What bar can Sierra Chapter raise? Does it matter if it’s an open bar or a cash bar?
If you were able to plow through my verbose message last month, you know that I’m not a big supporter of the Raise the Bar initiative. I just don’t think that the proposed solution is either a necessary or appropriate fix. I’m too much of an engineer sometimes. I want to fully understand a problem and find an efficient way to solve it. If the problem is that engineers are not keeping up with the latest technology and regulatory requirements, then continuing education and specialized certifications that demonstrate expertise in specific areas may be a better solution than requiring initial specialization, which would come with a Master’s degree before licensure, to practice general civil engineering.
A problem I want to solve as Chapter President is declining participation in Chapter events. We had a special event in September which was a good success, but, attendance at the October meeting was lower than we had hoped it would be. Based on Chapter history, the target attendance bar should be about 35 people. With attendance down to around 25 people, we need to take action to improve the situation.
To help identify the problem and potential solutions, I sent out a survey to find out what I might be able to do to encourage more people to come. One issue I faced is that I really didn’t get a statistically significant response, though I do appreciate the 15 percent of survey requests that were completed. But, as stereotypical engineer, I used the available data.
Based on responses to the survey of Chapter members, we switched our normal meeting time to lunch and arranged for speakers from local municipalities to talk about their future plans. This didn’t help much for attendance at the October meeting, but, I’m hoping for a better result in November.
The program at the November meeting will provide information about the City of Folsom. So, if you do work in Folsom, or if you want to work in Folsom, you should attend the meeting. If you know someone who might be interested, call them and encourage them to come, too.
We really want up-and-coming leaders to start attending meetings regularly. It’s important for the future leaders of engineering companies to develop an understanding of the political issues that face our industry and the processes that are used to protect the ability of consultants to provide valuable services. Chapter meetings are a great way to learn about current issues and events associated with public policy and our profession. Whether or not you can attend the meeting in November, you should send someone from your firm. In addition to learning about current issues, it’s also a great way to network with other firms. Please help me help Sierra Chapter reach the bar of 35 attendees for the November meeting.
Looking beyond November, there won’t be a Chapter meeting in December. On January 8th, there will be a joint luncheon meeting with APWA. The February Chapter meeting will be a dinner meeting honoring past Chapter presidents. In March, we’re planning a joint luncheon with Calmentor. After that, we could continue with lunchtime meetings, or move back to dinnertime.
One drawback to moving our regular meeting time to lunchtime is that it isn’t conducive having a cocktail before the meeting. An idea was discussed at our last Chapter Board meeting to see if there was any interest in firms sponsoring a pre-dinner cocktail hour. The Chapter may try this at the meeting in February. We may promote sponsorships with opportunities to give brief presentations during dinner. If there is interest, we might see if we can reach the attendance goal by going to the bar. This may be a reasonable and efficient solution to the attendance problem. Please let me know if your firm would be interested in supporting this “To the Bar” initiative.
