Greetings Sierra Chapter! It’s February and that means we get to celebrate a few things this month.
First, we celebrate some fantastic projects that our member firms have completed by way of the 2022 Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA). By the time this newsletter hits your inbox we will have enjoyed a fantastic virtual production spearheaded by ACEC California’s Marketing & Events Producer Brit Bertino. Last year’s virtual presentation was fantastic and was put together in just a matter of weeks. This year EEA will have a James Bond theme titled “License To Thrill 022” and I can’t wait to see what Brit and the ACEC CA staff can do with a whole year of planning this great event. Congratulations to all of our award-winning firms!
Our next opportunity to celebrate will be at our Past Presidents Dinner Meeting on February 23rd. It’s a great tradition in our chapter to annually invite our past presidents for dinner, celebrate their leadership of the chapter and just enjoy catching up on what’s going on in their lives.
We will also be celebrating the winners of the Tim Fleming Memorial Scholarship (we have 2 this year) and also hear from ACEC CA President Miranda Patton to be updated on what’s happening in ACEC at the state level.
In December, I announced the new ACEC Sierra Chapter – Caltrans District 3 Professional Liaison Committee (D3 PLC) that was freshly chartered. This committee consists of four representatives from ACEC Sierra Chapter firms, four representatives from Caltrans District 3 staff and four representatives from other local agencies. As previously described, this committee will provide input to Caltrans Headquarters’ PLC relating to the programs and operations germane to Caltrans District 3. The mission of the D3 PLC will be to share information that drives decisions, foster collaborative working relationships, discuss and act upon areas of shared interests such as funding sources, technical issues, and policy issues.
After asking for Sierra Chapter firms to submit letters of interest to participate on the D3 PLC, 11 very qualified firms enthusiastically responded. The board thoughtfully considered all of these firms and at our January board meeting decided on the following firms to represent the ACEC Sierra Chapter on the D3 PLC – AECOM, Dokken Engineering, GHD and Wood Rodgers. I want to thank all the firms that expressed interest in serving on the D3 PLC and encourage them to stay involved and attend the committee meetings even though they may not be voting members. I look forward to hearing how this new committee is making a difference in how our chapter member firms can work with both Caltrans District 3 and other local agencies on much needed regional infrastructure projects.
Speaking of serving ACEC and our chapter, there are plenty of other ACEC committees available with which to get involved. Also, it’s not too early to start thinking about serving our great chapter by being a board member either next year or in the future. Each and every year we look to replace one or more board members so please reach out to me, Vice President Tom Sell or any other board member if you are interested in knowing more about serving the chapter and our great industry.
Finally, I look forward to seeing you all at an upcoming membership meeting and let’s continue to build a better California!
Scott Lillibridge
ACEC-CA Sierra Chapter President
