CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
Message from the President
As we reach the month of Decem-
ber 2018, I will be completing my
two-year term as the President of the
Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS),
and this will be my last message to
you through the Geotechnical News
magazine. As traditionally done, I
would like to take this opportunity to
highlight some of the key accomplish-
ments by our CGS team (the Execu-
tive Committee, Board of Directors,
and National Office) over the past two
years.
From a high-level viewpoint, much of
our efforts over the past 2 years have
been focused on: member engagement
and involvement (including young
professionals), new approaches for
general communications, enhancement
of member experience and services,
and improved relationships with Local
Sections.
Our flagship Cross Canada Lecture
Tours (CCLTs) were very successful,
with
Dr. Vaughan Griffiths
(Colorado
School of Mines) delivering in Spring
2017,
Dr. Jean-Marie Konrad
(Uni-
versité Laval) presenting the 100th
CCLT in the Fall of 2017, followed by
the Spring 2018 speaker
Dr. Tom O’
Rourke
(Cornell University, Ithaca,
NY) and
Dr. Alex Sy
(Klohn Crippen
Berger) for the Fall 2018 tour.
The final Errata for the 4th Edition of
the Canadian Foundation Engineering
Manual (CFEM) has been published
and is available on the CGS website.
Printed copies will be included with
all new purchases. Thanks are due to
Ken Skaftfeld
for editing and final-
izing the Errata. Planning is underway
for the new online CFEM with the
main goal to address the technical
content of the CFEM as we enter 2019
with the next Executive Committee.
The CGS continues to be in a healthy
financial position despite the budgeted
deficit that was approved last year.
The CGS Board of Directors (BOD)
and membership approved an increase
of the registration fee for regular
members effective 2019. It has been 8
years since the last fee increase, back
in 2011. A Financial Advisory Task
Force examined ways to best invest
the CGS’ funds, keeping in line with
the government regulations, and the
task force recommendations are in
the process of being included in the
Administration Manual.
In keeping with our vision, the com-
munication task force was established
to develop a solid Communication
Strategy for the Society as we move
forward with many action items. The
communication topics addressed
Dharma Wijewickreme, President of
Canadian Geotechnical Society
