Ken O'Dell, SE
President
A month ago, we were facing the scary thought of Halloween, which highlights the barreling speed at which the end of the year is approaching. With the last-minute rush of deadlines to submit before the New Year and, especially pertinent this year, the change of the code cycle to the new 2019 CBC, I hope that you see still a great holiday season before you. I sincerely hope you will begin the December season with your SEAOSC colleagues at our Annual Holiday Gathering and Dinner on the 4th at Morton’s Steak House in Downtown LA.
I was pleased to see many of you at the NCSEA Summit in Anaheim last week. Many of you already know what I continue to be passionate about… our Profession is a noble one, but we can’t do it alone or in a vacuum. For those of you who couldn’t attend or don’t think NCSEA is pertinent to your business or career, be sure to put next year’s summit in Las Vegas on your calendars (November 3-6, 2020). While NCSEA is the National Council for SEAs, there is a wealth of information available to the individual practitioner at the summit. Think of it as the SEAOC Convention on a national stage.
Three important take-aways struck me from the Summit. First, the recently reconfirmed MOU between CASE, ASCE-SEI and NCSEA continues the commitment between groups to better organize and coordinate our collective efforts in building a stronger profession while avoiding unnecessary duplication of efforts. Second, SEAOSC is leading the way with initiatives focused on getting our members to “stop talking to ourselves” and instead getting engaged with outside stakeholders. Third, and finally, an association is built on the strength of its volunteers. Unfortunately, a common frame of mind is “there is an Association to do that”. What we miss with this thought is that we, you and I, are that Association; whether locally in Southern California, at the state SEAOC level, or on the national NCSEA stage, the volunteer members are the Association. Hmmm… this must be my not so subtly contrived call for each of you to be engaged.
With Thanksgiving now just around the corner, it seems appropriate that I close this message with a note of Thanks. Thank you to the numerous sponsors who provide extra financial support of the Association! Thank you to our Committee members who take extra time out of their days (and nights) to push our profession ever forward! Thank you to our Executive Director and her staff who keep us functioning. Finally, thank you ... to each of you for your continued support and engagement with SEAOSC and all you do to provide Safer Buildings through Structural Engineering.
I look forward to seeing you on December 4th at Morton’s.
