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