 A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Terrance N. Glunt, P.E.
Broward Chapter President, 2002/2003
Last Thursday’s lunch meeting was extremely refreshing for so many different reasons. First, and foremost,
we were honored to have longtime County Commissioner Lori Nance Parrish address the Chapter on the need for a meaningful relationship between engineering and the community, especially with regard to help-ing
develop a sense of place and identity for Broward County. She also stressed the importance of developing
a Regional Transportation Board encompassing all of the Tri-County area. This board would allow
better transportation planning for future regional growth as well as provide an agency to tap potential
funding sources typically set aside for larger metropolitan areas. But most importantly, she spoke about
the need for engineers to get involved in our community; a goal that we on the Chapter level have been
promoting actively for many years.
Secondly, it was great to see such a large turnout, with 57 attendees including eight members of govern-ment
and three representatives from the Florida Engineering Society’s home office. The discussions that I
was hearing from adjacent tables and in the circles of friends throughout the room were exciting and
pleasant and showed a great deal of camaraderie and friendship that can only be attributable to our com-mon
denominator; the fact that we are all in the engineering profession.
Finally, as we were tooting our own horn for winning the ACE Award for the second consecutive year, I
mentioned something in passing to all of you that attended. We as a Chapter have always taken an active
part in volunteering for specific activities and events such as the Waterway Cleanup in March, the play-ground
project in Lauderdale Manors and the Discovering Engineering program for all of the local high
schools. These events promote FES to the community as an organization of individuals that can pull to-gether
as a team to help when needed.
But there is also another arena in dire need of leadership and professionalism within every municipality in
Broward County. That arena encompasses both the elected commissions and the numerous voluntary
civic boards established by most city charters to review and approve development within that municipality.
Running for office, even on the local level, is demanding and difficult to balance between work and civic re-sponsibility.
But there are numerous, less demanding volunteer boards in every city that need professional
engineers. These include Planning and Zoning Boards, Developmental Review Committees, Community
Appearance Boards, Community Redevelopment Agencies, Boards of Appeal and Boards of Adjustment to
name a few. What better way to give back to the community on a personal level than to volunteer to sit
on a board that directly affects the future of your city.
I have learned so much about how my city works over the last twelve years by sitting on our Community
Appearance Board and the Planning and Zoning Board. In return, I have found that the commissioners and mayor value my opinion on issues that have direct bearing on our growth management, traffic and utili-ties.
This activity not only enhances the view of all engineers in the community, it doesn’t hurt your
firm’s marketability either. All in all, you get a real sense of accomplishment from directly helping guide
your city into the future.
I challenge all of you to get active in this manner. Call your local municipality and find out what boards
are established. Volunteer to sit on one. And if a particular type of board does not yet exist in your
community, find out what it takes to establish one. And if you really have a lot of energy, run for city
commission or mayor. You could help your society in countless ways by being an elected official within
your community.
Thank you all for making FES both fun and rewarding. See you at our annual Holiday dinner.
Terrance N. Glunt, P.E., President
Broward Chapter
Florida Engineering Society
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