Orange County Branch Newsletter

April 2015

Life Members Brunch 2015

Another Event Full of Memories


By Isamar Escobar and Gary Gilbert

On March 7th, 2015, Orange County Branch members journeyed to the Monterey Steakhouse in Monterey Park for the Los Angeles Section’s annual Life Member Brunch.  This event honors members who have advanced to Life member status in the Society.  Other members in attendance learned about the fascinating achievements our life members have accomplished over their careers.  The event took place on a beautiful day over-looking the city and its incredible infrastructure of buildings and freeways, very fitting for the occasion.

OC Branch and OC Younger Member Forum (YMF) sponsored tables to provide an opportunity for our members to interact with the latest inductees.  Members of all ages from OC attended, including three OC Branch board members, several younger members, and students.   The brunch consisted of inspirational and comedic speeches by Robert Bein, Mark Norton, Bill Lawson and the keynote speaker of the event, ASCE president-elect Mark Woodson.   Bill Lawson received special recognition by being awarded the Robert W. Bein Annual Career Achievement Award.

During our induction of the life members, we learned about people who have shaped civil engineering not only in the Los Angeles area, but around the country and the world.  This emphasized the impact that civil engineering has on civilization. The biographies of the inductees are a testament to these impacts as they highlight the many projects and milestones that all these life members have accomplished.

Besides the work environment in our companies, this is one of the few opportunities to interact with professional engineers who have been in the industry for 30+ years.  It is quite remarkable to hear the many experiences and achievements of these members.  Not only does this event highlight the friendship and respect among the experienced members, but it also serves as an inspirational motivation for the younger engineers and students to continue excelling and achieving their goals.

In addition, this event is one of the few where members can talk with the president-elect of ASCE Society.  We enjoyed sharing some ideas with ASCE president-elect Mark Woodson after the event was concluded and invited him to visit Orange County this year.

We look forward to engaging more with our life members and creating more opportunities for younger members and life members to interact.  Don’t miss next year’s event in March 2016!

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