President

The Most Valuable VSPE Asset: You

By Edward C. Westerman, P.E., President

November 2008

You may remember my first President’s Message in the July newsletter wherein I indicated my primary goal was to increase VSPE membership and increase the involvement of current VSPE members in Society activities. That goal was the result of having served on the state Board of Directors for two years prior to my term as president and having witnessed firsthand the need for greater numbers of active, dedicated members. I had witnessed the same need when I served on the VSPE Tidewater Chapter Board of Directors. I recall a President’s Message from Chad Poultney a few years ago wherein he discussed the trend of declining membership in various national organizations. While it is of some comfort to know that VSPE is not alone with its declining membership, that fact does not help to resolve the problem. What will assist in solving our membership needs is ACTION on your part. Unsure how YOU can help VSPE?? Following are a few suggestions.

Ø Ask ONE co-worker or colleague to join NSPE/VSPE. You probably know a dozen or more professional engineers who are not members of NSPE/VSPE. Hand ONE of them an application and remind them the efforts by NSPE and VSPE on their behalf to protect professional engineering licensure and advocacy on behalf of professional engineers is worth far more than the cost of annual membership. If you are an extroverted engineer, ask TWO co-workers or colleagues to join!

Ø Attend the next APELSCIDLA Board or APELSCIDLA Board PE Section meeting and witness firsthand the actions of the Board that regulates your profession. The APELSCIDLA Board and PE Section meet quarterly in Richmond . All meetings start at 9:00 am. The next PE Section meeting is November 4, 2008. The next APELSCIDLA Board meeting is December 10, 2008. Let me know when you plan to attend so I can be sure to introduce myself.

Ø Volunteer to assist with your local VSPE chapters. The Lynchburg and Tidewater Chapters, in particular, need volunteers and chapter officers.

Ø Volunteer to assist with a local MATHCOUNTS competition. Unsure who to contact to volunteer? Contact Leigh Dicks (VSPE Executive Director) at LeighDicks@VSPE.org and she will put you in contact with the local MATHCOUNTS coordinator.

Ø Volunteer to assist with the statewide MATHCOUNTS competition on March 28, 2009 (held in Richmond in March each year).

Ø Provide a personal or corporate monetary donation to MATHCOUNTS. MATHCOUNTS relies on donations to defray the cost of the statewide and local competitions and your donation will be greatly appreciated. Checks need to be made payable to VSPE Educational Fund.

Ø Provide a personal or corporate monetary donation to the Virginia Engineers Political Action Committee (VEPAC). Your gift of any size will assist in lobbying efforts at the General Assembly. Do you like to play golf? If so you can play a round of golf and support VEPAC at the same time by playing in the annual VEPAC Golf Tournament, to be held in Richmond on June 10, 2009. Visit the VSPE website (www.vspe.org) for additional information regarding VEPAC.

Ø Support VSPE by attending VSPE-sponsored seminars and conferences. One such opportunity is the annual Virginia Engineers Conference (VEC). This two-day conference, typically held in Williamsburg in September, provides outstanding opportunities for professional development and networking at a very reasonable cost. The 2009 conference is September 16-17 at the Williamsburg Marriott. In the near future you will have the opportunity to support VSPE by attending a series of one and one-half day leadership development courses. Six different courses will be offered, all geared towards enhancing and refining your leadership skills.

Ø Interested in outreach opportunities with college students majoring in engineering? Contact Rick Blackwell at Rick@BlackwellEngineering.com and volunteer your time to work with our future professional engineers.

Ø Interested in teaching a subject or two for a PE review course? VSPE currently sponsors a civil engineering PE review course in the Richmond area each year but we are interested in expanding both the number of disciplines taught and the locations. If you would like to assist with this effort, please contact me.

From this partial list of VSPE volunteer opportunities, I hope it is clear VSPE both needs and desires your volunteer assistance. Please give thoughtful consideration to donating a few hours each month to VSPE. If donating time is out of reach for you, please consider a monetary donation, either personal or corporate, to MATHCOUNTS or VEPAC. At the very least, please download a membership form here or from the VSPE website (www.vspe.org), hand it to a co-worker or colleague, and explain the benefits of NSPE/VSPE membership.

At my firm we have a saying that our most valuable assets walk out the door each night. This is another way of saying people are our most valuable assets. The same is true with VSPE. Members like you are the most valuable asset of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers and I ask you to please volunteer your time, talents, and gifts to the betterment of VSPE.

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