The ACEC‐CA 2014 Annual Conference was held in La Quinta (Palm Springs area) April 6th through 8th with the State Board meeting on the 9th. Sierra Chapter members attending included Tom Holdrege, Stephen Boll, Jeff Cox, and myself. The conference was held at the beautiful La Quinta Resort and Spa, which was founded in the 1920s. The resort now has 41 pools, 53 hot tubs, and is surrounded by golf courses and a backdrop of the Santa Rosa Mountains.

Keynote speakers for the conference comprised Gordon Enas (DWR), who discussed the BDCP and the proposed conveyance tunnels project; Dr. John Husing, a research economist, who presented aspects of the southern California economy; and the Salton Sea Panel Discussion. The Owners Night and Welcome Reception attendance was lively, and included various Federal, state, and local agencies. The Alternative Delivery Panel included a lineup of Kome Ajise (Caltrans Deputy Director, Planning and Modal Programs), Bob Close (Parsons Brinckerhoff), and others. Of the usual and less usual suite of breakout sessions, I was only able to attend the one on marketing and outreach with social networking. It was very good, and as a result, I almost… almost, signed up for a Twitter account.

The Board Meeting was held on Wednesday afternoon, and we discussed a host of association issues including strategic planning, policy platforms, and advocacy. A key topic was ACEC-CA’s AB401 lawsuit, with strong feelings exhibited all around. I am sure that discussion will be continuing.

The 2014 ACEC-CA conference was a good one. I just wish I hadn’t had to spend so much time on work, so that I could have enjoyed the conference and resort more.