While my wife and I drove to South Padre Island from East Texas three weeks ago, my mind reflected on the past several times the Texas Section of ASCE met on the island since the mid to late 1980’s. We had not actually been to the island since 2006, when an underwater creature bit my big toe severely, and Hurricane Katrina was brewing in the Gulf, ravaging the beach, on its way to strike New Orleans the following day.
The roughened beauty of the Texas Coast remains intact after the latest storm: 350 members of ASCE Student Chapters from 20+ universities across Texas and Mexico! These students were attending the annual ASCE Texas Student Symposium, hosted by our University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Student Chapter and Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Branch professionals, from April 10th to13th. Nearly half of the students were college seniors, and the environment was fertile for those firms who participated in the Career Fair!
The folks from the UTRGV Student Chapter and the RGV Branch displayed superb hospitality and were wonderfully organized. The annual Concrete Canoe Races were held in the bay on Saturday, and the weather was beautiful! Other competitions that day included Concrete Bowling and Concrete Frisbee. Congratulations to this year’s 1st Place Overall Concrete Canoe Competition winner: University of Texas at Austin! Stay tuned for a full event recap with all competition results coming soon!
Please participate in your branch’s activities and volunteer for leadership roles within the branch as officer nominations and elections are about to take place across the state. In addition, voting for ASCE elections is now open. The Section has endorsed Jean-Louis Briaud, PhD, PE, D.GE, Dist.M.ASCE, for the 2020 President-Elect role. Learn more and vote by June 3, 2019: https://www.asce.org/elections/
In mid-May we will be celebrating Infrastructure Week. In the meantime, as the Texas State Legislators are pushing to end their session deadlines, continue to follow the introduced bills and be sure to offer your support or voice your opposition to your member of Congress. They want to hear from you and value your input.
Invest in yourself and participate. Be a TexASCE volunteer!
Art Clendenin PE
ASCE Texas Section President (105th) 2018-2019
