Summer is almost over. Weather is almost balmy. Another exciting ACEC-year is about to take off. As the incoming President of the Sierra Chapter, I take this opportunity to
welcome you all. I also take this opportunity to reflect upon the past year and thank the people who were responsible for making it a successful one. Special thanks to our outgoing president, Landon Blake who came up with some bright ideas for events like Young  Professionals Forum and Agency Excellence Award. The Young Professionals Forum, as the name suggests, was meant to attract young professionals and get them involved in various activities that ACEC pursues. It was a very successful event. Thank you, Landon! Unfortunately, Agency Excellence Award did not come to pass for various reasons; but the seed is planted, and we plan to bring it to fruition this year. More on these two items later.

To borrow from Shakespeare, some are scheduled to become the Chapter Presidents,
some never want to be one, and some have the role of president thrust upon them. I fall into the last category because of Kathy Wickam’s unexpected move from the Sacramento area. She, however, has graciously agreed to serve on the chapter board and decided to make the monthly journey from Utah to California and back. Kathy would have been a great president. We will miss her in that role. Kevin Gustorf and Jerry Jones stepped up to fill up the positions of Vice Present and Secretary. We have a wonderful and supportive board, backed by the experience and wisdom of Marco Palilla. I welcome Scott Lillibridge, the newest member of the board and thank Marshall Moore, Chad Coleman, and Tom Sell for their continued commitment. Debbie LoCicero makes it all happen. I can’t thank her enough.

On the political front, the November mid-term election is almost upon us. Given the current political landscape of our country, it is important that as professionals we should
look beyond partisanship and the political rhetoric and focus on the issues that will have impact on California’s infrastructure and our profession. In the end, our business is intimately connected to the welfare of the State and the growth of our infrastructure. There are a couple of ballot measures that are important to our communities at large
and to the consultants and engineers who make up our organization.

• Proposition 3 is a citizen’s initiative water bond.
  The bond will invest about $8.8 billion dollars in
  California water infrastructure. Support for
  Proposition 3 will provide funding for repair and
  expansion of key infrastructure for both state and
  local water supplies, and support improving our
  water supply system. ACEC California strongly
  encourages you to vote YES on Prop 3. Follow the
  link (https://www.acec-ca.org/page/yesonprop3)
  to read more.
• Proposition 6, if passed will deliver a significant
  blow to transportation infrastructure funding.
  ACEC California has been campaigning very
  hard to bring awareness on the issue with the
  goal of defeating Proposition 6 and preserving
  the critical funding that SB 1 provided for the
  state’s transportation infrastructure. ACEC
  California strongly encourages you to vote No
  on Prop 6. Visit https://www.acec-ca.org/page/
  NoOnProp6 for more information.

As a member of the engineering community, each one of us should talk to our friends, neighbors, and colleagues, explain the importance of infrastructure funding that would keep California’s economy humming.

We already have some great speakers lined up and some exciting events planned, including Young Professionals Forum and Agency Excellence Award. But all these
will be meaningless without your participation and support. I would encourage you to:

• Attend at least one meeting before 2018 is over. Bring a young(er) person along and
  introduce him/her to the ACEC world.
• Think of the public agencies you work with. See if they deserve some recognition for the work they do and be considered for our Agency Excellence Award.
• Start writing up the great project that you are working on now, so that it is ready for
  submittal for next year’s Engineering Excellence Award (EEA).

See you all soon,
Debanik Chaudhuri