North Florida Section of ASHE Recently
Added
The North Florida Section of ASHE, located in Florida's Capital
City of Tallahassee, has recently been added to the growing
numbers of new ASHE Chapters around the country. The North Florida
Section joins the Gold Coast (Ft. Lauderdale), Tampa Bay, Central
Florida, and North East Florida (Jacksonville) Sections of Region
9 in Florida.
The North Florida Section was chartered on January 11, 2001.
ASHE National President Domenic Piccolomini attended the charter
dinner in Tallahassee where he presided over the chartering
ceremonies and installed the new chapter officers. Mr. Tom Barry,
Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, was the
guest speaker for the evening. Secretary Barry discussed issues
facing the Department and the future role of consultants in
FDOT's activities.
Charter membership of the new North Florida Section was comprised
of persons from state and local government as well as the consulting
industry. Forty-one new members were installed in the initial
charter and include engineers, surveyors and CADD technicians.
In the future the Section plans to expand, increasing membership
from structural and drainage disciplines as well as from the
education and construction industry.
One of North Florida Section's goals is to promote public awareness
of ASHE. In keeping with this goal, the first community activity
of the North Florida Section was to help sponsor the Lawton
Chiles High School Applied Technology Club's trip to University
of Florida. Board Members have also agreed to start a scholarship
fund to support local high school students in their pursuit
of an engineering degree.
The North Florida Section grew from a mutual desire and interest
in sharing ideas and information regarding the highway industry.
The group began meeting in October 1999 and has held regular
monthly lunch meetings with presentations on topics such as
local land development projects, unique bridge structures, current
surveying technology, stormwater facilities design and construction,
techniques in erosion and sediment control and legal issues
in drainage design. Lunch meetings have been well attended and
the North Florida membership continues to increase.
ASHE members have remarked how beneficial face-to-face interaction
with each other has been. Consultants frequently work together
with government clients on highway projects, but many of the
engineers, designers and technicians may never actually meet
in person during a design project. ASHE provides a chance for
these individuals to build both professional and personal relationships
which will benefit them as the highway industry continues to
grow and evolve.
The 2001-2002 North Florida Section officers and board members
are as follows:
Officers:
President Dave Snyder, PE
Vice President Mariano Berrios, PE
Secretary Billy Hattaway, PE
Treasurer Jim Sullivan, PE
Board Members:
Membership Jacques Registe, PE
Programs Director Gevin McDaniel, EI
Nominations Director John Sliger, PE
Public Relations June Clark, PE
Regional Board of Directors Mark Llewellyn, PE
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