President’s Report

by Stephen F. Rusteika, Jr., CS, M.ASCE, Managing Principal & Senior Project Manager PMA Consultants LLC

 

I know and I agree, the New England Patriots should be Super Bowl Champions and we should be exalting in their win. Unfortunately, like many of you, I watched the game clock run out on what was still a great year. Not many teams make it to the Super Bowl, never mind as many times as New England has in recent years. It is not a good feeling, but there is not much anyone can do. That is why players come back and continue to work hard to get to the Super Bowl again. I personally think that BSCES won its own Super Bowl when ASCE selected us to receive the Outstanding Section and Branch Award. We did it and it was all due to our collective hard work and dedication. Now, we will continue to work hard, grow our membership and be the best team we can be. I look forward to the great things that BSCES will accomplish in the future, and winning future Super Bowls.

 

As part of BSCES’ on-going efforts to strengthen our relationships with our ASCE Student Chapters, BSCES held their Finance Committee meeting and Board of Government meeting at Northeastern University on January 26th. The meetings were very well attended and went extremely well. The Board invited Student Chapter Officers to join us for the Board of Government meeting and to participate in the meeting. The Board was welcomed by Jerome F. Hajjar, PhD, PE, professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University, and also Past President of the Minnesota Section of ASCE. Jerry, and the Student Chapter, were fantastic hosts and made the Board feel welcome. I truly appreciate the time and effort they put into making our meeting productive. After the official meeting, board members joined several students, as well as the faculty advisor and the coop coordinators for a social event where board members were able to meet with the students, hear about their classes and get a Department update from Jerry. I also used this opportunity to present a check to the Student Chapter president from BSCES to support their efforts. It truly was a great day and I want to personally thank the Northeastern University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Student Chapter for all of their efforts. They are truly a class act.

 

This month, BSCES will be holding our Finance Committee and Executive Committee meetings at Wentworth Institute of Technology on February 9th. All of the plans have been made as of this writing and the Executive Committee is looking forward to meeting the students and learning more about their endeavors. This is an exciting and fruitful time for the Board and the Student Chapters. I feel that these efforts are but a first seed that will grow into even more interaction and support between our groups. I am looking forward to it.

 

By the time you read this message, The Engineering Center Education Trust’s (TECET) Annual Leadership Dinner will have occurred at the State Room in Boston. This year’s Honoree is Peter Meade, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. BSCES is a Sponsor of this event and BSCES Past President Danielle Spicer, and I are on the Organizing Committee. I hope that you had the opportunity to attend the Dinner and to participate in all of the great things that TECET accomplishes. Each year the Dinner is very well attended and a great industry event for BSCES.

 

Did you realize that National Engineer’s Week is next week? Maybe you received an email from Diana Gadsby at The Engineering Center or read advertisements for related events in the January 2012 BSCESNews. Like all of you, I get a lot of emails during the day and week, but please don’t ignore these. Kicking things off the Friday before National Engineers Week, on February 17th, the Engineers Week - New England’s annual Awards Ceremony and Luncheon will happen. Be there or be square as they say. This is a great event and several people will be recognized for their accomplishments and efforts. We are all engineers and should take the time to celebrate Engineers Week. It only happens once a year.

 

As an update, the BSCES website committee continues to work hard at improving and expanding the website. We have been having regular meetings and numerous dedicated people are working very hard to continuously improve the content and overall look of the website. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send them to BSCES Website Committee Chair Clay Schofield (cschofield@capecodcommission.org). The only way we can respond to comments and suggestions is to know what they are.

 

I also want to take a moment to acknowledge BSCES Executive Director Tony Puntin for all of his efforts getting the word out about BSCES and everything we do, and meeting with anyone and everyone who wants to learn more about BSCES. Tony’s energy and commitment to BSCES is great. I also want to send my get well wishes to BSCES’ Association Manager, Rich Keenan. I hope you feel better soon and make a quick recovery. We are all more productive when you are involved.

 

If you would like to get involved, have an idea for an event or presentation, or want to learn more about ASCE/BSCES, please do not hesitate to contact me (srusteika@PMAConsultants.com) or Tony Puntin (apuntin@engineers.org). We look forward to hearing from you!