Matthew Barnard, S.E.
SEAOSC President
We are looking to celebrate! You have made 2020/2021 into a very successful year for the Association. Together, we are surviving Covid and together we have delivered a complete program year with versions of most of our treasured events and activities.
Because of you, these events have been engaging and well attended. The Leadership Symposium curated by WiSE is a great example of how our members delivered something valuable to us all. If you missed the actual event, a replay series with highlights from the Symposium is going on right now! Check it out. Through the great support of CSI, the cost of attending the replay series is minimal.
Because of you, our Committees continue to advance the practice of structural engineering in Southern California. Important work is happening within Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and WiSE. Communications and Education have been doing fantastic work providing content and sharing the value of SEAOSC membership. Follow the new SEAOSC LinkedIn account if you are not already doing so! Steel, Concrete, Wood, Existing Buildings, Seismology and Hazards, and Codes & Standards are actively collaborating and advancing structural engineering. Look for SEAOSC Members to again leverage our Committee efforts to provide insightful content at the 2021 SEAOC Convention. Join our Committees now if you also want to advance structural engineering in Southern California. The limit of how much we can do is defined by how much we all are willing to jump in and move forward these critical efforts.
Because of you, we are positioned to expand our outreach to Policy Makers with valuable insights regarding current legislation and with insights on how to make our Cities Safer. Our next Policy Breakfast will be happening in early May. A summary highlighting the big take-aways from the Breakfast will be shared shortly after the Breakfast. Also, join us for the joint SEAOSC/CALBO/ICC event in late May where we will talk about issues of shared interest. Do you want to join in with your fellow Members and add to the conversation, message us at seaosc@seaosc.org and we will get you engaged with our newly created Legislative Action Committee.
As much as you have contributed to our Community this past year, we are needing your help to celebrate our fellow SEAOSC members and our friends who have made such a difference this year. We have several key awards events coming up in June.
- Excellence in Structural Engineering (EiSE) Awards: Join us on June 2nd for a celebration of the 2021 winners of the SEAOSC EiSE. Be inspired by what our friends have done to enhance our communities. The awards jury is deliberating at this very moment. They have some tough decisions to make.
- Safer Cities Awards: We treasure our partners especially the organizations, jurisdictions, and public officials who take the tough stands and fight for improved safety of our cities through structural and seismic engineering. Nominations for potential awards are needed! Submit your nomination by visiting seaosc.wufoo.com/forms/seaosc-safer-cities-award-nomination-form/. The deadline to submit nominations for this year’s SEAOSC Safer Cities Awards is Friday, April 30th, at 3 pm. Join us on June 2nd to celebrate these important partners.
- People Awards: Join us on June 24th for a celebration of the individuals who are making a difference in our Association. Do you have a suggestion for an addition to the SEAOC College of Fellows? Or for an individual to be celebrated as an Honorary Member? Has a Member done some amazing research that can be honored with an S.B. Barnes Research Award? Is there a public official who needs to be honored as our 2021 Public Service Awardee? Do you have a suggestion for our Engineer of the Year or our Young Engineer of the Year Award? For more information about the individual awards and our past recipients, visit www.seaosc.org/Awards-Honors-&-Designations. If you have a nomination that you would like our Nomination Committee to consider, send an email to seaosc@seaosc.org with the name of the nominee and a short paragraph about why that person needs to be recognized. We need those nominations by May 5th at 5 pm.
SEAOSC is your Association. Because of you, we are relevant. Because of you, we are engaged and making a difference. Because of you, we have a Community that we are proud to be part of. Let’s take a moment and celebrate SEAOSC and celebrate each other. Thank you for being part of SEAOSC and I look forward to seeing you at our celebrations on June 2nd and June 24th.
