President’s Message
When I wrote last month’s President’s Message, I thought it was my last one. Then, Lisa Thut, the Sierra Chapter Newsletter Editor extraordinaire for 16 years, reminded me that I was still the President until July 1 and that we always close the year with a newsletter in June. Although I tried to argue the point, it was to no avail. Alas, you have me for one last month. Last month, I summarized the year and talked about next year’s challenges, so content for this message was a bit hard to come by. Luckily, we had a couple of great events in May that were newsworthy.
We had a successful Past Presidents meeting on May 20; it was great to reconnect with all the Sierra Chapter alumni. We also awarded the Tim Fleming Memorial Scholarship to Spencer Ord, who graciously accepted a very large (oversized) check from Susan Fleming.
Prior to the May 20 meeting, the Sierra Chapter Board voted unanimously to make another donation to the Tim Fleming Memorial Scholarship fund, which we proudly announced to Susan that night. It was also great to see a Sierra Chapter icon at that meeting, none other than Mr. Marco Palilla! Marco, who was instrumental in getting the Tim Fleming scholarship
Marco Palilla, Steve Sinnock, Ron Heinzen, Steve Greenfield, and Ted Hopkins
Front Row: Tom Blackburn, Chuck Cunningham, and Eddie Kho
Not pictured: Ed Henderson
off the ground and in honoring our Past Presidents each year, has been busy fighting off cancer since last October, so to see him back was a special treat.
Oh, did I mention that we also had a guest speaker that night? Dr. Lorenzo Smith, Dean of Sacramento State’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, was our speaker for the evening.
Just 10 days after the Past Presidents meeting, we had our annual Summer Social event in Roseville. At the Summer Social, I passed the traditional Sierra Chapter gavel on to next year’s President, Mr. Harvey Oslick. He, too, reminded me that I am STILL the President until July 1. Another tradition at our Summer Social is playing a game created by the incoming Vice President. Dana Remington came up with a “drinking game”, which was a rousing success. All in all, it was a great time. Those of you who missed it should be regretful!!
It has been a profound pleasure to serve as the Sierra Chapter President for 2014/2015. I look forward to continued service to the Chapter as one of your ACEC-CA State Board Members for the next two years. I hope you all have a busy and prosperous summer season and I look forward to seeing you in the Fall!
Cheers,
Tom
