Orange County Branch Newsletter

November 2015

President's Message

OC Branch President reports on a successful 2015 ASCE Convention

By Steven King, P.E.



By: Steven King, PE

Other than a few mishaps with the elevator system at the hotel, I’m happy to report back that the 2015 ASCE Convention was a huge success. The opening reception with a grand display of Chinese food, music, dance and culture was not to be missed. The Celebration of Leaders luncheon with the induction of 13 new Distinguished Members was very motivating. Each of these members have truly impressive career accomplishments and it was an honor to celebrate their success.

Project tours and technical sessions provided plenty of opportunity to gain professional development hours. I was curious to also learn a bit about New York’s super tall residential towers and was very impressed by the technical session that went into wind loading and control of building drift and acceleration. Another technical session I found interesting was the restoration of the Washington Monument by the Difficult Access Team of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates.

Of the many sessions, Building the Brooklyn Bridge program was, by far, my favorite with a remarkable story of the design and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge over 132 years ago. I’m quite intrigued with the history of civil engineering and the conference provided several opportunities to look into the past.

After an exhilarating week in New York, I’m pleased to be back home and looking forward to November’s harvest celebrations and a Thanksgiving feast.

I think in part due to growing up in a rural town in Illinois, the fall season and Thanksgiving are special to me. It’s a time of celebration after the long hours of labor throughout the growing season have come to an end. Relying primarily on Mother Nature, we’re thankful for not too much but not too little precipitation and just the right amount of heat and sunshine to produce bountiful crops. It’s time for family and friends to gather and celebrate a successful year and to good health. The turkey, ham, dressing, cranberries and pie are plentiful and the smiles and laughter warm our hearts. This year turned out to be extra special as we got to watch the Bears beat the Packers!

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