ASHE year:

President Cooper E. Curtis, P.E.
1st Vice President Sandra K. Ivory
2nd Vice President David W. Jones, P.E.
Treasurer Robert E. Yeager, P.L.S.
Secretary Terence D. Conner, P.E.

Director - 1 year
Region 7 Ronald L. Purvis, P.E.
Region 8 Tracey L. Hill, P.E.
Region 9 John M. McDowell, P.E.

Director - 2 year
Region 1 Robert A. Hochevar, P.E.
Region 2 Shirley A. Stuttler
Region 3 Frank S. Lopez

Director - 3 year
Region 4 Robert M. Peda, P.E.
Region 5 pending
Region 6 Richard Prentice, P.E.

Unfinished Business:
Secretary Terence Conner discussed unpaid section assessments for 2000/01 that were due by October 1, 2000. A motion was made and carried to include a 10% late charge on future assessments that are not paid by the established due date. Such notice will be made a part of future invoices.