Presidents Message
I hope that everyone had a very enjoyable holiday season and that 2010 proves to be a safe and prosperous year for all. As Civil Engineers, we should all be proud of the contributions we make to society…in many ways making life safer, efficient and more reliable for everyone. Even though most of the public takes what we do for granted until a system fails to operate correctly, e.g., traffic lights, water, sewer, etc., we all take professional pride in our contributions to society. As we start off each year with good faith resolutions about improving ourselves, let us not forget our profession and making life better for all those around us. One of the main themes of the ASCE 2009 Annual Civil Engineering Conference in Kansas City was Sustainable Design. In addition to protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public, through our designs Civil Engineers are stewards of our natural resources. The more effective and innovative our designs, the more efficient they are to operate and maintain, the more sustainable they become. Long term, these types of design considerations benefit everyone.		Christopher P. Knotts, PE
A more sobering tone to the Annual Conference was the much discussed economic downturn the nation is currently experiencing and its impact on civil engineering employment. While most of the discussions centered on the employment challenges for new graduates and those very early in their careers, it must be noted that all of us are subject to potential circumstances that cause us to venture into the job market. It does not matter the reason; only that maintaining an excellent professional reputation and networking are extremely important in today’s economic landscape, and just might be the difference in landing a challenging new position. Membership, but more importantly participation in ASCE provides an opportunity to network with others civil engineers, firm owners and leaders in the profession. Involvement and service to ASCE naturally leads to networking and professional development, it does not have to be a predetermined effort. It is professionally and personally fulfilling to better your chosen profession and I urge everyone to find a way to make Civil Engineering better for the next generation. We were notified at our October Section Board meeting that the IRS tax laws had changed recently and those changes would affect ASCE and other non-profit organizations. The Section is currently discussing and seeking guidance from ASCE National on several issues, most notably our Journal’s advertising. Questions such as what constitutes an ad (actual ads are easy but for example; does a professional listing also constitute an ad?) and how will advertising revenues be taxed? Some very important issues as they could have long term financial impacts on the Section. Speaking of the Journal, I am pleased to announce that on December 22, 2009, ASCE informed the Section that the Louisiana Civil Engineer won the 2009 National Outstanding Newsletter Award for Large Sections and Branches! This is the second year in a row that the Louisiana Section’s journal has won this award. Mr. Patrick Landry, PE, our President-Elect and current Publications Committee Chairman will be receiving the award on Friday, February 12th at the Multi-Region Leadership Conference in Atlanta, GA from ASCE President Leonard. In early December, 2009, the Section sent Luke Le Bas, PE to the ASCE Public Relations (PR) University in Reston, VA. As a result of that training, Mr. Le Bas will serve as the Section’s PR representative this year. I know Luke has more info on that training in an article later in this issue, but in speaking with him upon his return, he found the training very useful and enlightening. The Section’s Board of Directors is also very aggressively pursuing revisions and “clean up” of our By-Laws and Operating Guide. Items such as the PR Representative, which is not detailed in either document, illustrate issues that need to be addressed. Through the efforts of E. Ray DesOrmeaux, PE and Ali Mustapha, PE, we hope to have these documents updated by this summer. The Louisiana Section’s Spring Conference rotates between Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Acadiana. This year’s conference will be hosted by Shreveport in mid April. The Spring Conference is the Section’s Annual Business Meeting and where the Section elects next year’s officers. The last time Shreveport hosted the Spring Conference it was a very well planned event. The day and a half to two day event is usually a very convenient and inexpensive venue to gain Professional Development Hours. I encourage everyone to consider attending the 2010 Spring Conference.