Happy New Year!

The holiday party at the Maggiano's Little Italy at the Grove was a tremendous success. It was a sold out event with 117 registered guests and a waiting list with many more eager to attend. By all accounts folks had a great time. It was an excellent way to close out 2018 and transition to the New Year with momentum and energy. Photos from the party are posted on the SEAOSC web site. An informal poll of attendees at the end of the evening confirmed that the new venue was the most enticing factor for attendance, although pricing was also inviting for many. I would like to once again thank our sole sponsor for the evening, Computers Structures Inc. (CSI) for their continued gracious sponsorship of the event. Their sponsorship along with funding from SEAOSC allowed for the partial financing of this member appreciation holiday event for all, particularly for the younger members who responded in kind by attending in unprecedented numbers. Hopefully, this and future events like it, can serve as catalysts for increased camaraderie amongst various generations of SEAOSC members. The combination of fresh new ideas from younger members fueled by energy paired with the experience, vision and foresight of the seasoned generation is a sure recipe for a grander association. The real success of this event was that it simply brought these different generations closer together towards this end. Let's hope that this event was a spark that will ignite this process.

2019 is a significant year for SEAOSC as it marks our 90th anniversary. I will have more on this in the February newsletter which marks the month that the first SEAOSC meeting was held.

In January, we will be commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake with an all-day seminar. This will be held on January 19th in place of the Winter Education Event that SEAOSC has held in years past. This will be a dual track event, a new format for a SEAOSC seminar. The participants will be able to choose different sessions from either track depending on interests. We will also be unveiling a documentary film titled "Quake Heroes" at the seminar. This is a documentary about the Northridge earthquake which SEAOSC actively campaigned to be part of and participate in. Our esteemed president-elect Ken O'Dell was selected to represent SEAOC in this documentary to reflect upon the Northridge earthquake and how the structural engineering community in California can help in mitigating the types of disasters experienced in that earthquake.

The monthly dinner meeting will be held on January 9th at the Double Tree Hotel. I hope to see you all at the event! Wishing everyone good health, prosperity, happiness, and peace for the year ahead. Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Mehran Pourzanjani, SE
President