President's Letter

Dear Members, Colleagues and Sponsors,

I hope that you all had a wonderful Holiday Season with your families and I wish you all a prosperous New Year. Although this time of year can be very hectic and crazy, with scheduled time off, heavy workload and project deadlines, it definitely feels good to start a new year fresh and recharged. With another year upon us, it is good to take time to reflect on the lessons and blessings of the past year, set new goals, and consider the ways we can best renew and revitalize ourselves, our relationships, our work, and our world around us. In 2022 we launched the new SENH website and had great presenters and topics for our bi-monthly night meetings, but the attendance was down when compared to the previous pre-Covid years. The Professional Development Committee did such a wonderful job organizing these meetings and also holding additional lunch meetings with pre-recorded webinars. The lunch meetings had educational topics and were well attended. My main goal for 2023 is to increase attendance in our meetings and to also have more engagement and participation from our membership in our committees.

In December the Board of Directors learned that Cassi Beroney will no longer be able to continue assisting us as the Administrative Assistant due to her increased responsibility and workload at TFMoran. I want to thank Cassi for her dedication and her tireless efforts on everything she did for SENH. Cassi started with SENH in June of 2017 and served us for over 5 years. Thank you Cassi, and best of luck on your future endeavors! When one door closes another opens - I want to take this opportunity to introduce our new Administrative Assistant, Julia Chartier. She recently graduated from Keene State College, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design. Her studies included identity design, web design, digital imaging, illustration and typography. Welcome Julia to SENH and we all are very excited to have you aboard.

Last year NCSEA increased the dues for all member organizations by 25%. They also announced that dues will continue to be raised by an additional 10% every other year. The Board of Directors decided to not change the dues last year and absorb that additional cost by getting more sponsors. Dues increases are a difficult discussion for every membership-driven organization but with these significant NCSEA increases, scholarships we offer and upgrades we have recently had with our website we need to increase the dues for 2023. It is also important to note that our dues are still one of the lowest in New England. Please see our Treasurer, Sean Brown, PE announcement in this newsletter for additional details.

Our next meeting is scheduled for February 1st and we are excited to have Loretta Girard Doughty, PE,  Bureau of Bridge Design Administrator  give us an update on the NHDOT Bridge Program. Additional speakers will discuss upgrades to Loon Mountain Ski Resort. Please see the meeting announcement section of the newsletter and do not forget to sign up and I hope to see all of you at that meeting.

If you would like to participate on any of our committees, please feel free to reach out to me directly at (603) 460-5147 or [email protected]. Wishing you a healthy and successful 2023 and looking forward to seeing you soon.

-Josif Bicja, PE

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Board Member of the Month

Jeffrey Karam, PE - SENH Vice President

Jeff is the principal of Evergreen Structural Engineering in Stratham, NH. Jeff started his career in Boston working on bridges and as a field engineer for the Big Dig right near Boston Sand and Gravel and TD Garden. After leaving Boston for New Hampshire he began working on single-family homes. This is the work he enjoys the most. He finds it rewarding to work on people’s homes and enjoys seeing the beautiful sites on which many homes are located. Work brings him from the North Shore of Massachusetts to the Lakes Region of New Hampshire (usually). At various times he has served on different committees for SENH and once for NCSEA. All positions have been rewarding. Jeff feels very fortunate to have found the perfect career for himself. He finds engineering fun, challenging and rewarding. He often bores his two kids by identifying projects he has worked on as they pass by on their way to the beach, lakes, and mountains of New England.

Jeff enjoys engineering, but most enjoys being outside riding his bikes, skiing, talking about skiing, thinking about skiing, planning vacations, boating, cooking, poker, chess, reading historical books, and trying to raise two good kids with his amazing wife, Michele.

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Calendar of Events

SENH Meeting Announcement

Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Presentation #1: NHDOT Bridge Program Update

Find out what has been going on at NHDOT and what is on the horizon.
Speaker: Loretta Girard Doughty, PE - NHDOT Bureau of Bridge Design Administrator

Presentation #2: Being First: Installing the First 8-Place Chairlift in the East at Loon

“Kancamagus 8, or Kanc 8, is an eight-seat D-Line Doppelmayr chair with ergonomically shaped heated seats and tinted bubble. Replacing the Kancamagus Express Quad, the Kanc 8 transports 3,500 skiers per hour to the top of some of Loon’s most popular terrain. This new high-speed, eight-person chairlift also features an automatic restraining bar, individual footrests, and an adjustable loading carpet for young skiers and riders. The D-Line holds 205 new developments, including 31 innovations and 14 patents, making it the most modern chairlift in the world. Featuring new Doppelmayr Direct Drive (DDD) technology, a gearless drive allows whisper-quiet operation and low maintenance while increasing energy efficiency.” -Taken from the Loon Mountain website
Speakers: Brian Norton from Loon Mountain, John Ashworth from Bull Stockwell Allen, and Ed DiRosa from Doppelmayr, USA

Place:

Red Blazer Restaurant & Pub
72 Manchester Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 224-4101

Agenda:

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Registration / Social Hour
6:30 pm - 7:15 pm Dinner
7:15 pm - 7:30 pm Business Meeting
7:30 pm - 8:30 pm Presentations

Dinner:

Italian buffet with choice of chicken alfredo, spaghetti & meatballs, and vegetable lasagna. Served with a fresh garden salad, garlic bread, and assorted desserts.

Please include any food allergies or dietary restrictions to be accommodated.

Cost:

Member: $70.00
Non-Member: $75.00
Student: $15.00

RSVP:

By Wednesday, January 25, 2023. There will be a $5.00 late fee for anyone wishing to RSVP past this date.

Registration and payments can be completed online at https://senh.org/meetinginfo.php. Please contact Julia Chartier ([email protected]) with questions about registration and payments.

Note:

2.0 PDHs have been assigned for attendance. Attendees are responsible for ensuring their check-in on the attendance list upon arrival at the meeting.

Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) - SENH Joint Ski Outing

Friday, February 10, 2023 12:30 pM - 5:00 PM

Join SENH at a joint outing with the New Hampshire Chapter of WTS at Pat’s Peak on Friday, February 10th! Enjoy an afternoon of skiing or snowboarding from 12:30pm to 5pm and meet up for a social hour at the Sled Pub in the base lodge from 5pm to 6pm. Appetizers and a round of drinks will be provided courtesy of WTS & SENH. Order lift tickets through Pats Peak via their website https://www.patspeak.com and meet us on the slopes! Please RSVP to [email protected] if you are able to attend.

Where & When:

Pat's Peak Ski Area
686 Flanders Road, Henniker, NH 03242 
Friday, February 10th, 2023

Schedule:

12:30 PM - 5 PM Skiing & Snowboarding with WTS-SENH
5 PM - 6 PM Socialize at The Sled Pub at the Base Lodge
6 PM - 9 PM Optional Skiing & Snowboarding until Last Chair 

Tickets:

For Questions Contact: [email protected]

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Committee Updates

SENH - Young Members Group

Updating the YMG Member List

As the new year rolls in and we plan for future Young Member events we want to make sure our YMG email list is up to date with everyone who is interested. If you have not been receiving the YMG emails and are interested in attending some of our future events, please email me and I will make sure you are included in future emails. Additionally, if you are receiving our emails and no longer wish to, please let me know and I will have your name removed from the distribution list.

See you at the next event!

-Eric
[email protected]

Structural Engineering (SE) Licensure Committee

Submitted by Kayla Hampe, PE, Chair

Assistant Chair: Eric Caron

The SE Licensure Committee met in December to review and discuss the SE licensure survey results. We are still analyzing the results to better understand the position of our members. After this process is done, we will be writing a memo to our SENH board regarding the survey results to discuss our findings with them.

Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Committee

Submitted by Bob Durfee, Chair
Bob Champaign, Member
Fred Emanuel, Member
Josif Bicja, Board Liason

Call for Entries

The Committee has issued the Call for Entries for the EXCELLENCE IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AWARDS Program, which is included in this newsletter. The deadline for project submissions is March 3, 2023. Award winners will be announced during the Awards Ceremony to be held during the May 2023 meeting. Detailed information on the Awards Program, entry requirements, etc. is posted on the SENH website. Go to: Members/ Excellence in Structural Engineering. The SENH Board may consider and select one award-winning project from the SENH Awards program in May, to sponsor project submission to the NCSEA Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program. If the board decides to advance a project to NCSEA, SENH will pay the project entry fee. See details on the SENH website.

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Dues Renewal Notice

2023 SENH Membership Renewals and Dues Increases

As the membership renewal season has begun, the SENH Board of Directors wishes to inform the membership about an increase in dues for Members and Associate Members. After preparing and reviewing the budget for the upcoming year, rising expenses have outpaced our income and an adjustment to membership dues has become necessary. For this reason, Members and Associate Member dues have been set at $85 for 2023.

This increase in dues is driven by several changes that have occurred over the past year. Recently our parent organization, the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA), announced that dues paid by state organizations would increase by $5 per member in 2023 with a planned increase of $2 every other year beginning in 2025. This is the first time NCSEA’s dues have increased since 2011. Through NCSEA, SENH members have access to a variety of benefits and resources including access to discounted continuing education webinars, licensure advocacy and collaboration, engineering white papers and publications, and access to NCSEA web-based communities.

Additionally, this year, SENH's new website was developed and launched for member use. This website has made a remarkable difference in our ability to serve SENH members. It has streamlined the processes of event announcement and registration, membership signup and renewal, and communication to the membership to name a few examples. These improvements are a direct benefit to SENH members and will increase the efficiency of the Board of Directors and the administrative assistant to operate the organization. The new website, with its updated features, is costing the organization an additional $400 annually compared to the previous site.

Lastly, over the past several years SENH has experienced a decrease in the revenue generated by in person meetings. This is the direct result of missed in person meetings during the pandemic, as well as recent increases in venue costs to host meetings. As a result, SENH has not been able to generate the same portion of our annual income from member meetings.

In closing, it is the goal of the Board of Directors to be as transparent as possible about this increase in membership dues. Through your continued support, SENH is able to offer benefits to our members and the local structural engineering community; this includes awarding two $1000 college scholarships each year, supporting younger engineers in their transition to professional practice, offering free webinars to members, and opportunities for peer networking and Professional Development through member meetings.

If you have any questions about these changes to membership dues, please feel free to reach out to the Board of Directors. Thank you for your continued participation in this organization.

Submitted by Sean Brown, PE, Treasurer

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Last Meeting Attendance List & Meeting Minutes

November 29, 2022 Meeting – Grill 28 Restaurant (Pease Golf Course)

Business Portion:

• Josif provided Website Update
• The website is up and running, please reach out to any board member if you experience issues accessing your account.
• Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards will begin taking applications starting March 3^rd, 2023. This will be the 7^th year of this awards program.
• Please consider submitting a project for the awards program.
• Upcoming Webinar 12/14/2022.
• Scholarship applications are due in January.
• Kayla Hampe and Bob Durfee provided a brief NCSEA update
• The SE Exam will be changing format to computer-based and overall length/number of sections of the exam.
• Eric Caron noted that the Younger Member Group will be setting up a Resume Review session at UNH in the later winter/early spring.
  
  

Presentation:

Structural Forensic Investigation at a Powdered Activated Carbon Manufacturing Facility:

Mr. Charlie Russo presented the forensic investigation performed at a first-of-its-kind Powdered Activated Carbon Manufacturing Facility. During the plant’s commissioning phase, a number of structural defects and abnormalities were identified in a 200-ft long, large-diameter stainless steel exhaust duct. These issues included the rupture of full-penetration welds, failure of welded support connections, local buckling of duct sections, and permanent deformations of the duct. Mr. Russo talked through the investigative process, detailing the analyses performed to better understand the effects of the thermal force that the exhaust duct was experiencing, and explained the investigation’s findings and the ultimate course of corrective action.

Attendees:

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Corporate Advertising

SENH Accepts corporate advertisements for posting on its website and inclusion in five (5) newsletters delivered electronically to its members. The postings will include a hyperlink to the firm's website if desired.

Format:
All advertisements shall be in the form of a 1.3" x 2.3" business card and shall be submitted electronically in a .jpg or .pdf format.

Fee:
An annual fee of $200 is required for structural engineering-related firms that employ at least one (1) Member or Associate Member of SENH. An annual fee of $300 is required for structural engineering-related firms that do not employ a member or Associate Member of SENH.  Advertisement fees are for the period of January 1st to December 31st. Advertisements received outside of the annual renewal cycle will be assessed a fee of $20/month, and $30/month, respectively.

For purposes of SENH advertisements structural engineering-related firms shall include the following:

• Structural Engineering Design Companies
• Architectural / HVAC Design Companies
• Survey Companies
• Geotechnical Engineering Companies
• Manufacturers whose products are utilized in building or bridge construction
• Architectural Historians / Archaeologists
• Companies providing professional services to structural engineering companies (Accountants, Lawyers, etc.)
• Software companies providing structural analysis, CADD, estimating or scheduling software
• Other companies approved at the discretion of the SENH Board of Directors

The SENH Board of Directors reserves the right to limit the type of advertising accepted for use.

Corporate Advertising Form
Please return completed form to Julia Chartier [email protected]

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Sponsors

Atlantic Builders Supply | Jay Steel | MiTek | Contech Engineered Solutions | Emanuel Engineering | SGH| Daigle Engineers | Euclid Chemical | NDT Corporation | TFMoran

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Board of Directors

 

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