ACEC California’s State Board Meeting and Annual Conference was held February 14-16 in Orange County at the Hyatt Regency in Garden Grove. For the first time the keystone event was combined with the Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet. The event included the quarterly Board of Directors Meetings, Educational Sessions, Networking events, Exhibitors Hall, a PAC social event and the Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet.
The day before the conference was an all-day Board of Directors meeting. Four Sierra Chapter representatives attended. Discussions included an encouraging update from Jennifer Horne (ACEC-CA) on recent successes in getting amendments from several agencies on RFPs that initially violated Qualifications Based Selection requirements. Each chapter gave an update on their membership engagement and shared ideas that could benefit other chapters. Sierra Chapter’s President, Tom Sell, updated the board on the chapter’s monthly events, speakers, and scholarship initiatives. ACEC is sponsoring Assembly Bill 334, which clarifies the state’s conflict of interest statute, Government Code 1090, in order to prevent member firms from being barred from participating on later phases of a public agency’s project simply for having worked on an earlier phase. There will be a big push for support to get AB 334 passed this year.
The two day conference included educational sessions on topics ranging from employee retention to de-commoditizing the industry. Attendees enjoyed keynote presentations on leveraging leadership and how resiliency speaks to the brain. This conference included ACEC CA’s first ever “speed sessions” to introduce attendees to a variety of topics from industry experts in short, 20-minute segments.
The PAC fundraiser was a highlight for many – attending an NHL hockey game, the Anaheim Ducks vs the Buffalo Sabres. It was a fun game with great seats and a lot of scoring as the Sabres came out on top 7-3. About 75 participated, generating around $15,000 towards ACEC-CA’s 2023 goal of over $100,000 in contributions to the Federal PAC.
Over 250 people gathered on the last night of the conference for the 2023 EEA Banquet. The Banquet was emceed by comedian Don McMillan, an electrical engineer turned comedian and former contestant on America’s Got Talent. Several projects were recognized for demonstrating an exceptional degree of innovation, complexity, achievement, and value. Twelve projects earned the prestigious Honor Award distinction, thirteen were recognized with Merit Awards, and ten Commendation Awards were granted. HNTB Corporation was announced as the winner of the 2023 Golden State Award for the Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement Project in Los Angeles, CA. The awards celebration was also a fundraiser for the ACEC California Scholarship Foundation, which provides scholarship awards to graduate and undergraduate students who are recognized for their notable and outstanding academic achievements.
Next year, ACEC CA is planning a similar event that combines the EEA awards with the conference and board meeting. ACEC CA and local chapters have a renewed sense of energy to meet federal PAC goals and continue advocating on behalf of the engineering profession.
