Geotechnical News • June 2012
47
ASFE NEWS
letter). For whatever reason, when
people correspond by e-mail or
fax, some folks just use a person’s
name as the salutation; e.g.,
John
, and then hurry on with the
message. Because many people
regard
Dear
as a strange way
to begin an e-mail, and because
Tom, Dick,
or
Harriet
seems
brusque and unfriendly, try
Hi,
Tom.,
or
Greetings, Dick
., or
Good morning, Harriet
. instead.
You can also dispense with
a salutation and integrate the
individual’s name in an opening
line; e.g.,
I enjoyed speaking with
you, Tom
. or
Congratulations,
Dick. I heard about your
…. or
As
usual, Harriet, you hit the nail on
the head when you
…. The same
would apply to a fax cover sheet,
although the conventional
Dear
Name
approach works okay, too.
After receiving a 41A instruction on
his e-mail, that was also embellished
with a large “
RUDE!
,” a FOPP 21
participant wrote, “Suzy. I am not
sure I understand what Mr. Bachner’s
issue is with using a person’s name as
a salutation in an e-mail. He seems to
believe it is rude. In my experience it
is the most common way of addressing
an e-mail.” John’s response may be of
value:
Good afternoon, Joe.
While using a brusque, unadorned
greeting – Joe or Mr. Smith –
may be the most common way
of addressing e-mail, doing so
eliminates your ability to create
a friendly image while using
a communications medium
that all too often results in
misunderstanding of one’s
attitude. Besides, in a world
where geoprofessionals so
often complain “We’re treated
as though we’re all alike, like
commodities,” why would you
want to do that which is common?
Shouldn’t you want to do things
that are somewhat uncommon (in
a good way), so you can at least
differentiate yourself from your
competition? Bear in mind that
client representatives never see
97% of what your firm does for
them. As such, little things do not
mean a lot; they mean
everything
.
Dr. English concurs.
Editorial
After 43 years of existence, ASFE has
nominated a female – Laura Rein-
bold, P.E. (
TTL, Inc
.) – to its Board of
Directors. For most of us, it is and is
not a big deal. In the “is” category, we
could say, “Wow! We’ve finally ended
the men’s club. After almost a half a
century, we’ll have a woman serving
on the Board.” But on the “is not” side
of the ledger, “What’s so unusual?
Laura’s worked hard for ASFE and
made some important accomplish-
ments. That gives her the right to
work even harder and contribute even
more. That’s the way it’s always been,
no matter whom they’ve nominated
to the Board.” And that’s also true:
The cream rises to the top; no big
deal. But the “no big deal” attitude
stems from what we’ve grown used
to thanks to our society in general. As
Americans, we’re now accustomed to
women doing today what they did not
do even 20 years ago. We have also
grown accustomed to other “minori-
ties” doing today what they did not do
“back then,” like being president of
the United States. But in the hallowed
halls where associations like ASFE
convene, you’d have every reason
to believe otherwise. In fact, look-
ing around, you’d no doubt be easily
convinced that middle-aged white men
comprise a huge social majority, and
that perception, we submit, is some-
thing that cries out for change. We are,
after all, a nation (
unum
) of diverse
peoples
(pluribus
). The more we
encourage that diversity in ASFE, the
better our collective brain will be, if
only because we’ll have more ideas to
select from, especially those that stem
from perspectives and experiences that
are far more diverse than they used to
be. True, 200 middle-aged white guys
are not all going to think alike. But
also true, add some women to the mix;
add some younger people; add people
whose ethnic heritage is evident on
their bones, and – voila – the idea
pool expands, as does the notion that
“we’re all in this together.”
Surely it can be said that the middle-
aged white-guy “thing” is not the
doing of ASFE or the geoprofessions.
It’s just that middle-aged white guys
are overrepresented and others are
underrepresented (although that under-
representation may have been caused
by factors uncomfortable to address).
Besides, most of the firms represented
at ASFE meetings actually strive for
staff diversity. And that’s an important
issue, given that most of the people
who represent those firms in ASFE are
on the C level and so have the ability
to influence, if not decide on, who
will attend our get-togethers and who
will not. It certainly would benefit
ASFE to have more of those “diverse
people” involved in the organization,
at meetings and especially in com-
mittees, where diverse ideas produce
better results. Those newly engaged
in our organization would benefit, too,
of course, and no doubt their ASFE
exposure would benefit their employ-
ers. And who knows, as we help make
the geoprofessions more welcoming,
we may attract more people from dif-
ferent backgrounds; more diversity;
more good ideas; more hands to pull
the oars of progress. So, while Laura’s
nomination is no big deal in one sense,
it could be a really big deal in another;
not so much the ending of the past but
the beginning of a truly bright new
future. With your help, it will be.
From the bench
At the request of Cat Iron, Inc. (Cat
Iron), Bodine Environmental Services,
Inc. (Bodine) proposed to conduct a
complete National Emission Standards
for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NES-
HAPS) asbestos inspection of Cat
Iron’s about-to-be-demolished Inter-
met Facility in Decatur, Illinois, and to
submit a comprehensive report of its
