TSPE Houston

[firstname], January Monthly Meeting on Tuesday, Jan 13, 09 [Topic: Life’s A Sales Call: How To Succeed In The World’s Oldest Profession]

noemail@tspehouston.org — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 06:00:37 GMT

December 29, 2008

Hello [firstname],

We wish you a wonderful new year and look forward to seeing you at our January Monthly Meeting on January 13, 2009 at HESS Club at 11:30 am. Please see below for meeting and registration details:

January Monthly Meeting - Topic: Life’s A Sales Call: How To Succeed In The World’s Oldest Profession
Sponsor: TSPE Greater Houston Chapter
Speaker's Name: Jack Warkenthien, CEO, NextStep Solutions
Day: Tuesday 13-Jan-09 11:30 AM
Location: HESS CLUB 5430 Westheimer Road Houston, Texas 77056
Summary: Regardless of the “title” on your business card, you are a sales person. As such, you are the most important person in the world of business. Why? Nothing happens until someone sells something. And the something may not be a product. It could just as easily be a concept, an idea, an affiliation or an intangible service.

There is a five-part code you must understand and interpret to succeed. The objective is for you to know the code.

#1 A sale is a relationship, not a transaction.

· People buy from friends not sales people

· Find ways to meet in the middle

...
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30-Dec-08 0:00 AM

[firstname], TSPE Houston Annual Holiday Party & E-Week Nominations

noemail@tspehouston.org — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:53:34 GMT

November 19, 2008

Dear [firstname],

As we approach the Holiday season and the new year, two great events - the Annual Holiday party and the E-Week celebrations bring the Greater Houston Area engineering community together. Both these events provide a great opportunity to network with fellow professionals from the area engineering firms and the government agencies. We look forward to seeing you at these events. Please note the following deadlines associated with these events.

>> Don't forget to register for the TSPE Greater Houston Chapters Annual Holiday party on Tuesday, December 9, 2008. Come and join our past and present members and enjoy the holiday dinner and a comedy show. Registration will be open till Friday, December 5, 2008. Registration details below:

>> Don't forget to nominate the TSPE Young Engineer of the Year (YEOY). Deadline for nominations is December 1, 2008. More details regarding the E-week activities can be found at www.tspehouston.org. Nomination details below:

ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY

Day: Tuesday 9-Dec-08 6:00 PM
Location: HESS CLUB 5430 Westheimer Road Houston, Texas 77056
Summary: The Greater Houston Chapter of TSPE will host their annual Holiday Party at HESS Club on Tuesday, December 9, 2008. The ComedySportz will provide the entertainment at the holiday party that will include 45-minute All-Star show. HESS club is located at 5430 Westheimer ..More Details
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2009 Young Engineer of the Year Nominations

The Greater Houston Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers ( TSPE ) is requesting nominations for its 2009 Young Engineer of the Year Award. The application/nomination form is available below as Nomination Form file (Word format). Eligible Criteria (Minimum Requirements): 1. Age: Thirty-four (34) as of January 1, 2009. 2. Graduate of an ABET accredited engineering school. 3. EIT or PE. 4. Member in good standing of TSPE and NSPE. All eligible individuals are... [More Info]

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19-Nov-08 7:53 PM

Summary of October 24th State Board of Directors meeting

noemail@tspehouston.org — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:00:00 GMT

1) Highlights from the October 24th Board of Directors meeting:
- Distribution of the 2008-09 TSPE Work Plan - compilation of documents from every state committee with specific objectives to be accomplished.
- Discussion of E-Week 2009 events - NSPE is the national sponsor and will be pushing for engineers across the nation to track their outreach hours with the goal of reaching 1,000,000 man hours of outreach promoting engineering to students.
- Reviewed proposed policies dealing with: antitrust; conflict of interest; document retention; non-harassment; privacy; and whistleblower. These policies will be vote on at the March 27th Board of Directors meeting.
- Received and accepted the auditor's report for 2007-2008
- Voted to establish two new ethics awards that will be further refined and information distributed
- Encouraged nominations for the NSPE Fellows award
- Received an update with open discussion on the status of the architect lawsuit from the TSPE attorney
- Best practices were shared from chapter and committee representatives

2) At the October 23rd meeting of the Texas Engineering Foundation, the Board of Trustees approved the following items:

- Funding the 2008 scholarship funding requests from 15 TSPE chapters. The scholarships will be awarded in the spring and funded in the Fall of 2009.

- Funding to support two new ethics videos currently in the planning and production stage: $10,000 support for a video titled "Ethicana" that deals with the topic of corruption; and $15,000 support for a video titled "Henry's Daughter" (the third ethics video produced by the National Institute for Engineering Ethics), which will be utilized similar to "Gilbane Gold" and "Incident at Morales" in presenting ethics seminars.

3) ARCHITECT ISSUE: The court of appeals ruling recently received on our appeal did not rule on the merits. They addressed only the architecture board's efforts to avoid, at all costs, a ruling on the merits. The only issues addressed were those of jurisdiction, i.e. what kind of relief can an association seek on behalf of its members? As a practical matter, if the case were to be a loss, it is also a loss for the Texas Society of Architects, which would also be constrained from seeking injunctive relief against the Texas Board of Professional Engineers in the reverse situation. The only decision on the merits to date has been in favor of the engineers. The fact that the architecture board has chosen to ignore the State Office of Administrative Hearings judge's decision does not make that case a "win" for the architects. TSPE is currently filing appeals to the District Court on the three TBAE final orders on the SOAH cases which is the next step in the process.

4) The Search Committee is working diligently to select the right person to work through the upcoming legislative session with Gerhardt Schulle, Jr. The committee will hold the second round of interviews next week.

5) We are in the final planning stages for the TSPE Conference and 73rd Annual Meeting scheduled for June 16-19, 2009 at the Embassy Suites in Frisco. As we complete the slate of seminars this month we welcome suggestions or ideas on topics that would make participation in this event valuable to you as a practicing professional engineer. Please send your ideas to Trish B. Smith, CAE at trish@tspe.org.

6) CEC is hosting the 3rd Annual Merging Issues Symposium: A Conference on Green Infrastructure & Sustainability within the Engineering Industry on November 14, 2008 at The Woodlands, Texas. For more information click here.

7) The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) will be conducting SRF workshops around the state to share information on low-cost financial assistance for water and wastewater construction projects. The focus of the workshop will be on the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs, including how to fill out required worksheets and forms to be included in the next funding cycle (FY 2010). TWDB_FY2010_SRFworkshop_flyer.pdf .

8) Click here for a link to the draft Dam Design and Construction Guidelines for your review. A couple of the appendices on references and a glossary are not yet complete. TCEQ would appreciate any comments you have by 5:00 pm on Nov 17. Any comments can be sent directly to Warren Samuelson at WSamuels@tceq.state.tx.us or by letter.

9) Click here for a press release from the Texas Department of Insurance that stresses the importance of homeowners obtaining a windstorm inspection when making repairs after Hurricane Ike.

19-Nov-08 10:00 AM

Scholarships - November 2009

noemail@tspehouston.org — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:00:00 GMT

The Texas Engineering Foundation (TEF) has recently approved the 2009 scholarship application form. The scholarship applications are provided to Texas high school counselors and will soon be available at www.tspe.org under the scholarship heading. In addition to this scholarship application, other funding options for students pursuing engineering can be seen on the same website location. The scholarship applications are due Friday, January 16, 2009. If you know any students who qualify for this scholarship program, encourage them to visit the website or contact their local Scholarship Committee Chair.

This year, the Greater Houston Chapter will award two scholarships to graduating high school seniors in the Greater Houston area. The scholarships are in the amount of $5,500 to be spread over the four years, gradually increasing with the advancement of the student. Students applying for the scholarships must meet GPA, SAT or ACT requirements, plan to attend a Texas college, major in an accredited engineering program, and plan to participate in an engineering professional society, preferably a student chapter of TSPE where available.

To inquire about the Greater Houston Chapter of TSPE scholarship programs, please contact the Scholarship Committee Chair, Ms. Elizabeth “Liza” H. Kirk, P.E. at 281-350-7027 or ekirk@aeiengr.com.

5-Nov-08 2:00 PM

2009 Young Engineer of the Year Nominations

noemail@tspehouston.org — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:30:00 GMT

The Greater Houston Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers ( TSPE ) is requesting nominations for its 2009 Young Engineer of the Year Award. The application/nomination form is available below as "Nomination Form" file (Word format).

Eligible Criteria (Minimum Requirements):

1.      Age: Thirty-four (34) as of January 1, 2009.
2.      Graduate of an ABET accredited engineering school.
3.      EIT or PE.
4.      Member in good standing of TSPE and NSPE.

All eligible individuals are encouraged to apply. Also, if you know of a potentially eligible candidate, please forward their name and contact information to me, and I will contact them directly with the information.

Please note that to be considered for the award, a completed application must be submitted to me at my office (address below) before Monday, December, 1st 2008 at 5:00 PM. Fax and email applications will be accepted.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact.

Amy Stonaker, EIT
astonaker@cobfen.com
Cobb, Fendley & Associates, Inc.
13430 NW Frwy, Suite 1100 | Houston, TX 77040
Phone: (713) 462-3242 | Fax: (713) 462-3262

Nomination Form

5-Nov-08 8:30 AM

[firstname], November Monthly Meeting Reminder [Speaker: Mr. Tom Kornegay, Port of Houston Authority]

noemail@tspehouston.org — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:00:00 GMT

October 29, 2008

Hello [firstname],

Please don't forget to register for our November Monthly meeting.

On Tuesday, November 11^th, 2008, TSPE Houston Chapter will host Mr. Tom Kornegay, Executive Director, Port of Houston Authority, at our monthly meeting. Mr. Kornegay will update on the activities at the Port of Houston Authority. Details: November Monthly Meeting - Speaker: Mr. Tom Kornegay, Port of Houston Authority".

Please note November meeting will start early at 11:00 AM to accommodate Mr. Kornegay.

Mr. Tom Kornegay

The meeting will be held 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM, at the HESS Club, 5430 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77056. Registration will be open at 10:45 AM. Please come and join us for this very informative presentation on Port of Houston Authority.

Speaker Bio: Mr. H. Thomas Kornegay was appointed Executive Director of the Port of Houston Authority in April, 1992. Before his appointment by the Port Commission, Kornegay served as the Port Authority's managing director for five years....Read More

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29-Oct-08 11:00 AM

MATHCOUNTS November 2008

noemail@tspehouston.org — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:00:00 GMT

MATHCOUNTS Article

By Amy Stonaker

Last weekend at First Colony Middle School, over 180 middle school students participated in the first TSPE-sponsored practice competition for MATHCOUNTS of the year. The top three students in The Individual Competition completed the competition with perfect scores! Special thanks goes to TSPE members Fayebeth Little, Nancy Blackwell, Richard Ruchhoeft, Franco Puentes, Mike Babin, and Monica Silver for their help with grading and proctoring. Thanks also go to Anna Mytk and Mike Scanlon from the Bay Area Chapter for making the trip up to Sugar Land to help with the competition.

The next practice competition is November 15^th at Pershing Middle School in Bellaire. All volunteers should report to Pershing at approximately 8 am for instructions. We expect a very competitive competition and welcome all volunteers!

29-Oct-08 10:00 AM