Greetings-

I am pleased to report that I have recently returned from the ACEC state conference, board meeting, and Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) in Orange County. Several other Chapter representatives joined me for a phenomenal event. I would encourage all of you to attend the conference and EEA in the future if you have the opportunity. Attendees networked with other Chapter leadership, discussed ACEC business and initiatives, heard from ACEC National leadership, and recognized a few of the outstanding projects our member firms have completed.

One key focus of our state board meetings is to discuss pending legislation and ballot measures that have the potential to impact our industry. Our legislative staff present each issue to the group and we discuss the impacts to our respective firms. Our feedback is used by our lobbyists for their conversations with elected representatives. ACEC is working hard to support your firm’s best interests!

The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists is considering requiring Professional Development Hours as a requirement for license renewal. The Board claims that this focuses on, “the advancement, extension, and improvement of the technical aspects and professional skills of the licensee and on the enhancements of professional ethics.” Other states and certification programs in California have similar requirements. The Board has been soliciting input from professionals and it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

By Erik Fanselau

By Marco Palilla, Director and Past President

 

At our February membership dinner, your Board of Directors recognized current Director, Marco Palilla, for his 42 years in engineering and his extensive history of service to our industry.  He has begun his retirement transition and we wanted to do something as a gesture of our appreciation. Marco served as our Chapter President from 2010-2011, continues to serve as a Director, and has been the champion of many initiatives at the Sierra Chapter such as our Tim Fleming Scholarship support, Past President’s Dinner, Legislative Visit Day, CSUS/UOP liaison, and many roles outside of ACEC. Please join me in saying thank you for everything he has done for our Chapter.

By Erik Fanselau

 

The Sierra Chapter was pleased to welcome Gene Bougdanos, ACEC California President, at our February membership dinner.  Gene was in town for an event at the Capitol for Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day that ACEC supported. He gave us a brief overview of current ACEC California activities.

By Erik Fanselau

Please join us on March 20 for our annual joint dinner with Calmentor. We are pleased to announce that Eric Souza, Caltrans North Region Chief Deputy, will be joining us and will talk about the Caltrans Core 4 which are safety, climate action, equity, and economic prosperity.

Watch your inbox for the meeting invite.

By Erik Fanselau

 

Our annual ACEC Legislative Visit Day is coming up fast Wednesday, April 24th. This is our annual opportunity to advocate for infrastructure, any sponsored legislation, and other industry issues with state legislators and promote our consulting engineer and land surveying agenda. This year ACEC California will once again be hosting an in-person event. Historically, the Sierra Chapter brings a large and active group of volunteers and Marco and I want to continue that tradition.

By Rosa Griggs and Marco Palilla, Sierra Chapter Directors