2010-11 Annual Members Meeting

Professional Engineers of Oregon

Meeting was called to order by Stephen Anderson, PE, President at 6:53pm.  

 

Board Report of the Activities of the Year   

As we close another great fiscal year, I would like to summarize where we are as an organization, and provide a few thoughts about where we should be going in the coming years. But first, I would like to express my appreciation to all of you for the time, talent and treasure you have invested in the PEO this past year. I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to work with you all, and look forward to achieving more in the future. Our board is made up of many talented and capable engineers, and it has been a delight to spend time and energy with the team during the past 12 months.

A special note of appreciation must be extended to Dennis Hickman for initiating our legislative agenda. This is an important effort, necessary to protect and defend the unique stature we have earned as registered professional engineers. Also, to Mark Hampton for stepping up to be elected as our new President-Elect. David Bassett, I sincerely appreciate your support and commitment this past year. And to David Holman who has dome more than anyone could have asked of a Secretary and general conference booster. My job was much easier because we had a great team this past year.

Let me comment on a few key items that are critical to the PEO going forward:
Membership Count. Our membership count has been flat or declined slightly in the past few years. We are currently standing at 239 NSPE members and 94 state-only members. With over 11,900 engineers licensed and living in Oregon, we have a need to attract active participating members. We must establish a standing committee of enthusiastic members to grow our membership.

Financial Report. We have been successful at maintaining our budget and expenses to around $50,000 annually. We have experienced positive outcomes the past few years as a result of successful annual conferences. It would appear that the best approach to adding revenue (in addition to growing membership) may be to further increase sponsorships and participation at the conferences. Our reserve account is $22,000.

Legislative Activities. Dennis Hickman has done an excellent job of identifying important issues affecting engineers and building relationships with other professional organizations to join us in pursuing our legislative agenda. This is a critical activity necessary to both protect the engineering profession, but also to add value to PEO membership. We need an active standing committee supporting this effort.

Chapter Update. We need strong chapters, and they need our support. The good news is that (1) Southwestern Oregon is doing well, (2) Mid-Willamette is re-emerging with Matt Cash as President; (3) Mid-Columbia has had two years of good monthly meetings but still needs a leadership team; (4) Central Oregon is doing well with consistent monthly meetings (5) and Klamath Basin has not had a regular meeting schedule for some time. We need help there; a merger with another chapter may be a solution.

 

MathCounts Update. This was another banner year for the Oregon MathCounts program. Finishing 14 nationally is a great success story. And with 484 students from 63 teams representing 63 schools, it was a great year for the program. Special thanks go to Roger Kuhlman and Ron Polvi for organizing and conducting a great MathCounts again this year.

Foundation Update. The economic collapse starting in 2008 resulted in the inability for the Foundation to issue scholarships for two years. We initiated an increased effort to raise funds for the Foundation this year, arranged some new leaders to participate, and have sent checks for two scholarships for next year. The Foundation fund balance is currently around $75,000. There is a lot of work to do, but the outlook is much better.

Conference Review. The annual conference beginning May 19 appears to be successful again this year. With about 80 registered, it looks like we will have a positive result. This should enable next years’ team to continue to build an excellent program. Our outstanding group of speakers will make the conference very beneficial for attendees.

State/National Agreement. It is my understanding that 24 state societies have signed agreements with NSPE, and four (Oregon, Florida, Illinois and Louisiana) are continuing to negotiate out a revised document. It is a disappointment that we have not completed this agreement. I had hoped to put it to bed during my term in office, eliminating it as an issue going forward. The good news is that NSPE has not pursued the issue during 2011, and we have actively sought resolution. We have proposed contract wording, and they have responded with unworkable language. We are anxious to put this issue behind us so we can focus on the key objectives we jointly share.

PEO State Governance. We have initiated an effort to update our governance documentation, including the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Policy and Procedures manual. The current documents (including the constitution) are antiquated and out-of date. There is a need to completely re-write these documents in order to bring them into compliance with current policies, and generally accepted governance procedures. I recommend that we complete this work during the coming year.

Initiatives for the Future. There are a number of potential activities that could benefit our membership. I have contemplated the thought of sponsoring an “Ethics Competition” between engineering schools; initiating a ‘Future City Competition’ for 7th and 8th grade students; hosting a summer golf event for a foundation fund-raiser and many others. We need to be thinking of ways to better engage our membership so we become an important part of their professional success.
 

Stephen F. Anderson, P.E. – President, 2010/2011

Motion:

Ron Polvi, PE moved to except the Presidents report and close the meeting.  Seconded by Mark Hampton, PE.  Passes.

Meeting was closed at 7:00pm.