There are a couple of short topics I will try to touch on this month. First, I would like to thank a number of folks for their support. Then I'll touch on the role of our committees and your role in relation to them. And finally I'll spend a few lines on the newsletter and one of its purposes and a couple of personal notes.

At the February Board and Section meetings, Monique Nycamp mentioned the generous financial support the Associate Member Forum has received for the Popsicle Stick Bridge Contest. The generous donations came from several firms in the area, and Fred Kern has made a personal contribution. A hearty THANK YOU to all of the firms, the individuals who influenced the firms, and to Fred, for your generosity and support.

ASCE is a professional society with a stated objective. "The objective of the Society shall be the advancement of the science and profession of engineering." (Have you ever seen that statement? Check Art. I. para. 3 of our Constitution.) I believe we can each help work toward this objective through participation in the activities offered by the Society. The Branches, the AMF and the committees (I will refer to all of them as the committees) are important and integral parts of the Section in which we participate. They are also the forums within which much of the activity related to enhancing the profession takes place.

I am concerned that while some of our committees are quite active, others have languished from lack of participation or a leader to keep them going. Succession of leadership has also been an issue for some active committees. The activity we see in some committees is the result of the perseverance of a very small core of leaders. If these few leaders can no longer devote time to the committees, who will take their place?

This is where your role comes in. With sufficient member participation, and the diversity of views that would bring, each of our committees can be a viable part of advancing our profession. They could offer activities and a "product" that would be attractive to many others. And there would be opportunity for many to participate and to share the leadership duties necessary to keep it going.

I certainly understand there are phases in our careers and family lives which may take us away from active participation. My life is an example of that; when our daughters were younger and we moved with my job, participation was difficult. I empathize with those whose lives are in one of those phases. But with 2100+ members, we should be able to support the goals and activities of our committees over the long term. It simply takes interest and participation. Become active and help advance the science and profession of engineering.

My last topic is our newsletter and one of its purposes. This is one medium each of us has available to us (on a space available basis) to express thoughts we might have in relation to the profession, the Section, Branches or Committees. I invite you to take the opportunity to use your newsletter as a medium when you have a thought to pass on to your peers or a question to pose for others to ponder. This is YOUR newsletter.

I look forward to seeing you at the March meeting in Bellevue. And don't forget the planned outing to Mt. Vernon in April for the Tulip Festival tour and barbecue dinner in lieu of our regular meeting. Look for details elsewhere in the newsletter, and on the Homepage.

And finally, I would like to relate a personal benefit I recently realized from being active in ASCE. Contacts made through ASCE resulted in some timely advice on a couple of technical situations I was facing in my job. I wouldn't have been able to realize that help if it weren't for ASCE and the personal contacts made here. I really do mean it when I say the rewards will be there. You just need to get involved.

Due to the logistics of the meeting, an early sign-up is required. Please call in your reservation to the Harding & Lawson reservation line by March 17, 1998 (425-990-4164). You will need specify: 1) your reservation is for the April meeting, 2) the number of people the reservation is for (feel free to bring a guest), 3) if you want to ride up and back on the bus, and 4) which bus stop you want to be picked up at. See Bob Boudinot's article below for more details. The final meeting information will be published in the April newsletter and on the section website (www.asce.org/gsd/sections/seattle).

The North Branch invites you to join them for a joint meeting between the Seattle Section and the North Branch on April 15th, 1998, in Mount Vernon. They have planned a bus tour of the Skagit Valley tulip fields followed by a salmon barbecue. The program for the evening will be "How to Engineer a Better Tulip." The bus will start in downtown Seattle, and can pick people up at the following locations: Seattle (Northgate Mall) at 3:30pm, Alderwood Mall at 4:00pm, and somewhere in Everett at 4:30.

Attendees: John Hastig, Tom Armour, Jim Alverson, Ron Leimkuhler, Ray Walton, Monique Nykamp, Larry Wade, Bob Boudinot (North Branch), Don Northey (SEAW).

1. The meeting was called to order by the President at 4:07p.m.

2. Regular Business - Minutes of the January 14 Board meeting were approved as printed in the February Newsletter. The Treasurer's report for January was reviewed and approved without change. For the fiscal year to date, revenues are slightly exceeding projected revenues as adopted for budget purposes.

3. Committee Reports - Ron Leimkuhler reported on Committee activities and concerns. In general, the various technical and other committees have been meeting regularly, as scheduled. The Geotechnical Group will hold an all-day seminar on Landslides in the Puget Sound Region on April 4 at the University of Washington HUB Auditorium. Establishment of a new scholarship in the name of the Section's Honorary Members is now in abeyance, pending action by the Scholarship Committee on the proposal. The concept of splitting the Transportation and Infrastructure into two committees was discussed, but placed "on hold" for the present. This committee's focus has been on strictly transportation issues for some time. The Committee Chair will be away until about March 30; Einer Handeland will serve as temporary Chair.

4. Branch Reports - The Kitsap Branch held a well-attended and informative meeting in early February. North Branch activities were discussed later by its President, Bob Boudinot.

5. Associate Member Forum - Monique Nykamp reported on the status of preparations for the popsicle stick bridge contest, to be held on February 21, and on other AMF activities. Contributions from various engineering firms and individuals have been received in an amount sufficient to cover anticipated expenses, with a little left over for next year's kitty. Sample flyers and press release for the bridge contest were handed out by Ms. Nykamp. A large amount of enthusiasm seems to have been generated for the contest, which will feature bridge entries by some 40 local high school teams. The AMF President-elect for next year is Joe Clare. AMF will hold a Habitat for Humanity event in March and a social event later this spring.

6. Water Resources Engineering Conference in August, 1999 - Ray Walton reported that planning for this National Division conference, to be hosted by the Seattle Section, is on schedule. Ray recently attended a conference planning session in Memphis.

7. Waterpower 2001 - The committee in charge has selected Vancouver rather than Seattle for this major conference, held every two years.

8. ASCE National Convention 2000 - This major event will be hosted by the Seattle Section. Our committee for local arrangements reports no activity this month.

9. Old Business - The Section annual report for 1996-97 has been submitted to ASCE National. The Section's Home page on the web is up and running. Use of the page for announcements of various section activities is encouraged. The address is www.asce.org/gsd/sections/seattle. A presentation of the Section's LOCEA award was made to Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field) by John Welch and John Hastig. Nominations are being sought for this year's LOCEA. Technical committees are requested to review projects for possible nomination and to forward nominations to Mike Stansbury.

The Section's April meeting will be held in Skagit County on April 15 and hosted by the North Branch. Bus transportation from Seattle is being arranged. Work is continuing on preparation of a nomination for Honorary Member status for a member of the Section. After lengthy discussion, the Board voted to continue moral support of the SEAW and its position with regard to possible changes in requirements for licensing of Structural Engineers by the State Board of Registration. The Section Board, however, reserved support for any specific changes that SEAW may propose pending an opportunity to review such changes.

10. New Business - The nominating committee for Section officers will mobilize soon under the chairmanship of Mike Stansbury. Members interested in suggesting nominees should contact Mike soon. Proposed State legislation regarding registration of professional geologists and engineering geologists will be reviewed by the Section's Geotechnical Committee, which will submit a recommendation to the Section Board for consideration. A report was received from ASCE's Congressional Fellow on activities in 1997. This person is a civil engineer who works with congressional committees to further understanding of civil engineers' contributions, and to influence congressional actions by providing input to debate on the nation's infrastructure. The current vacancy in the office of Historian of the Section was discussed. This will be looked into by the President. The possibility of expanding the Board by the addition of a representative of each of the Section's branches was discussed. No action was taken. A proposed change by the State Registration Board that would eliminate or waive the examination for Engineer-in-Training as a registration requirement was noted without discussion. Bob Boudinot described the potential use of electronic signatures for engineering documents and drawings that is now under consideration for adoption by the State Board. Larry Wade noted that the PNC meeting will be March 19-21 in Spokane. In conjunction with the meeting, a presentation will be made at Grand Coulee Dam designating this project as a National Civil Engineering Historic Landmark.

11. Sustainable Development - The President will prepare comments to the ASCE National position regarding this concept for review by the Board and Section membership.

12. Adjournment - The meeting was adjourned at 5:50pm.

Respectfully Submitted,
James E. Alverson, Secretary

On Saturday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m., the local chapter of Water For People will be hosting the Third Annual Water For Life fundraising reception in the Dome Room in the Arctic Building (700 Third Avenue) in downtown Seattle. The event will be co-hosted by Water Partners International and is sponsored by Seattle Public Utilities, the City of Everett, and Tacoma City Water. Funds raised at the reception will be used to assist the community of Sonsa, Honduras. If you have questions or would like to RSVP, contact AWWA-WFP 11327-17th Avenue NE/Seattle, WA98125 or call 206-985-1044. Please RSVP so that adequate food and beverage can be ensured.

PROJECT MANAGER/ENGINEER Donald B. Murphy Contractors, Inc. (DBM), a nationally recognized design/build company that specializes in the design and construction of anchored earth retention structures, large and small diameter drilled foundation support systems, ground improvement and treatment techniques and specialty steel erection and heavy rigging projects, is seeking a qualified engineer in its Federal Way, Washington home office. Interested applicants shall have a BSCE degree in Civil Engineering with a strong background in both structural and geotechnical engineering. Individuals should be results oriented, have good communication skills, be capable of effectively working with others and enjoy working in design/build specialty geotechnical construction. Duties will initially be in the area of office/field design engineering, cost estimating and will grow with experience to include construction management, marketing, sales, and contract negotiation. Please send resumes to: Donald B. Murphy Contractors, Inc., 1220 S. 356th, Federal Way, Washington 98003-7464, Attn: Tom Armour. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

Berryman & Henigar, an ENR top 500 consulting engineering firm and recognized consultant to public agencies nationwide has immediate openings in its Seattle Office. Entry level, graduate Civil Engineers & experienced licensed engineers are needed for the following positions for transportation, wastewater and solid waste projects:

• Sr. Transp. Engr: Must have BSCE w/ 8-10 yrs. prof. exp. in rdwy, storm drainage & util. design; prep. of PS&E for urban/rural sts. & arterials; proj. mgmt. & client contact. Airport eng. desirable. Must be PE in WA.
• Sr. Water Supply/Distribution Engr: Min. BSCE w/ 8-10 yrs. prof. exp. in planning/design of water supply & dist. sys., include. hydrology/hydraulics, water supply dev., water treatment, pumping sys. for muni. water & irrig. sys. pipelines, muni, infrastructure, PS&E prep., client contact & proj. mgmt. Must be PE in WA.
• Civil Engr: Must have BSCE w/ min. 5-8 yrs. prof. exp. civil eng. design rel. to grading, storm drainage, roads & utilities. Exp. rel. to ww. treatmnt, water qual. & solid waste mgmt (landfills) desirable.
• Entry Level Engrs: Must have BSCE or BS in 1 of the sciences & MS in Engr. & 0-3 yrs. exp civil eng. design rel. to grading, rdwys, utili. & storm drainage.
• CADD Operators: Min. 3-5 yrs. AutoCAD exp. civil & transp. eng. plans prep.

If you have a commitment to high quality work, high productivity, & professional integrity, & you are looking for a firm that provides professional excellence and recognizes its employees for outstanding performance, mail of FAX your resume to: Michael A. Pawlak, P.E., Vice President, Berryman & Henigar, 1215 Fourth Avenue, Ste. 1400, Seattle, WA 98161. FAX (206) 505-3406. EEO/AA/DFW

Woodward-Clyde seeks Senior Geotechnical Engineer to provide leadership for Seattle office Geotechnical Group. BS Civil & MS Geotech, P.E., 15 years exp. in geo-civil engineering/strong technical project mgmt background/interest in business development/personnel mgmt. PNW exp. desired. Send Resume/cover letter to: Woodward-Clyde, ATTN 248, #1500, 1501 4th Ave., Seattle, WA 98101-1662.

On Thursday April 16th, Kevin Shock, P.E., a Water Quality Engineer with the King County Department of Natural Resources, will discuss modeling techniques, assumptions, and results from a hydrodynamic model of Elliott Bay and the Duwamish Estuary.

The Duwamish Estuary, located in Seattle's industrial area, is a heavily used shipping channel and a significant habitat area for salmon. The modeling effort is part of a project to investigate the significance of Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) discharges and other sources of potential contaminants to aquatic life and human health within the study area. The 3D Environmental Fluid Dynamics Computer Code (EFDC, by John Hamrick) was used to simulate the transport and fate of contaminants. The modeling effort addressed tides and fresh-water inputs and required modification to the original computer code to simulate near-field CSO effects within the larger model cells. An intensive field sampling program was also initiated to collect water and sediment chemical data for the toxicant transport and fate module, and physical data for the hydrodynamic module. Results from the modeling effort where used in the Human Health and Aquatic Risk Assessment.

All members of the Seattle Section, colleagues, and friends are invited to attend the noon meeting on April 16th at the offices of HDR, Inc., 500 - 108th Avenue NE, Bellevue, in the 12th floor conference room. Light refreshments will be served. Fee parking is available under the building and in a public lot across the street. Contact Dave Jennings at 425-822-8880 (e-mail: djennings@parametrix.com), or Fritz Timm at 425-519-6500 (e-mail: ftt@blv.deainc.com), for more information.

Greg Varney, a Senior Project Engineer at KPFF, will present the structural design of the Washington State Emergency Operations Center in Olympia, which is the first base isolated building in Washington. In his presentation, Greg will include many interesting facets of the design process, including the geotechical engineering which was used to determine the site specific response spectrum. Greg will also cover other critical elements of design including compatibility of architectural and mechanical systems with base isolated structures. Greg will present state of the art information about base isolation and its growing use in California, as well as for select projects in the Northwest.

Thank you to all of the firms listed above for your generous contributions.
If you or your firm would like to contribute to the success of the conference, please contact Nete Leth at (206) 783-7282 or by email at nleth@u.washington.edu.