My first goal is to provide the support that is needed to individuals who are willing to take on an activity that will benefit the civil engineering profession as a whole. Fortunately, I see an opportunity to meet this goal with the start of the San Luis Obispo County Report Card. We have several active members who are willing to take on the coordination for the preparing this Report Card and I believe that it is my responsibility as ASCE President to support this endeavor. ASCE-SLO just submitted a grant application to the LA Section for $1,500 to help pay for the printed material that will ultimately be generated to present the results of the Report Card. We are excited about this project and strive to assist those that are willing to give up some of their free time for this great project.

My second goal pertains to the interaction between the SCE students at Cal Poly and the professionals of this organization. Over the past few years we have seen a decline in the number of students that attend the monthly ASCE meetings. I think this is unfortunate and I am going to work hard to change this occurrence. As Practitioner Advisor of SCE, I will emphasize to the students at their meetings the importance of coming to our monthly meetings and the opportunities that may arise by coming to meetings on a regular basis. In addition, I want to emphasize to the professionals that if a student does come to a meeting, to help them feel welcome. This step for each student will ultimately better prepare them for the real world.

Not only do I want to increase the attendance from the students, I also want to increase the attendance from the professionals, which is my third goal. I find that attending the ASCE meetings provides me the opportunity to interact with other professionals that I normally may not see or work with. Over the years, I have developed a rapport with individuals strictly from these ASCE meetings and now I am able to put faces to names. I encourage all professionals in the civil engineering profession to take advantage of this. Regardless if you are new to the area or if you have been around for 30 years, there are always new faces, new individuals that are, or could be, making an impact on something that your are currently working on, and the ASCE monthly meetings are a great place to make these connections. Bringing in new attendees will partly be based on having great meeting topics, which is always a goal for our Chapter. If you know of a project that you would like to hear more about or are working on a project that you think everyone might be interested in hearing, please let myself or another officer know so we can get it scheduled.

I will work hard this year to bring these three goals to fruition. However, I am just one person and will need the efforts of all members of this organization to help me succeed with my goals. Thank you!!

Jeff came from New York to California when he was thirteen. He lived in Sacramento until he moved to San Luis Obispo to attend Cal Poly. At Poly, he studied Agricultural Engineering and worked for three years as an Ag E. Fortunately, he saw the light and began his career with Cannon Associates as a Civil Engineer. The transfer went smoothly. He is now a Professional Civil Engineer and has just completed his 9th year with Cannon.

Currently, Jeff is involved with preparing an update to the Water and Sewer Master Plan for the NCSD. The plan is coming along well and should be adopted this December. Jeff said he finds the work exciting; to calculate and calibrate, to take numerous factors into consideration and then provide a solution. Most importantly, he enjoys seeing that solution built, providing the benefit as planned.

Being a professional Civil Engineer carries a lot of responsibility: an inch of pipeline on a piece of paper can represent thousands of dollars in construction costs. Jeff felt the weight of this responsibility first hand while working on the SLO Water Reuse Project. While designing over 8 miles of waterline, a small portion of an existing "irrigation line" was planned to be "moved aside." After discovering this was a 36" irrigation line the design was quickly modified. This experience is now one that Jeff can share with other engineers: understanding the constructability of a design and the potential cost of that construction.

Jeff stresses the importance of continued education through others experience and mentorship. “No matter what you end up doing, first you must find a company with the culture you enjoy and then identify a mentor within who can teach you. After that you can spend the rest of your career learning."

This is Jeff's first year in office as Vice President. He joined ASCE six years ago in order to become more familiar with local professionals and current civil engineering projects. Jeff notes that, "ASCE provides a great forum for understanding what happens in the real world. It is also a great way to network and meet leaders in the community."

Outside of work, Jeff has a 13 year old son and is engaged to be married next August. He is currently working on the daunting task of constructing a telescope from scratch and has thus far completed the lens.