Geotechnical News • March 2019
25
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
papers were presented over the three
days of the conference, along with a
poster session. From Sunday night
through to Tuesday, delegates were
also encouraged to visit the booths of
the 72 exhibitors who helped support
this conference and to hear 22 of them
make special exhibitor presentations.
Tuesday’s program was capped in the
evening with the Local Colour Night.
Held in the expansive Hall D of the
convention centre with a panoramic
view of the North Saskatchewan River
Valley, it was a warm and beautiful
evening and all vestiges of the week-
end snow fall had long melted away.
The theme for the Local Colour Night
was a Taste of Edmonton. Based on
the very successful three day Heri-
tage Festival held in Edmonton every
August, the evening was designed to
showcase a small slice of what can be
sampled at the main festival. Del-
egates were treated to performances
by first nation performers, a Chinese
lion dance, dancers from east India
and Poland. The evening was capped
off with a flute performance and hoop
dance by Dallas Arcand Jr.
Accompanying the on-stage entertain-
ment were posters recognizing local
geoprofessional pioneers, displays
from several local cultural museums
and possibly the most talked about
event at the conference, the opportu-
nity for delegates to hold and touch
various large birds of prey from the
Alberta Birds of Prey Nature Centre
(
. Finally,
delegates were also treated a menu
featuring traditional and modern
Albertan foods and craft beverages.
The last day of the conference was
Wednesday and the last technical
sessions were slowly being wrapped
up. Wednesday’s lunch was billed
as the Heritage Luncheon. It was an
opportunity to recognize, celebrate
and reflect on the passing of several
prominent practitioners during the
previous year, including the CGS
Conference iron man himself,
Gordon
McRostie
. On a much less somber
note,
Andrea Lougheed
hosted a
special presentation recognizing some
of the first women in geotechnique in
Canada, four of whom were able to
attend the conference and to unveil
posters chronicling their struggles and
successes in the early days of their
careers.
By the end of Wednesday afternoon,
many of the delegates had already
started their journeys home. Hope-
fully they left with warm and lasting
memories of their stay in Edmonton
and their time at GeoEdmonton 2018.
The organizing and hosting of the
CGS Annual Conference is the result
of countless hours of work by the
volunteers of the LOC over two and
a half years, along with the financial
support of 27 sponsors, 72 exhibitors
and aided by the staff at the Gibson
Group Management Inc. (
Wayne
Gibson, Lisa McJunkin
and
Emily
Fournier
). The LOC for GeoEdmon-
ton 2018 consisted of
Don Lewycky
and
Sean MacEoin
(Co-Chairs),
David Elwood
(Geotechnical Program
Chair),
Kristen Tappenden
(Geotech-
nical Program and Secretary),
Brian
Smerdon
(IAH-CNC Representa-
tive and Hydrogeological Program
Chair),
Christina Tatarniuk
(Social
Program),
João Küpper
(Treasurer),
Emily Rowe
and
Mariaka De Groot
(Students and Young Engineers Pro-
gram),
Kevin Louey
and
Rohi Sati
(Partner Program),
Hillary Smith
(Volunteer Coordinator) and
Murray
Innes
(GSE Representative). The LOC
was also aided by a number of stu-
dents from the University of Alberta,
who provided invaluable assistance in
hosting this conference. Many thanks
to them all and we encourage you to
attend the next CGS conference in St.
John’s, Newfoundland!
Submitted by Don Lewycky -
Geo-Edmonton Co-Chair
Canadian Legends
The
Heritage Committee
has started
a project aimed at publishing profiles
of distinguished Canadian geotechni-
cal professionals which highlight the
wisdom gained from their lives and
their professional careers. The profiles
will include:
• interviews previously published
in the American Society of Civil
Engineers’ GeoInstitute GeoStrata
magazine, and reproduced with
permission from that organization,
• interviews conducted in the 1980s
in association with the CGS Cana-
dian Heritage Project,
• interviews conducted in collabora-
tion with the CGS Education Com-
mittee, and
• other such profiles.
The initial focus is on past RF Legget
Medal recipients, CGS Past Presi-
dents, and past Cross Canada Lec-
ture Tour speakers. To learn more
about this project and look at some
of the profiles, visit the CGS Virtual
Archives:
Andrea Lougheed’s First Women in
Geotechnique in Canada presenta-
tion at the Heritge Luncheon.
Hoop Dancer.
