Rich Matson, PE, Team Leader, Bridge & Tunnel Inspections, AECOM, and BSCES President-Elect
From January 8-10, 2026 our YMG Chair, Justin Cadima, Region 1 Governor, Geoffrey Schwartz, four Northeastern student members, and myself attended the 2026 ASCE Regions 1, 2, 4, & 5 Multi-Region Leadership Council (MRLC) in Jacksonville, FL. This conference combines section & branch leaders with younger members and student members. The long weekend started out with some pre-conference social events on January 8 that I attended. The first event was a Stadium of the Future Tour of EverBank Stadium (home of the Jacksonville Jaguars). We had an opportunity to have a technical presentation of the challenges and successes of the project over the last few years and the vision for the future of this Stadium and surrounding area. We then had a guided tour of the Stadium on the concourse. Afterwards we took St. Johns River Boat tour up and down along downtown Jacksonville. It was a neat experience to hear about the history of Jacksonville, including the last remaining Maxwell House Coffee manufacturing plant remaining in the United States, which thankfully smelled amazing. After the boat tour, we spent the evening hours at a welcome networking social at Ruby Beach Brewing. This was the perfect setting to socialize with other ASCE members from across regions 1, 2, 4, & 5 with some appetizers, competitive cornhole games, and some raffle prizes.
Friday morning on January 9, 2026 we kicked off the registration & breakfast at 7:15AM and had a welcome presentation from the ASCE President, Dr. Marsha Anderson Bomar, Ph. D., AICP, ENV SP, H.ITE, NA for all conference attendees at 8:00AM. It is always inspiring to hear the background personal stories of how our ASCE leadership came to be in these roles and the accomplishments they have made in their careers. Throughout the day we had breakout sessions with our individual regions to collaborate among our surrounding states and brainstorm challenges and successes of each section & branch. We also had larger sessions where we had various topics such as AI, legal issues for volunteer leaders, and communication systems that power volunteer boards. In between these sessions, we had networking breaks and a networking lunch where I would always sit with different people to try and learn from as many as I could. We wrapped up our Friday events with a networking social abroad the USS Orleck (Dd-886), which is Gearing-class destroyer (battleship) and is the most decorated post-World War II Ship in the US Navy and has earned names such as “Train Buster of the Korean War” and “Gray Ghost of the Vietnam Coast.” This was an amazing opportunity to socialize on this battleship and to have self-guided tours of the various decks and the bridge.
Saturday morning on January 10, 2026 we started the day off with a networking breakfast followed by some breakout sessions where we got to learn about pathways to leadership. Afterwards I attended the ERYMC business meeting with our YMG Chair, Justin Cadima, where Justin put in a bid for Boston to host the Fall 2028 ASCE Regions 1, 2, 4, & 5 MRLC. Unfortunately, Boston was not selected as the preferred site, but we were selected as an alternate site. If Boston does end up hosting this event in 2028, we would need lots of help from our member volunteers with putting on social events, site tours, and volunteers to assist during the meetings. We will cross that bridge if it happens. The remaining sessions were intriguing to listen and engage with topics that ranged from professional ethics to bringing student members into the conversation. The sessions then concluded with an ERYMC awards banquet, which was a formal event and ASCE provided professional headshots for all those attending.
On Sunday, January 11, 2026 Justin and I headed back to Boston. This was an interesting commute to the airport as the Jacksonville Jaguars were set to host the Buffalo Bills in Jacksonville for the AFC wild card playoff game and our hotel was one mile from the stadium. After much traffic we made our way to the airport and were also greeted by the Northeastern students at the airport as we all traveled on the same plane. It was great to hear the student’s perspective at the airport of the sessions they attended and the volunteer leaders they met at this event. I strongly recommend for anyone looking to get involved with BSCES and/or ASCE that you attend a conference as they are a great way to learn how you can get involved and I especially recommend the MRLC as this is one of my favorite events ever since I used to attend in my ASCE student chapter days.