 A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Terrance N. Glunt, P.E.
Broward Chapter President, 2002/2003
I recently had the honor and privilege of speaking at a City of Deerfield Beach Rotary Club meeting. One of their officers,
a good friend of mine, had invited me to speak about a number of projects in the area that have potential impacts on the community. Their thoughts were to create positive dialogue between the area
business owners and the engineering consultants on the projects. I thought about this in great detail before the meeting, trying to decide which projects to discuss, so that I could be prepared for
the potential onslaught of negativism that typically arises from such presentations.
That was when it hit me! Civic organizations are all about service to their communities. It’s what differentiates
them from professional societies such as FES. But should we be so different? Granted, our society was created specifically for the betterment of our profession, both for our members and in the
perception of engineering by society. But a good portion of our activity revolves around community service. It serves the dual purpose of giving back to the community and projecting a positive image
of engineers to those around us. That is why we actively participate in volunteer activities such as the Lauderdale Manors Playground project, Discovering Engineering and the Broward County Waterway
Cleanup. It is this level of activity that separates us from other professional societies and will allow us to take a more prominent position in society as time goes by.
So, instead of speaking about any of my projects at work, I presented FES’ involvement in the Lauderdale Manors
Playground. I discussed the planning, financing, construction and dedication of the playground, all the time appealing to this particular groups’ own civic spirit. They found it amazing that a society
such as ours was capable of raising enough interest within our membership group to take on volunteer events such as the playground. I emphasized that it takes more than a champion with a vision. It
also requires that all of the other officers and core members within the organization buy into that vision. That is where we are today. Our core group has bought into our vision, but the core needs
to be expanded to succeed long term. That is why we have created some new committees to promote increased
activities. One of these is the Past Presidents’ Committee, formally created to help champion our volunteer activities. Where better to find people with ideas, experience and leadership qualities than
our past chapter presidents? We are honored to have Mr. Steve Bailey chair this new committee. With the direction of our past leaders, the dedication and focus of our current board and the continued
support of our members, we shall continue to advance our position in Broward County as a strong volunteer organization, worthy of our annual ACE awards.
Thank you all for making FES both fun and rewarding. See you at the next meeting.
Terrance N. Glunt, P.E., President
Broward Chapter
Florida Engineering Society
|
