Seattle Is Number 61
Last weekend, the Board of Directors approved the Seattle Chapter as the 61st Chapter of ASPE. The Seattle Chapter formed thanks to the hard work of many people. Patrick Cooper, the interim President, worked with a local Board of Directors to spearhead the effort. The Portland Chapter, especially Chapter President Chris Scott, provided both financial and moral support. Jeff Ingertson, Vice President, Membership; Matt Bell, Region 4 Director; and Mike Adkins, Region 4 Affiliate Liaison were also instrumental in getting the Chapter started.
The Chapter will have their formal Chartering ceremony in March. I plan on attending, as well as, Executive Director Stan Wolfson and Jeff Ingertson.
The new Chapter has seen an increased interest in the Seattle area. The initial meetings were very well attended, with numbers far exceeding the required minimum numbers for Chapter status.
My congratulations to the new Chapter. Seattle and Puerto Rico will make their first appearance at the ASPE Biennial Convention in Philadelphia. They will have the honor position of sitting in the front row during the Business meeting.
Be sure to welcome Seattle as the latest Chapter.
Grass Roots Budget Meeting
The next Grass Roots Budget Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, 2010. The meeting will be held from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Central Time. You can adjust for your time zone accordingly.
This year, there will be a new format for the grass roots budget meeting. The meeting will be run similar to our webinars. The sound will be broadcast over the internet through your computer. In the past, the sound was through the telephone, with visual projection through the computer.
Because of the newer system, questions from remote locations will be typed and sent through the computer. There will be no voice questions during the presentation.
Everyone is invited to the live broadcast in Chicago at the new ASPE Headquarters. The Chapter officers in the conference room will be allowed to ask questions directly during the broadcast.
There has been some concern regarding the cost to present the Grass Roots Budget meeting. Chapter Presidents were recently asked if they thought the Grass Roots Budget meeting should be cancelled. Let me assure you that the Grass Roots Budget meeting is not an expensive venture.
The only Board members that are present for the Grass Roots Budget meeting are the Treasurer and myself. The Society does pay to fly Gary Mahoney to Chicago. Fortunately for the Society, I drive the 50 miles and don’t charge the Society anything.
So, as you can see, the only other cost is the cost of broadcasting the meeting over the internet. That is minimal. The overall cost is insignificant when compared to the value for all of the Chapters that are participating.
I will encourage all of the Chapters to have at least one Chapter officer participating in the Grass Roots Budget meeting. Preferably, a number of Chapter officers from every Chapter will participate. It would be great to have 100 percent participation from the Chapters.
2010-2011 Budget
Within the next few weeks, every Chapter will receive a copy of the first few pages of the 2010-2011 proposed budget. This draft budget will be what is discussed at the Grass Roots Budget meeting.
Some have requested the full budget. Realize that the complete Society budget is in excess of 350 pages. It would take a review that the Board goes through to even understand the details in the budget. For that reason, we send the cover pages which show the overview of the budget.
The Finance Committee combs through the budget looking for ways to increase revenues and decrease expenses. They are familiar with all of the details contained within this budget.
The proposed budget has a surplus of over $400,000. There are some minor adjustments that have to be made after the recent Board of Directors meeting. However, I believe the surplus should still be within this range.
Since this is a Convention year, we look for a surplus of over $500,000. However, with a down economy and the high cost of a convention in the Northeast, the surplus is lower than we would like.
One of the other concerns that the Board has, when developing the budget, is the unwillingness of the members to purchase new publications when they are presented. With nearly 7,000 members, one would expect that any new publication would sell around 2,000 copies. Experience indicates that the more likely number is 300 copies.
I would ask the Chapters what can be done to increase the use of ASPE publications. Every time a new publication is issued, we need your help to sell the publication.
Another concern with developing the budget is attendance at the Biennial Convention. We have experienced a drop in attendance for the full conference registrations. Again, we need the Chapters help to boost full Conference registration.
Going Green
The Board of Directors voted to go completely green at the ASPE Biennial Convention in Philadelphia.
The details of the “going green” will be announced shortly. This will be the first engineering convention that will attempt to go totally green. The Business meeting will also be green.
By totally green, we mean that to the extent possible there will be no handouts nor paper for any of the programs or meetings. We expect to provide everything electronically.
Of course, many of the seminars will have a green twist. Their emphasis on design will be going green.
CPD Webinars
A wonderful opportunity will be made available to all of the individuals planning on taking the CPD exam. There will be a series of webinars to help individuals study for the CPD.
In addition to the webinars, there are three practice exams that are on-line. These practice exams can be used as a study guide in preparing for the exam.
We discovered that individuals taking the practice exam where 50 percent more likely to pass the CPD exam than individuals that did not take the exam. In other words, the practice exams are useful tools for studying.
While promoting the CPD exam, please promote the CPD webinar and the CPD practice exams. Remind those taking the CPD exam that the webinars and practice exams will greatly assist in preparing for the exam. Promote being prepared to take the exam.
Fellow Deadline
The deadline for applications to the Kenneth G. Wentink College of Fellows has been extended until March 15, 2010. I would encourage you to get to work on nominating individuals to the College of Fellows. The requirements and nomination form can be found on the ASPE website.
A candidate must be either a PE, PEng, or CPD. A minimum of 15 years of experience after receiving the PE, PEng, or CPD is recommended. Each nomination requires two letters of support for the candidate.
I have already submitted a few applications for individuals that I thought were deserving of the recognition.
The new members of the College of Fellows will be announced at the ASPE Banquet in Philadelphia.
Delegate Notification
This year, the deadline for submitting the names of the delegates for each Chapter is July 15, 2010. This is an easy date to remember since it is the same date that the treasurer’s reports are due. Chapters must have their list submitted by this date.
The list of delegates is used to prepare the credentials for the Business meeting. This list is also used to determine the travel reimbursement for each Chapter.
Chapters are permitted to list alternates on the delegates list. There is no limit to the number of alternates. An alternate can be moved to delegate status after the July 15, 2010, deadline, assuming a listed delegate is removed. The alternate will be permitted to assume full delegate status.
This means that if you elect delegates, you must have the election in either May or June. If you select the Chapter officers, it must be done after the elections in May.
Your Region Directors will continue to harass you to have your delegate list submitted on time. The delegate list form will be a part of this year’s annual report forms. So, you will be assured of having the proper form for submitting delegate names.
Check Out the Website
Have you checked the ASPE website lately? It looks great.
Staff, under the direction of Richard Albrecht, have been redoing the ASPE website. It is amazing how good it looks.
Plus, it is much easier to negotiate the website. Richard and the rest of the ASPE staff have done a great job. Drop them a note telling them what you think of the website.
Another nice feature of the website is that you can read PS&D on-line. There are also archives of older editions of the magazine.
I have been asked, mostly by the younger generation, if you can get PS&D on-line rather than in the mail. The answer is YES. Simply let PS&D staff know and they will switch your subscription from a mailed copy to an electronic copy.
Open House
The Chicago weather cooperated and we had a very successful open house. The temperatures were a balmy 30+ degrees in the middle of January.
During the open house, the plaque honoring all of the Chapters that zeroed out their outstanding dues rebate. The plaque is right as you enter the building. It looks great.
There will be a picture of the plaque in the next issue of PS&D.
Also on the wall is an electronic plaque of all the contributors to the Building Fund. You can have fun looking for your name on the list.
IAPMO Code Changes
ASPE has submitted a number of code changes to the IAPMO Uniform Plumbing Code. The code changes relate to venting requirements, siphonic roof drainage, and engineered design. The code changes will be included in this year’s cycle of code changes that will result in the 2012 Uniform Plumbing Code.
The first meeting to review the code changes will take place in Milwaukee the last week of April. ASPE will be represented on both the Plumbing Technical Committee and the Mechanical Technical Committee.
Within the next month, the code changes will be posted on the IAPMO website. Download the code changes and review them with your Chapter. If there are any comments you would like to offer, contact Greg Farmer, P.E., Vice President, Legislative.
New ASPE Design Standard
The ASPE Design Standard Committee is finalizing the next standard for publication. The new standard is on rainwater harvesting.
I have had the opportunity to review the standard and I can say it is an outstanding design standard. The new design standard will be announced shortly on the ASPE website and in PS&D magazine.
You will be able to obtain copies either electronically or in hard copy. This is a standard that every plumbing engineer will want to have. When it is issued, I would encourage all of you to purchase a copy. I would also encourage you to promote this standard within your Chapter. ASPE will gladly provide an order form that you can add to your Chapter newsletter.
RF Reorganized
One of the comments I often receive is, “What is RF doing?” I try to explain that the Research Foundation is a separate corporation from ASPE. The ASPE Board of Directors does not run the Research Foundation. The Research Foundation has their own Board of Directors.
The ASPE Board has the authority to reorganize the Research Foundation’s Board of Directors. The Board exercised that authority at the January Board Meeting. In an effort to move forward with research, grant requests, and plumbing engineering innovation, a new Board of Directors was appointed to the Research Foundation.
The former Board members were thanked for their time and effort. An announcement of activities by the Research Foundation will be issued shortly by the foundation. They still remain a separate corporation, independent of ASPE.
Region Meetings
The Board of Directors re-instituted a policy of sending the Vice Presidents and Secretary (and Treasurer) to the Region Presidents’ Meetings. The Board members found it beneficial to have the Vice Presidents and Secretary present.
This provides an opportunity for the Chapter Presidents to interact with another Board member other that their Region Director.
This new policy will take place at this year’s Region Presidents’ Meetings. The President and Executive Director have always attended at least one Region Presidents’ Meeting. This year, I will be attending the Region 4 Presidents’ Meeting.
I am sure the Vice Presidents and Secretary will be telling you which meetings they will be attending. I’ll let them make the announcements, rather than me.
Your Comments
Your cards and letters are always appreciated. All of your comments are welcome. Also, feel free to share information with other Chapters through this Newsletter.
Contact me at any time. I can be reached at PrezASPE@aol.com. My office number is 219-922-6171.
