WSBIL / ERYMC / WSCL 2024 Summary
The 2024 ASCE Regions 1 , 2 , 4 , & 5 Workshop for Section , Branch , and Institute Leaders ( WSBIL ) was held on January 26-27 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Miami Airport and Convention Center in Miami , FL . Fun was had by all and it was fantastic to escape from the cold and snow for a little while !
The event ( s ) provided attendees from the NH Section ( Joshua Brown , Andrew Martin , and Michael Eno ) with the opportunity to exchange ideas and share experiences with members from other parts of the country and exposed them to the tools and resources needed to be effective ASCE leaders . The Workshop for Student Chapter Leaders ( WSCL ) and the Eastern Regional Younger Member Council ( ERYMC ) were held concurrently and allowed student chapter leaders to network with fellow officers , ASCE younger members , and regional leaders .
There were a number of excellent sessions , including shaping the next generation of engineers , the traits that make a leader , utilizing global ASCE Geographic Resources , effectively managing contract negotiations , improving upon engagement with students and younger members ( critical for us as a Section ), digital outreach , effective and practical fundraising , ethical leadership , managing legal issues , best practices regarding the infrastructure report card , amongst many others .
A key takeaway from President-Elect Feniosky Pena-Mora was that ASCE can and should play a large role in bringing students into civil engineering , while also retaining young professionals in the field . This can be done by getting more involved in student chapters ( concrete canoe , steel bridge , capstone projects , etc .). As a collective whole , we need to be thinking about how we can help the next generation of engineers with their transitions into the workforce .
There were a large amount of helpful material covered ( and provided to us ) regarding useful tips and tricks to make the Infrastructure Report Card a bit more manageable . This topic requires an entire write-up of its own and will be included in a coming newsletter , so be sure to stay tuned for more info !
Students from the UNH chapter were able to meet with ASCE student leaders from École de Technologie Superieure ( ETS ) in Montreal who they competed against in concrete canoe in 2023 . Joshua Brown and Dan Bartus ( UNH ASCE President ) are pictured below from the Friday evening social . All in all it was an excellent trip with many positive takeaways and the 2025 event is to be held in Memphis , Tennessee .