Newsletter

IT IS AN HONOR TO REPRESENT THE MEMBERS OF THE MOHAWK-HUDSON SECTION AS YOUR NEWL Y INSTALLED PRESIDENT. AS I AM PREPARING THIS FIRST PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE OF MY TENURE, I THOUGHT THAT IT WOUL D BE WISE TO GIVE A LITTLE INSIGHT TO THE SECTION INTO WHO YOUR PRESIDENT IS. TO QUOTE AUSTIN POWERS, ALLOW MYSELF TO INTRODUCE MYSELF. BY DAY, I AM THE REGIONAL MUNICIPAL DISCIPLINE LEADER FOR LABELLA ASSOCIATES, AND BY NIGHT, FATHER TO TWO TEENAGE BOYS WHO ARE AS DIFFERENT AS TWO BOYS COULD POSSIBLY BE. ON THE WEEKENDS, MY ENERGIES GO INTO THE RESTORATION AND UPKEEP OF MY HISTORIC 1906 HOME IN SCHENECTADY. I HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF ASCE SINCE 1985, JOINING AS A STUDENT MEMBER AT RPI AND THEN CONTINUING INVOLVEMENT IN ASCE AS A STUDENT MEMBER AFTER TRANSFERRING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, TO COMPLETE MY DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING. I HAVE BEEN A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER SINCE 1995 AND AM CURRENTLY LICENSED IN NINE STATES. ASCE HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN MY CAREER FOR BOTH TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES. FOR AL MOST TWENTY YEARS, I WAS ACTIVE IN THE NH SECTION, SERVING FIRST AS YOUNGER MEMBER CHAIR AND THEN FOR SEVEN YEARS ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, INCLUDING A YEAR AS SECTION PRESIDENT. IT WAS DURING THAT TIME THAT I ALSO DEVELOPED A DEEP AFFINITY FOR THE HISTORY AND HERITAGE OF OUR PROFESSION. IN 2007, I MOVED BACK TO NEW YORK AND WAS ALSO NOMINATED FOR, AND ACCEPTED, A TERM ON THE ASCE NATIONAL HISTORY & HERITAGE COMMITTEE, ON WHICH I SERVED FOR ELEVEN YEARS.

AS A CIVIL ENGINEERING GENERALIST, MY CAREER HAS FOLL OWED THE MARKET TO SOME DEGREE, BOUNCING BETWEEN PUBLIC (MUNICIPAL) AND PRIVATE (LAND DEVELOPMENT) PROJECTS, AND SOMETIMES THE GREY AREA IN BETWEEN. BUT WHETHER WORKING ON A WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, A MEDICAL OFFICE BUIL DING, A RAIL-TRAIL, A SEMICONDUCTOR FACILITY, A COMMUNITY SOLAR FARM, OR ANY OF THE THOUSAND PLUS OTHER PROJECTS IN MY THREE- AND ONE-HALF DECADE PORTFOLIO, IT IS ALWAYS WITH THE END-USER IN MIND.

IN OUR UNIVERSE, THE END-USER IS THE PUBLIC. THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORDS “CIVIL,” “CIVIC,” AND “CITY” ALL TRACE THEIR ROOTS TO LATIN- PERTAINING TO CITIZENS. REGARDLESS OF TECHNICAL DISCIPLINE, CLIENT SECTOR, OR GEOGRAPHIC MARKET, WE ARE A PEOPLE-SERVING PROFESSION. THAT IS WHAT TIES US ALL TOGETHER AS CIVIL ENGINEERS IN A CIVIL SOCIETY. MY DESIGN APPROACH, MY MANAGEMENT STYLE, AND MY LEADERSHIP VALUES ALL REFLECT THIS PHILOSOPHY AND WILL CONTINUE TO GUIDE ME THROUGH THE NEXT YEAR AS PRESIDENT OF THE MOHAWK-HUDSON SECTION.

A FEW OF THE EXCITING THINGS THAT ARE COMING UP FOR THE SECTION IN THE NEXT YEAR ARE A RETURN TO IN-PERSON TECHNICAL DINNER MEETINGS, THE REBIRTH OF THE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROGRAM AT UNION COLLEGE, AND THE 200^TH SUMMER 2023 – ASCE MOHAWK HUDSON SECTION ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE- THE FIRST COLLEGE IN THE UNITED STATES TO AWARD A DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THESE AND THE MANY OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT THE VERY ENTHUSIASTIC BOARD HAS PLANNED FOR 2023 -24. NOW THAT YOU KNOW A LITTL E ABOUT ME, I HOPE THAT AS MEMBERS, YOU WIL L TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WHAT THE SECTION BRINGS TO YOU.

-REUBEN HULL, PE, PMP, M. ASCE

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