Geotechnical News December 2010
17
CGS News
that I have benefited far more greatly
from the CGS and its members than
I have given back to our Society. The
experiences and insight gained through
CGS has had significant, positive influ-
ence on my career and professional de-
velopment.
If you will permit me, I want to re-
emphasize the theme during my term
as your President. That is, the rele-
vance and importance, if not a neces-
sity, of being a member of a learned
society such as CGS, CSCE, CDA,
TAC or whatever society you consider
relevant. There is a positive, comple-
mentary relationship between being
a member of a professional licensing
body and of a learned society. Both
are needed for enhanced career and
professional development and growth.
The experiences and opportunities
gained through participation in learned
societies will expand your perspective
through the interaction with people of
varied and broad background, and see-
ing how they approach and solve prob-
lems. As leaders and mentors, it is our
responsibility to assist and guide in the
professional development of our col-
leagues.
Mentorship is a very special rela-
tionship
and I’ve been extremely privi-
leged and fortunate to have many over
the years
.
I want to take a minute or so
to acknowledge and thank these people
who are legends and giants in the Ca-
nadian and international geotechnical
community. I’m also delighted and
honoured that many are in the audience
today. I will identify these special peo-
ple in chronological order of them hav-
ing on-going influence on my career
and professional development – some
for more than 35 years, and most for
more than 25 years.
• Jack Crooks
• Professor K. Y. Lo
• the late Bob Quigley
• the late Jack Clark
• John Seychuk
• the late Victor Milligan
• Jim Graham
• Kerry Rowe, and
• Nordie Morgenstern.
Over the past few years I’ve been
asked a few times “what does it take to
be successful?” To me, this is a curi-
ous question because it firstly assumes
that I am successful and, secondly, it
depends on the definition of success.
On the basis that I am apparently suc-
cessful, I say that I’ve been most for-
tunate and privileged throughout my
career to work with so many talented
people. I’ve also received very strong
support from my family and from
Golder Associates in my many “ex-
tracurricular” activities. Without
that support and the mentoring that I
have generously received throughout
my career, I would not have been able
to accomplish things that others feel
are worthy of recognition. In essence,
success is largely due to the people you
have around you.
Success is something that you do
not plan – it develops on how one re-
sponds to mentoring, having a risk-
taker perspective, and making the best
of opportunities that come your way.
Never shy away from an opportunity.
My Dad and Mom taught their six
children as we grew up on the fam-
ily farm in Southern Ontario to work
hard, and that any job, no matter how
big or small, deserves being done right
and with quality. It was through those
early days that I learned the importance
of being meticulous and paying atten-
tion to details.
In addition to the influence of my
family, there are statements made by
others that have had an immense im-
pact on my career and professional de-
velopment, and my perspective on life.
The first of these is from Victor Mil-
ligan – “to thyself be true”. It is ex-
tremely important to preserve your per-
sonal integrity and stand up for what
you believe is right. I’ve learned that
you must firstly satisfy yourself - if you
meet your own expectations then there
is a strong likelihood that you will also
meet the expectations of others.
Another lesson comes from my dear
friend and colleague, Jack Crooks, who
28 years ago said when we were delib-
erating whether to response to an RFP
– “remember, we can do it just as good,
if not better, than others”. This positive
and confident statement has stuck with
me and I’ve repeated it to my younger
colleagues when faced with and ex-
ecuting tasks on challenging projects.
In some of these projects highly inno-
vative ideas and “breakthroughs”, in
the words of others, were developed.
In a couple of circumstances they are
now part of standard state-of-practice.
My dear colleagues and friends,
John Seychuk (alias “Big Bad” John),
who has a nickname for almost every-
one (mine is “Dr. D.”) and Jim Graham
(alias the Reverend Billy Graham)
have taught me that we should not take
ourselves too seriously - the impor-
tance of being down to earth - and that
we must always strive for quality in our
work. John, in addition to technical
skills, has taught me the importance of
understanding the consulting business,
people and working relationships, and
“not to trust lawyers”.
Over the years I’ve emphasized the
importance to my working colleagues
that having a good sense of humour
and having fun are extremely impor-
tant. Humour has a special way of
dealing with stress and can bind a team
together through tough times. I can’t
imagine working a job that I didn’t like,
(from left to right) Jack Crooks, Michel Aubertin, Doug Van Dine, Dennis Becker.
