Looking Forward to a Busy Fall

This is always a busy time of year as kids return to school and we transition from Summer to Fall. But this Fall for ACECL is particularly busy as we prepare to host the entirety of ACEC in New Orleans for the Fall Conference. Though the national conference will be held in our backyard this October, equally important state events are scheduled to proceed and follow. 

Annual Strategic Planning Retreat (September 12-13)

In a couple of weeks, the ACECL Board of Governors will convene for its annual strategic planning retreat. Two years ago, we decided to bring the Board together to discuss and determine organizational priorities for the current fiscal year. Using the ACECL 5-Year Strategic Plan as a guide for priority setting, Board members would establish a list of objectives and goals ACECL would focus our efforts on over the next 10 months. This year we decided to include committee chairs in the retreat. Historically most of the best work ACECL has done for our members originated at the committee level. That is why we thought it critically important to involve the committees on the front end of any strategic planning we do. At the retreat, the committee chairs will present their respective goals and objectives to the board for consideration and discussion. If you have not already received an email from a committee chair seeking feedback on committee goals and objectives, be on the lookout for those over the next week and a half. I encourage you to respond with your thoughts and perspectives. This is a member-driven organization, but we must hear from our members to know what direction to drive.

 ACEC Fall Conference and ACECL Road Show and Cocktail Reception (October 19-23)

Yesterday, we had a meeting with ACEC staff on the Fall Conference and they said there is huge excitement around the conference being in New Orleans this year. Registrations are already outpacing last year’s record attendance, and they anticipate that pace to remain steady. I will be honest, I was surprised by this news, but it speaks to the importance of us showing up and representing ACECL in our home state. You can find a bunch of information below on the conference and how to register, but I wanted to highlight the ACECL Road Show and Cocktail reception. This is an ACECL hosted event that will take place the Saturday before the Fall Conference officially kicks off. As the hosting state Member Organization, we wanted to show off an incredible engineering project in the New Orleans area and also show our colleagues from around the country a good New Orleans-style party. As you will also see below, we are currently calling for sponsorships for the joint events. Both of these events will have limited participation so to secure seats/tickets for your firm, I recommend you secure a sponsorship. The Road Show to the West Closure Complex will be limited to 75 people and the cocktail reception at the Vintage Rock Club will be limited to 250 entries. ACEC executive staff and their Board of Directors have committed to attending both the site visit and reception. The National Association of Engineering Council Executives (NAECE), which is made up of all the executive directors of all 51 ACEC member organizations and their staff will be attending the reception. This will be the best part of the conference so do not miss it.

ACEC Louisiana Fall Conference (November 18)

Last but certainly not least is our state Fall Conference which will again be held at the Baton Rouge Marriott. It will be hard to follow Coach Jay Johnson’s keynote from last year, but I am working on doing just that. This year’s conference will follow the November elections that will have massive implications for our state and country. Since we will know the results for most of the elections by the time of the conference, I think it is important for conference attendees to better understand how the November election results will likely impact the business of engineering. In addition to the federal outlook, the conference will have its state agency project outlook components as well.