Geotechnical News December 2011
45
ASFE NEWS
societies to join, something that applies
to one and all, not just the youngsters.
In many firms, the general rule is
for staff members to be involved in
one technical society and one market-
focused society, typically involving a
market represented by one or several
major clients. In the latter group, op-
portunities for board service may be
limited, because the firm or its repre-
sentatives may have to serve as asso-
ciate members. But being an
involved
associate member – by serving on com-
mittees with representatives of client
and prospective-client firms – has ob-
vious benefits. Note, however, that the
same opportunities exist in discipline-
focused groups. After all, the technical
employees of client- and prospective-
client organizations also belong to
ASCE, NGWA, NSPE, ASDSO, AEG,
and USGBC, among so many, many
others.
In most areas, so many associations
and societies exist you won’t be able
to have representation in all you’d like
to. So, how do you make assignments?
How do you deploy your “troops”? SAI
makes the choice easy: Identify your
most important clients and the pro-
spective-client organizations you most
want to “bring into the fold.” What or-
ganizations do they support? Almost
unbelievably, many firms never make
this assessment, even though they real-
ize the marketing value to be derived
from association and society involve-
ment and networking. And which com-
mittees should you seek involvement
on, assuming you’re not a “newbie”?
Well, which committees do the client
and prospective-client reps serve on?
And here’s something else you’re
likely to discover when you make
these SAI assessments: The C-level
personnel of client and prospective-cli-
ent organizations – the CEOs, COOs,
CFOs, and such – are likely to be in-
volved in high-visibility community
organizations, because they want to
demonstrate that their organizations
care about the community. Your firm
should be doing the same, to establish
the bond that emerges when shoulders
hit the same wheel. “It’s important to
support those who support the causes I
hold dear” many client CEOs believe.
And in your community, those causes
are…?
Road Warrior
So there you are in who-knows-where,
scanning a list of available WiFi
connections when you spy one called
“Free Public WiFi.” You try connecting
to it and nothing happens…if you’re
lucky.As it so happens, the “Free Public
WiFi” connection is the remnant of a
Windows XP networking bug that has
been rebroadcast repeatedly for years:
Every time a person tries to connect to
it, it gets added to that person’s list of
available networks.
It’s more than just
an attractive nuisance.
A malicious
user can apply the connection to steal
log-in information and data from your
laptop. “Free Public WiFi” is never a
valid hotspot; don’t connect!
New Members
We’re delighted to extend a hearty
“Welcome Aboard” to three new
ASFE-Member Firm and a new
Government Member. The three new
ASFE-Member Firms are:
• American Geotechnics
special-
izes in subsurface site investiga-
tions, landfill design, foundation
engineering, and pavement design.
Charles E. “Chuck” Burgert,
P.E.
is the firm’s president.
(Ameri-
can Geotechnics / 5260 Chinden
Boulevard / Boise, ID 83714 / Tel
208/658-8700 / Fax 208/658-9703
/
)
• Kaskaskia Engineering Group,
LLC
provides geotechnical and
transportation engineering, GIS
mapping and consulting, environ-
mental science, and water-resourc-
es management services.
• Marsia Geldert-Murphy, P.E.
is
the firm’s ASFE representative.
(Kaskaskia Engineering Group,
LLC / 23 Public Square / Suite 404
/ Belleville, IL 62220 / Tel 618/233-
5877 / Fax 618/233-5977 / www.
kaskaskiaeng.com)
• Whitlock Dalrymple Poston &
Associates P.C.
provides special-
ized structural and architectural
engineering, geotechnical engi-
neering, and construction materials
engineering and testing services.
A. Rhett Whitlock, Ph.D., P.E.,
Gerald A. Dalrymple, P.E., Ran-
dall W. Poston, Ph.D., P.E., S.E.,
and J. Eric Peterson, P.E.
are the
firm’s principals.
(Whitlock Dal-
rymple Poston & Associates P.C. /
10621 Gateway Boulevard / Suite
200 / Manassas, VA 20110 / Tel
703/257-9280 / Fax 703/257-7589
/
Our newest Government Member
is Hope Allison Kaufman, a program
manager for the NewYork City Depart-
ment of Parks and Recreation. Hope
manages the 222-acre, $160 million
mayoral-initiative landfill redevelop-
ment project, including an 18-hole golf
course with outbuildings, a 10-acre
community park, and a 20-acre water-
front park. (
Hope Allison Kaufman /
130 E4th Street / Brooklyn, NY 11218
/ tel 646/675-0886 / hope.kaufman@
parks.nyc.gov
)
