Happy New Year!  It is a privilege to once again serve as your SEAoO President, this time for 2021. 

As we transition with new faces on the Board of Directors, I want to say a special thank you to Phil Niekamp, our 2020 President for navigating SEAoO through a most unusual year with Covid changing our workplace processes and social issues changing corporate policies in our country.  Also, a big thanks to Mindy Barber as Past President and for providing key leadership connecting with our student chapters.  These students are the next generation of structural engineers.  Thank you, Gretchen Bryc, for serving as our Treasurer for the last two years and keeping track of our finances. The dedication to serving the organization and structural engineering profession from these three leaders is much appreciated!   

Welcome to our newly elected members for 2021.  Dick Meyer will be President-Elect.  To give you a SEAoO history lesson, Dick also served as SEAoO President in 2010 and did a great job creating energy in the organization.  Dick is very active in the Dayton region and was instrumental in growing student body participation in SEAoO from multiple universities.  Congratulations to Kyle Blosser as our new Treasurer and Mark Remmetter for another term as Director.  Your continuity in SEAoO will be key for a successful year.  Welcome to Ben Van De Weghe for election to the SEAoO leadership as Director. 

Everyone is ready in 2021 to get past Covid restrictions and engage with each other in-person.  I hope we can do that soon.  Each of our committees have good momentum from past years of success and will seek opportunities to connect with our membership in person or using virtual platforms.  We will also remain in close communication with NCSEA regarding our Annual Conference in September.  We had one of the best speaker lineups set for last year and will seek commitments to retain for 2021, even if we go virtual. 

In the December 2020 issue of Civil Engineering magazine, ASCE President Jean-Louis Briaud provided 12 reasons to be a member of ASCE in his President’s Note article.  I will conclude my message by using four reasons and adapt these to the SEAoO organization. 

1. Use your voice to make a difference – what better way to improve the structural engineering profession. 
2. Help students and young members – professionals have a wealth of knowledge to share. 
3. Improve your professional skills – such as leadership, public speaking and serving on a committee. 
4. Be part of a dynamic organization – share the passion to advance your core profession.   

 Thank you, members, of SEAoO.  It is your continued faithful support that keeps our organization strong and resilient. 

Frank Monastra 

SEAoO President 

[email protected]   

Upcoming FREE events:

1) January 13th - PROFESSIONALS/MEMBERS

• "Steel Castings for Enhanced Aesthetics and Performance of Structures" presented by CastConnex
• 12:00 - 1:00 EST
• 1.0 PDH
• Click here to register.

2) February 3rd - STUDENTS (Rescheduled from January 13th)

• Virtual "Ask us Anything" event - bring questions to an open discussions with structural engineers from across the state.
• Panelists: Sarah Mohr, Mindy Barber, John Brewer, Ben Van De Weghe, Pat O’Donovan
• 12:00 - 1:00 EST
• Click here to register.

3) January 26th - PROFESSIONALS/MEMBERS

• "Intro of the new Design Guide on the ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete publication" presented by CRSI
• 12:00 - 1:00 EST
• 1.0 PDH
• Click here to register.

Be on the lookout for future opportunities!

Virtual Events

Upcoming Schedule (Note Rescheduled "Ask us Anything" event)

• 02.03.21 (Wednesday @ 12:00 pm) - Virtual "Ask us Anything" event (60 minutes)
• All are encouraged to bring questions to an open discussion with (5) structural engineers from across the state.
• Click here to register.
• Panelists: Sarah Mohr, Mindy Barber, John Brewer, Ben Van De Weghe, Pat O’Donovan
• 02.24.21 (Wednesday @ 12:00pm) - Snow Drift (20 minutes)
• 03.24.21 (Wednesday @ 12:00pm) - Rain Ponding (20 minutes)
• 04.15.21 (Thursday @ TBD) – Virtual Tour of the new Columbus Crew Stadium (Joint event with ASCE and Turner Construction)
  
  

Thank you to everyone that attended the virtual SE Apprentice series.  We hope you learned more about the Structural Engineering profession and that Carrie Bremer and Stephen Metz helped answer your questions.

Since this was our first virtual series, we’re eager to hear your feedback – please click here.

Jobsite Tours

If you believe that a virtual job site tour could be accomplished, please email me to get in contact with your local SEAoO student chapter and schedule a student site visit for this school year! The safety of our students and professionals is our top priority therefore we are following guidelines set forth by each university and local/national jurisdictions to monitor if job site tours are safe and feasible. 

Thank you,

Bernie Kooi, PE, SE, LEED AP
SEAoO Basic Education Committee Chair
[email protected]

Membership renewals:

I'm excited to report a record 94% of members/professionals renewed before January 1, 2021!  Renewals are still open - dues remain the lowest amongst all SEAs and have not increased for several years.  Please renew as soon as possible.

Also, if you answer "yes" to any of the following questions, please email us at [email protected] to update your member category and ensure you receive appropriate voting rights.

• Did you become a PE since your last renewal? 
• Did you graduate since your last renewal?

Thank you,

Mindy Barber, PE
SEAoO Membership Committee Chair
[email protected]

Keep those calendars marked! The 2021 Annual Conference is on schedule for September 16-17, 2021. The plan is have a live program at the Columbus Airport Marriott. But, we are looking into Plan B through Plan ? pending progression of COVID, vaccine availability and distribution, and Boards of Health recommendations.

We will remain nimble pending recommended health protocols for meetings. Watch this section for updates.

SEAoO was able to renegotiate the contract with the Marriott. Most of the speakers scheduled for 2020 initially recommitted to presenting in 2021. Activity to finalize speakers and topics begin January 2021. It is a blockbuster line up!

We realize many of our members rely on the conference to accrue PDHs. In order to plan accordingly for PDH accumulation, SEAoO provides continuing education and learning opportunities in separate emails and newsletters. Several webinars have taken place; more are on the way.

The Conference and Education Committees compile the list of presentations, either as webinars or on-demand learning. Annual Conference vendors have been contacted for topics. The presentations will comply with AIA regarding format, learning objectives and continuing education. If there are topics of interest you know of or would like to add to the list, please contact:

Education Chairman Antonio Verne  E: [email protected]

Annual Conference Co-Chairmen Frank Monastra E: [email protected] or Aimee Pergalsky E: [email protected]

Thank you and keep it safe out there people!

Best wishes to you and yours for a happy healthy holiday season and 2021!