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AUGUST 2010 Branch Newsletter[MEET THE MEMBER: MEET THE MEMBER - JOHN R. HOLLENBECK, P.E., M. ASCE] [MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT: California Tsunamis: Past and Future] MEET THE MEMBER: MEET THE MEMBER - JOHN R. HOLLENBECK, P.E., M. ASCEMany people can recognize his Kansas-drawl, excitement for hydroelectric projects, and signature idioms (a common favorite, "horse hockey"), but few have had the chance to delve into Nacimiento Project Manager John R. Hollenbeck’s inner workings.He was a country boy, born and raised in Atchison County, Kansas, home of Amelia Earhart. He originally enrolled in Chemical Engineering at Kansas State University, but soon after changed to Civil Engineering-- attributing “dumb luck” as the mastermind behind the life-altering switch. Ultimately, John graduated from KSU with a BS and an MS in Civil Engineering in 1986, moved straight into the industry, and spent over 20 years working for Black & Veatch and GEI-Bookman Edmonston. This experience gave John the skills needed to manage a $176 million water distribution project, his first taste of overall program management. While last month’s article on the Nacimiento Water Project (Project) explained the infrastructure, it did not touch on what makes this project successful and what drives John forward. He says the key to success is maintaining schedule. By doing this the scope and budget can easily be balanced; however, if one item falls behind, John focuses his energy to overcome the obstacles and bring the task back on schedule. He says it’s a constant puzzle of re-prioritizing what tasks lie on the critical path. This challenge spurs John on. John has been a part of both phases of the Project so far: design and construction. Starting out on the Project, he worked long, hard hours on the design phase. Each day required a dedicated work ethic, the ability to multi-task, and creative solutions to various struggles that cropped up. It was as if he was pushing a sled up a steep and torturous mountain. On the flip side, the construction phase has been akin to a downhill ride, with the design done well. He compares the dynamic change in pace to sledding: on the way down, you are simply “guiding the sled at an unstoppable pace, as opposed to pushing the damn thing up the hill.” It’s a welcome change. Beyond his days at the office, John helps out with local ASCE K-12 outreach events, and volunteers with his fellow Atascadero Rotarians. He finds the outreach activities very rewarding and hopes to become more involved with ASCE in the future. But his life is more than engineering, meetings, flow rates, and technical jargon. John lives in Atascadero with his wife, Monica, and daughter, Lia, who just completed her first year at U.C. Berkeley studying a double major of Astrophysics and Physics. In his spare time, he enjoys woodworking, fishing, square dancing, and tending to his vegetable garden-- his tomatoes and corn are delicious!br> After the Nacimiento Water Project is fully operational, John looks forward to a European vacation. Just Monica, Lia, John.. and Chevy Chase. Cheers to a job well done. We all wish you the best of luck! ~ Carolyn Berg MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT: California Tsunamis: Past and FutureRegister OnlineTOPIC:Have you ever thought what a Tsunami would look like on the Central Coast? Over the course of the last 200 years, there are records of tsunami’s hitting the Central Coast area in 1812, 1878, 1907 and 1913. The reports of these historic tsunamis represent wave elevations significantly higher than the 1964 Alaska earthquake tsunami; which is typically used for emergency planning for tsunami inundation in California. If we believe that “a bigger earthquake and a more destructive tsunami than the 1964 event are possible in the future” it is critical that we do emergency planning for Central Coast tsunamis and anticipate potential tsunami waves in the 50 to 100 feet elevation range. This month our members will have an opportunity to gain insight into the history of tsunami’s on the Central Coast as well as understand the significance of emergency planning for the future. About the Presenter: Mr. Blanck has 30 years’ work experience in geophysics, engineering geology, hydrogeology, environmental cleanup and assessment and disaster preparedness and response. He is the former Riverside County and San Bernardino County Geologist, and has all California geologic licenses. Mr. Blanck is also a California Registered Environmental Assessor and OES licensed disaster service worker trainer.
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