Virginia Engineers Conference - Registration is Open - Read About Some of the Seminars Being Offered

The early registration price to attend this year's conference on Sept. 8 - 9 in Williamsburg ends August 9th.  Take advantage of lower rates and register before then.  If you plan to spend the night, then hotel reservations need to be made by you before August 20 when rates go up also.  

We have some exciting speakers and interesting seminars this year.  Here are a few of them:

The Project Management (all day) seminar will be conducted by 

Scott Braley with Braley Consulting and Training.  

Busch Gardens is giving a seminar on their roller coasters and 

you will be treated to a 'behind the scenes' tour as well.  

Have you heard about the massive expansion at Fort Lee?  Attend the seminar that will 

tell you about the 'nuts and bolts' needed to do the multi-million dollar construction projects. 

Discover the implications of recent worldwide earthquakes and the regional research findings for the Eastern US seismic engineering practice. Taught by Dr. James R. Martin, Prof. of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Director, Disaster Risk Management Institute, Virginia Tech

Hear about the challenges in the development of the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center 

from David T. Leaf with Dominion Virginia Power.

Brian Nehrbass with Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding-Newport News, will share with 

attendees the cutting edge technology of the new carriers.

Many more seminars are available - choose the one that best suits your needs.  With over 250 individuals and business owners attending last year, this year's conference is sure to be another hit! Earn up to 12 continuing education credits towards your license renewal. Don't miss this exceptional AND economical educational conference! 

Registration, sponsorship forms, and the schedule can all be found at www.VirginiaEngineersConference.org.

Questions? Contact Leigh Dicks, CAE, VSPE Executive Director, 804.364.0505 or LeighDicks@VSPE.org.

Testimonials Verify VSPE's Ethics and APELSCIDLA Regulations Review  Seminar is a Must Attend Seminar! 

VSPE's Ethics and APELSCIDLA Regulations Review seminar continues to be a hit! The latest seminar was held on June 18th in Richmond and was attended by over 20 individuals – members and non-members. Comments from the survey continue to reaffirm VSPE's belief that this is an excellent seminar and every Professional Engineer licensed in Virginia should attend. The principal reasons for offering this seminar are to enhance the understanding of the APELSCIDLA Regulations amongst all design professionals, particularly Professional Engineers, to shed light on the “gray areas” of engineering ethics, and to highlight the ethical requirements contained in the “Standards of Practice and Conduct” portion of the Regulations. As part of the seminar, attendees take an open-book examination covering the Regulations. Some of the exam questions even deal specifically with actual disciplinary cases decided by the APELSCIDLA Board.

The seminar would be beneficial to those in any of the other design professions as well! We've had several architects attend the seminar and encourage you to publicize the seminar to your peers and colleagues in the architecture, land surveying, landscape architecture, and interior design professions.

VSPE is in the process of selecting dates and locations for the next five seminar sessions.  The more people we have who commit to taking the seminar in one particular location, the better your chances of having it in or very near your hometown!  Send an email to Info@VSPE.org and tell us where you'd like the seminar to be held next. Previous locations included Richmond, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Blacksburg, and Arlington.

"I have been attending similar seminars in NC for years to

satisfy their PDH requirements and I found your event today exceeded

any I've previously been involved with."--William F. Goodfellow, P.E. (Richmond June 18, 2010)

"The program was very well done, and the exam, especially, was an excellent

method for review and in-depth understanding of the regulations."--Thomas J. Bolka, P.E.,

Turner Construction Company (Harrisonburg April 16, 2010)

"I feel that this course should be required for all before becoming a P.E. 

I serioiusly doubt that many people will sit down and read the rules and regulations,

and without taking a course like this, it is highly unlikely that people will have a

good understanding of the rules.  There were many items that I learned in the class

that I had not realized before.  The thought that ethics should be as simple as

doing the right thing certainly sounds good, but, there are many aspects of the

rules and how they apply to ethics that simple common sense does

not cover."--James R. Strozier, P.E. (Virginia Beach, March 26, 2010)

VSPE Files Complaint with State Licensing Board - NY Company Solicits Business But Not Registered in VA 

Here is just one way that VSPE assists its members and protects the public at the same time.  

On April 26, 2010, a member forwarded an email he received from a New York-based company promoting itself and the engineering services it offered.  Leigh Dicks, VSPE Executive Director, was asked to see if the company was registered with the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) to offer engineering services in Virginia. Upon using the License Lookup feature on the DPOR website, Ms. Dicks discovered that although the President of the NY company was registered to practice engineering in Virginia, his company was not.  To be absolutely sure, Ms. Dicks contacted DPOR and received confirmation on April 28 that the company was, in fact, not registered with DPOR.  A DPOR complaint form was then filled out and submitted on May 1.  DPOR informed VSPE on May 12 that an initial investigation would be conducted to determine if the evidence supported a possible violation.  During the investigation, the New York company was contacted and admitted to sending the email soliciting business in Virginia despite not being registered to do so.  The company agreed to cease soliciting business in Virginia and the file was then closed on June 8.

The lookup feature on the DPOR website is a great feature to use and can be found at the link below -

http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/regulantlookup/selection_input.cfm?CFID=1848303&CFTOKEN=56660492.

The lookup feature can be used to verify the registration of any design firm, whether located in Virginia or not, including branch offices. It is quick and easy and takes no more than a few minutes to get verification.  It can save you and your company time, money and a lot of headaches by verifying DPOR registration BEFORE you do business with another entity. 

Any individual can file a complaint with DPOR against any design professional or firm if they believe they are not complying with state regulations.  The link below takes you to the COMPLIANCE & INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION website where you can get a detailed explanation of the complaint process in Virginia, review their "Frequently Asked Questions" page, and download a complaint form to submit -  http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/dporweb/enf_main.cfm.  As a VSPE member, you can also submit your concerns to VSPE and if warranted, VSPE will file the complaint in your behalf.

VEPAC Golf Classic - A Huge Success   

Thanks to EVERYONE who participated either by playing in the golf tournament or being a sponsor. We raised $9600 which will be used in future elections to elect legislators who understand issues affecting the engineering profession.

Thanks to the following sponsors and foursomes:

A. Morton Thomas & Associates

Alliance Engineering

Ames & Gough

Austin Brockenbrough & Associates

BB&T

Campbell & Paris

CDM

Clark Nexsen

Collins Engineers

Dunbar Milby Williams Pittman & Vaughan

ECS Mid-Atlantic

Florence & Hutcheson

Hankins & Anderson

JMT

Schnabel Engineering

Malcolm Pirnie

Reiss & Associates

Wiley Wilson

1752 Financial Solutions

The Campbell & Paris foursome, led by Mark McGuire (far left), were willing to dress the part to shoot from the ladies tee! They came in second so I guess it really did help them!! What will they have to wear next year??? Join us on June 8, 2011, at Independence Golf Club to find out!

State Licensing Board News - Continuing Education Requirements

By Kate Nosbisch

Executive Director

APELSCIDLA Board                     

A friendly reminder – Continuing Education requirements are set to begin April 1, 2010.  If your license expires after March 30, 2010, you will have to attest to meeting CE requirements at renewal.   

The regulations are drafted broadly to allow licensees the flexibility to meet the requirements through a variety of methods as long as the coursework falls within the regulation.  The course must be related to the practice of the license being renewed and have a clear purpose and objective that will maintain, improve or expand the skills and knowledge relevant to practice.   

Fifty contact minutes shall equal one CE credit hour.  For segments less than 50 minutes, the sum of the segments may be totaled for computation of CE credit hours for that one CE course or activity.  One semester credit hour of approved college credit equals 15 CE credit hours and one quarter credit hour of approved college credit equals 10 CE credit hours.  

For further information, please review:

Regulations 18VAC10-20-683 and 18VAC10-20-687 APELSCIDLA Board regulations  

P.E. (Civil) Review Course Offered in Richmond - Register Before Aug. 30

VSPE offers the PE exam review course in the Richmond area for the civil P.E. examinations.  Applications are now being accepted for the Fall class.  For more information and to read testimonials about the course and the outstanding instructors we have, go to http://www.vspe.org/PE%20Review%20Course/FramePECourse.htm.  Classes begin Sept. 16 and deadline for registration is August 30.  Download registration form or you can also click on the link to the right of this article.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:  VSPE is pleased to announce that it has partnered with the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers to offer on-line review courses for the P.E. civil and the P.E. mechanical as well as the Fundamentals of Engineering.  Individuals from Virginia – members and non-members – will have the opportunity to take these courses via a webinar offered by MSPE.  The F.E. course is $350 for members; $550 for non-members.  The P.E. civil and mechanical course is $600 for members; $850 for non-members.  Individual sessions can also be taken at the member rate of $60 each or $95 each for non-members. The class will utilize textbooks published by Professional Publications, Inc. (PPI).  Textbooks must be purchased separately and are not included in the above registration fee.  To register for these on-line courses, please go to  http://mnspe.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=11.  Not a member yet?  Don’t worry, submit this membership application and then register at the member rate.  Don’t delay – sign up now to insure a spot!!

VSPE will continue to hold its live in-person review course in the Richmond metro area for the P.E. civil. This course uses educational material published by Kaplan AEC Education.  Registration deadline is August 30 and you will need to submit the registration form listed in the first paragraph above to reserve a spot.

Help expose middle school students to Engineering

with ODU's Summer Camp

Summer 2010