There have been a lot of exciting things happening for the American Council of Engineering Companies from a National and State perspective. It is an honor to serve as President for ACEC Alabama for the 2018/2019 fiscal year. It’s hard to believe that my term is halfway through. We have an extremely hard working Board made up of firm Principal’s from across the state and the very best Executive Director, Ms. Renée Casillas.
Renée, Kevin Blake of TTL, and I attended a listening session this past fall with new ACEC National President Linda Bauer Darr. I’m impressed with her leadership skills and excited about the future direction of ACEC National. ACEC will be working on an update to the strategic plan during 2019. The Fall Conference in Las Vegas was outstanding, and we had a record of over twenty attendees from Alabama.
Through years of involvement in ACEC, I’ve learned a lot about the importance of advocacy in our profession, expanded my knowledge of business practices, and have been blessed to make great friends while working alongside other firm principals to protect and promote the business interests of our great profession.
Some of our major accomplishments and upcoming items this year include:
- Advocacy
- ACEC now has a Top 3% National PAC.
- Rick Huett with the Alabama Board of Engineers and Land Surveyors (BELS) gave an update on their latest activities at our January Board meeting; we continue to represent ACEC Alabama members in BELS matters, including nominations for Board positions.
- We are working closely with the Alliance for Alabama’s Infrastructure (AAI) and other industry partners to advocate for increased infrastructure funding in Alabama – this will be a key issue when the legislature convenes in early March, and many of our members may be called on to assist in this effort. Sain has an incredible opportunity to make a huge difference in the future of Alabama’s Transportation Network.
- Education
- The Winter Conference hosted by the University of Alabama in December was outstanding, and plans are already being made for the Deep South Convention at San Destin in July.
- Membership
- We plan to increase membership engagement through committee involvement, participation in the Leadership Development Program, participation in fundraising activities, and the Engineering Awards Gala to be held again at the beautiful Grand Bohemian Mountain Brook on April 18th.
- One of our major focuses this year is to add new member firms, and we are excited to have several join already.
Involvement in ACEC Alabama gives all of us an opportunity to make a difference in our industry. We have a challenging and exciting year ahead. Thanks for the opportunity to serve as your President along with other outstanding leaders.