President’s Message (September 2020)

September 15, 2020

A Message from ASCE Texas Section President Susan K. Roth PE, PMP (2019-2020)

What an incredible ASCE year this has been, despite the pandemic, racial injustice, and many other challenges our world has faced in 2020. As my term as President comes to an end next month, I want you to know that it has truly been a special honor and privilege to serve ASCE Texas Section in this role. I greatly appreciate the outstanding work of my Executive Team, Board members, and committee chairs, as well as their commitment during these unprecedented times. I would also like to thank the Texas Section staff for their continuous support of all our programs and initiatives.

During this past ASCE year, we have continued to advance the Texas Section’s strategic plan and focused on my primary goals that I refer to as the ‘3Ms’ (Member Benefits, Membership Growth and Mentoring Programs). In my closing message, I especially want to highlight the first ‘M’: Membership Benefits. We’re wrapping up a strong year of programs and initiatives implemented; here’s a quick recap:

• Texas Infrastructure Report Card officially kicked off in January 2020 with 55 members participating on the committee; new report format drafted for 12 infrastructure categories along with review completed by ASCE National
• Texas Section Strategic Planning kicked off in February 2020 with discussion breakout sessions held during 2020 Leadership Development Weekend
• Multi-Regional Leadership Conference in Detroit (early January 2020) – Texas Section received ‘Outstanding Section & Branch 2019 Web Award’
• University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) hosted the ASCE Texas Student Symposium in early March 2020 with another successful year of attendance and participation: 498 participants (405 students, 93 professional members and 19 universities representing Texas and Mexico) — Tecnologico de Monterrey won 1st place in Concrete Canoe (see video clip)

• Release of a new Section Toolkit for Branches – developed to provide ideas, resources and guidance on overall member engagement at the local Branch level; provides strategies for social media administration, younger member engagement, mobile payments handling, creation of Civil Engineering (CE) clubs in high schools, and best practices on hosting virtual meetings; ASCE National has promoted this new toolkit to the other Sections
• Leadership Development Weekend was held at Canyon of the Eagles in Burnet, Texas (38 members attended – 22 in person & 16 remotely)
• Outreach to government entities (TWDB, TxDOT and TCEQ) for feedback on ways that ASCE Texas Section can partner and provide additional value
• Texas Section’s Flood Mitigation Advisory Task Committee served as a technical resource for TWDB (Senate Bill 8, Asset Management, etc.) and provided review comments on several documents
• Communications with Branches and Section Directors – monthly calls/virtual meetings initiated to discuss questions, issues, and challenges of Branches
• Communications with Section and Branch Institute Chapter Leaders – monthly calls/virtual meetings initiated to continue fostering relationships and communication
• Initiated discussions to establish a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the coming year with the goal of reviewing guidance documents and recommending implementation strategies
• Initiated discussions to schedule bi-monthly technical webinars with the goal of providing additional technical resource options for members
• CECON Committee pivoting to a sophisticated virtual conference platform (November 4-6, 2020)

Sean Merrell will run the next leg of the ASCE relay race as I pass the baton to him. He will do an excellent job leading our organization! Thank you again for your trust and continued support throughout this year.

Susan K. Roth PE, PMP
ASCE Texas Section President, 2019-2020