February 18, 2000

SENH PRESIDENT’S NEWS LETTER    

Greetings! 

It appears that winter has finally arrived in New Hampshire.  Are you someone who suffers from “cabin fever” during these long winter months?  If so, SENH has scheduled several activities to in order to get you out of the office and back into circulation.

March 14, 2000 Membership Meeting

The next membership meeting will be held on Tuesday march 14, 2000 in Manchester, NH.  This meeting is being sponsored by the Business Development Committee and is also a joint meeting with the New Hampshire AIA Membership.  The presentation topic will be on “Selling Value For Increased Revenue and Profits”.  Come join us in Manchester along with our Architecture Professionals for some social time and a very interesting presentation.  More information on this meeting including costs, reservations, etc. is included in this mailing.

January 27, 2000 Membership Meeting

Our January meeting was held at the New England Center at UNH in Durham, NH.  Over 65 members and guests attended this afternoon and evening program on “Timber Sheer Wall Design” and a demonstration of the “Woodworks” software.  Minutes of this meeting is included in this mailing. 

NCSEA Winter Institute

Last call for the NCSEA Structural Engineering Winter Institute being held in Miami, Florida from March 6^th -10^th.  This is the only seminar that we have seen that covers LRFD design for timber, steel, and concrete together at one time.  LRFD design is coming as the design method of choice!  For more information, check out the NCSEA website (WWW.NCSEA.COM/LRFD.HTM).

Board of Directors Vacancies

Two vacancies will occur on the Board of Directors this June.  The two-year term held by President, Robert Durfee, P.E. of Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc. will expire.  In accordance with the By-laws, Bob cannot seek a fourth term and must retire from the Board.

The two-year term held by Vice President, Dennis LaBombard, P.E. of LaBombard Engineering will also expire.  Dennis has indicated to the Board his interest and willingness to serve another two-year term.

The Board of Directors has nominated Dennis LaBombard, P.E. of LaBombard Engineering and Matthew Low, P.E. of Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc. to fill these two vacancies.  The Board is also seeking nominations from the membership.   If you would like to nominate a member, please submit a written nomination in accordance with the By-laws to the current Board of Directors by March 31, 2000.  All nominations for Director positions will be voted upon at the May 16, 2000 annual meeting.

IBCO Seminar

The International Building Code Officials Administration (IBCO) will be holding a one-day seminar in White River Junction, Vermont. IBCO will present and review the structural provisions (chapters 16 through 23) of the new IBCO Code.  Mark your calendars for Thursday May 4^th for this seminar.  All SENH members will soon receive a flyer/announcement on this seminar directly from IBCO.  As an SENH member, you can attend this seminar at the IBCO rate, a 15% discount.  Further discounts are offered for early registration.

Dues Renewal

Dues renewal notices went out in the December mailing.  Dues for the year 2000 must be paid by February 29^th.  If you have not paid your dues, please do so, by returning a completed dues renewal notice and registration form along with your payment. Paying your dues in a prompt manner assists SENH in meeting its financial obligations.

NCSEA Monthly Moments

The January 2000 Monthly Moments Bulletin is enclosed.  Monthly Moments are also posted on the SENH website.

NCSEA Structural Awards Program

NCSEA is please to announce their annual Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program.   An outstanding Project and an outstanding Publication are the two (2) entry categories that are available.

SENH encourages our membership to enter this prestigious awards program.  SENH will sponsor the registration fees for the entrants from our membership in both categories.  For more information on this program, you may go to the NCSEA website (www.ncsea.com).

Please submit your one page abstract of your project or a copy of your publication to the Board by May 12^th. The Board will select an entry to represent our organization in each category by May 16^th.  Selected entries must further complete an application package and submit it to NCSEA by July 14^th.

SENH Website (www.senh.org)

The website has recently been updated to provide you with the latest information on you organization. 

Updates include new questions for our Question and Answer forum.  Several interesting and unique questions on bridges and buildings have been provided by members.  Do you have the answers to these puzzling questions?  If so, please share these with the rest of the engineering community!

The membership list has also been updated.  SENH will no longer be providing hard copy of the membership list, since it is posted on the website and frequently updated.  If you do not have access to our website and would like to obtain a hard copy of our membership list, please contact our administrative assistant, Pamela Merrill.

ACI 318-99

SENH will be providing a seminar on the new ACI 318-99 code.  This seminar will be held on June 15^th in the Central New Hampshire area and will be sponsored by ACI.  This one-day seminar will be provided for a substantially reduced cost over the normal ACI seminar price.  Registration information will be provided in the next mailing to the membership.  In the meantime, mark your calendars for an all day ACI seminar on June 15^th!

Treasurers Report

A copy of the 1999 Treasures Report is enclosed.  If you have any questions, contact Ray Cowan, Treasurer.

P.E. Registration Listing

The Board of Directors has approved listing member P.E. Registrations on the membership list.   This is an optional service, which SENH will provide to members only (associate members are not eligible).  If you wish to have a list of all your State P.E. Registrations posted with your name on the SENH membership list, Please e-mail or fax this information to our Administrative Assistant, Pamela Merrill.

By-Law Changes

The Board of Directors has approved a change to the By-laws.  This change provides for the creation of a student member category.  A complete text of the By-law change with an explanation is included in this mailing.  Please review this By-law change and be prepared to vote upon it at the annual meeting in May.

Future Meeting Topics

The Board of Directors is lining up presentation topics and speakers for our fall meetings and fall seminar.  Some of the topics under consideration are: 

 If you have ideas on any other topics or have a particular interest on one of these topics please contact the Profession Development Committee or the Business Practice Committee.

THE CAR

There were three engineers in a car, an electrical engineer, a chemical engineer, and a Microsoft engineer.  Suddenly, the car stops running and they pull off to the side of the road wondering what could be wrong.

The electrical engineer suggests stripping down the electronics of the car and trying to trace where a fault may have occurred.

The chemical engineer, not knowing much about cars, suggests maybe the fuel is being emulsified and getting blocked somewhere.

The Microsoft engineer, not knowing much about anything, came up with a suggestion.  “Why don’t we close all the windows, get out, get back in, and open all the windows and see if it works?

I hope to see all of you at our March 14^th meeting!

Sincerely,

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Robert H. Durfee, P.E.

President