Join the ASCE Click here if you * are not a member of the ASCE and you wish to join. * have questions about membership in the ASCE. * are a member and want to change or inquire about your membership status. The ASCE is a national organization and your participation as a member of this section and its branches is contingent on your current membership in the national organization and on your membership in the section through voluntary payment of additional section membership dues.
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Key Contact Program You are strongly encouraged to consider participating in the ASCE Key Contact Program so that you can keep abreast of the legislation and political issues in Washington and state capitols important to civil engineers through a weekly e-newsletter. Further, the ASCE regularly sends Key Alerts ) to those in the program when grassroots action is requested of ASCE members to support its political agenda. << Top of Page
Allegations concerning ASCE Serious allegations are raised by Raymond B. Seed, a member of the Independent Levee Investigation Team that was partially supported by the National Science Foundation. The ILIT investigated the damage to the levees in New Orleans region following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Extensive allegations are presented in the 42-page Seed letter to then outgoing ASCE President William F. Marcueson. They concern the conduct of ASCE and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives that may have interfered with the investigation and affected the credibility of both the investigation and the investigators. Seed's letter has been made public through the news media and is likely fueling much of the adverse public sentiments particularly in the New Orleans region. The ASCE response would appear to require direct and well thought out answers that are clearly demanded by Seed's allegations as is suggested in Section President DesOrmeaux's letter to current ASCE President David Mongan. Please be well informed and read this correspondence for yourself. In the interim, all Louisiana Section members received a letter from ASCE President David G. Mongan sent by email 12/07/07 that discusses an early response by ASCE to the allegations made. A follow-up letter from President Mongan dated January 30, 2008 that updates the progress of the ASCE response to the Seed letter was sent by email to a limited distribution that appears to have included the members of the New Orleans Branch.
ASCE 501(c)6 = PAC A Key Alert was sent to the Key Contact Program participants by the ASCE Government Relations Staff encouraging their questions and comments about any of the contents of a memorandum concerning a proposal to form a parallel ASCE 501(c)6 organization so that the ASCE can form and operate a PAC (political action committee). Since that time the Section Board of Directors voted to oppose this proposal, the national ASCE Board of Direction considered adopting the proposal but it narrowly failed by two votes. The ASCE 501(c)6 organization proposal is still considered to be very much alive with the anticipated support of the members of the incoming 2007-2008 national ASCE Board of Direction. The subject memorandum and the letter from President Marcuson announcing the vote follow for your reference: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Memorandum Regarding: Increasing ASCE’s political involvement From: D. Wayne Klotz, PE, Chairman, ASCE Task Force on Political Involvement In mid-2005, the ASCE Board of Direction created the Task Force on Political Involvement to examine the Society’s involvement in both current and future political activities. During the past year the Task Force has evaluated the Society’s current activities and also looked at ways to increase its public policy and political involvement. The Task Force is preparing to recommend to the Board the establishment of a parallel 501(c)6 organization to allow increased lobbying and political activity on behalf of the membership of the ASCE. The Board will consider the recommendations of the Task Force in 2007. In the interim, the Task Force is seeking comments and suggestions from the membership in advance of any decision to provide the Board more information. At present the ASCE is allowed to lobby within strict dollar limitations, but prohibited from engaging in any political activities such as endorsing candidates. The Task Force recommendations would allow the ASCE greater flexibility in its lobbying activities and allow the ASCE to be involved in political campaigns by forming a political action committee (PAC) and by endorsing candidates. A PAC would be a separate entity from the new 501(c)6 and could allow for voluntary contributions to be made to the PAC by the ASCE members which could then be given to candidates for federal office. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ May 23, 2007 Dear ASCE Colleague, Over the past 18 months, ASCE leaders at the national, regional and local levels have engaged in discussions about the role of the Society in public policy. It seems clear that our members strongly support ASCE’s efforts to advocate on behalf of the profession on public policy issues including Qualifications Based Selection, licensure, infrastructure and education. Our members also support ASCE’s efforts to encourage civil engineers to engage in public policy decision-making at all levels of government. In 2005, the Board appointed a Task Committee on Political Involvement to explore ways to expand our public policy activities. The Task Committee proposed the establishment of a 501(c)6 organization that would eliminate current restrictions on our lobbying activity due to our current non-profit tax status. Such an organization would also permit future consideration of other political activities including endorsing candidates and establishing a political action committee (PAC). This proposal was considered by the Board at its April meeting, but failed to pass with the required vote. Although this proposal was not approved, the debate it inspired within the ASCE membership heightened awareness of the importance of public policy to the civil engineering profession, and to the desired role of the Society in those activities. We will continue to examine ways to serve the interests of our members, and I welcome and appreciate your input. An issue of more immediate concern for the Board is how we will address the cap on our current lobbying expenses. Under IRS rules, ASCE can select one of two options for determining the limit on its lobbying activities. Under one option ASCE is permitted to spend up to $1 million annually on lobbying expenses. ASCE has selected this option since 2005; however, based on a review prepared for the recent Board meeting, our proposed budget estimates lobbying expenses for FY2008 that exceed the $1 million cap. Under the second option, ASCE lobbying activities may not constitute a “substantial part” of our total activities. Unfortunately, neither the IRS nor the courts have offered a reliable definition of “substantial” lobbying activities, making this option a riskier choice. Some have assumed that if you spend less than 5% of your operating budget on lobbying activities, it can not be substantial. We are conducting a more detailed audit of our lobbying expenses and exploring possible alternatives regarding the two options. After further investigation the Board will make a prudent decision regarding the option of choice and your Society Director will keep you informed. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank all of you who took the time to share your views on this subject with us. Bill Marcuson, President ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section-wide Conference Opportunities
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Service Opportunities
First NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service planned
The National Basketball Association announced October 30, 2007 a season-long, league-wide community service program aimed at boosting the rebuilding effort in New Orleans in a year when the league plans to hold its 2008 All-Star Game, in the city 2/17/08. The program will culminate with the first NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service on Friday, 2/15/08 with an event in which more than 2,500 members of the league's representatives, including players, coaches, executives, media members and sponsors, will participate in daylong community service activities. The event will help tip off All-Star Game weekend in the city. Together, the league is committed to "perform more than 30,000 hours of hands-on community service" in New Orleans. Since Hurricane Katrina, the NBA, through commitments from its players, teams and the NBA Players Association, has contributed more than $15 million to recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast region. Among the efforts funded were the construction of 35 homes with Habitat for Humanity and 5 playgrounds with KaBOOM! The league also staged an NBA Players Hurricane Relief Game that raised more than $1.5 million. The National Football League contributed $15 million toward the renovation of the Superdome. The New Orleans chapter of EWB-USA has identified ways in which Engineers Without Borders members can help New Orleans.
The 2008 Jazzfest is scheduled for the weekends of April 25-27 and May 1-4. Mark your calendar for this service opportunity.
The ASCE- New Orleans Branch Outreach and Student Activities Committee annulayy hosts an outreach event for elementary school age children in the children's area of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival(Jazzfest). Rebuilding New Orleans one family at a time. After Katrina, the Rebuilding Together New Orleans affiliate, in conjunction with the Preservation Resource Center instituted in 1988, began repairing hurricane and flood damaged homes for the city’s residents. Rebuilding Together has taken on the challenges of total renovation so that elderly and disable homeowners can safely move back into their homes. Rebuilding Together New Orleans 923 Tchoupitoulas Street New Orleans, LA 70130 504-581-7032 phone 504-636-3072 fax http://www.rtno.org "More than 1,500 Habitat for Humanity affiliates are at work in the United States, building houses in partnership with people in need of decent, affordable housing. Habitat houses are purchased by families at prices affordable to low-income Americans, thanks to the donated labor of Habitat volunteers, the support of partner organizations and the no-profit, no-interest terms of every Habitat for Humanity mortgage."
Order of the Engineer The Order of the Engineer was initiated in the United States to foster a spirit of pride and responsibility in the engineering profession to bridge the gap between training and experience, and to present to the public a visible symbol identifying the engineer. The Engineer’s Ring in the United States is a stainless steel ring, worn on the fifth finger of the working hand by engineers who have accepted the Obligation of an Engineer in a ring ceremony. The first ceremony was held on June 4, 1970 at Cleveland State University. Others like it have since spread across the United States at which graduate and registered engineers at any stage in their careers are invited to accept the Obligation of the Engineer and to wear a stainless steel ring. The ceremonies are conducted by Links (local sections) of the Order. For more information, please visit http://www.order-of-the-engineer.org. The Louisiana links: Link 43: University of Louisiana at Lafayette Link 118: University of New Orleans Link 135: Louisiana State University (inactive) Link 176: McNeese State University Link 225: Southern University Link 232: Louisiana Tech University The Obligation of the Engineer is a creed similar to the oath attributed to Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) that is generally taken by medical graduates and which sets forth an ethical code. The Obligation likewise, contains parts of the Canon of Ethics of major engineering societies… The Order is not a membership organization; there are never any meetings to attend or dues to pay. Instead, the Order does foster a unity of purpose and the honoring of one’s pledge lifelong. << Top of Page
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