Farewell from Ken Kilzer the outgoing President of SEAoN
It’s an exciting time at SEAON, and we’re glad you’re part of it!
As we near the end of our fiscal year (March 31), we will be welcoming a new president, Kevin Wenninghoff, SE. Kevin is a current Board member and works at Schemmer in Omaha. I want to thank Kevin for agreeing to take on this position. It’s challenging, but immensely rewarding! There are many good people that one gets to associate with as a member of SEAON.
I also want to thank the current Board members for their support over the last two years. As a group we have instituted reforms that we hope have benefited both the Association as a whole, but most importantly, our members.
Key among these reforms was a push to increase the number of active younger members. To accomplish this, we started the Young Members Group (YMG), and recruited three energetic leaders, Linsey Brown, Kate Fickle, and Tyler Schmidt. These three have done an outstanding job of setting up tours and hosting get-togethers (sponsored by SEAON) to build camaraderie and facilitate networking. The YMG was recognized at the National Council of Structural Engineering Associations’ (NCSEA) Summit in Anaheim, CA as one of the YMG’s of the Year. Linsey Brown represented the YMG in Anaheim and accepted the award on their behalf.
Along with the YMG, the Board created the Scholarship Committee and tasked it with reaching out with sponsorship offers to local University teams competing in events such as EERI’s Seismic Design Competition, AISC’s Steel Bridge competition, etc. Kyle Kauzlarich is the committee chair and he has worked with the student groups in preparing them to present their funding requests to the SEAON Board, as well as recapping their results following the competition. This is an area that is ripe for expansion, along with developing the participation of students in SEAON activities.
One of the most pressing issues that the Board felt needed attention was the SEAON website. I want to thank Jeff Pankoke for his leadership in building a very professional-looking and useful website. The work that Jeff has done over the last two years will provide dividends for years to come. The website is set up to grow along with our Association, and we owe Jeff a big “thank you” for taking our website to the next level. Check it out at seaon.org!
In all organization, there are those that toil away from the spotlight, but who’s work is critical to the success of the organization. I want to personally thank Brad Schaap for his work over the past year as Treasurer. Brad has spent many hours working with a CPA to realign our finances. You may not know that the Annual Structural Conference is a committee of SEAON. As the Conference has grown, so has the complexity of SEAON’s finances. Brad took on the huge task of going over years of financial records and getting us right with the IRS. Through Brad’s efforts, we are on solid financial footing and have a clear path forward to meeting the more complicated tax requirements of a group of our size. Thanks again, Brad!
As always, Rob Whorely and the Programs committee have gone above and beyond in providing continuing education and social opportunities for our association. It should be noted that between the Structural Conference and the events put on by the Programs committee, structural engineers in Nebraska are able to fulfill all of their continuing education requirements. One of the changes that the Board recommended, and that Rob and his committee instituted, was to offer lunchtime seminars in addition to the traditional dinner meetings. It was felt that those with busy evenings would benefit by these lunchtime events. Lunchtime seminars are also significantly cheaper for SEAON, especially when held at University or industry facilities with box lunches.
Finally, thank you to Jeff Stevens for his leadership in representing SEAON at the Professional Engineers Coalition (PEC). Jeff is the chair of this sub-committee and works to keep SEAON informed of upcoming legislation that may affect the professional practice of engineering. Through Jeff’s work, we can opine on matters of interest to structural engineers while they are in the early stages of legislative consideration where our input is most effective.
Please note that there are many opportunities to get involved with SEAON. I ask that you consider joining a committee or running for a Board position. Structural engineers are great folks and are fun to work with and be around. There are several committees to choose from, and the Board is always welcoming to new thoughts and ideas to make our Association better.
Elections for Board members will be in March, so let me know if you are interested in running. The only requirement for Board members is that they be a PE or SE, and that they be members of SEAON. We welcome any and all members to chair or be active in our committees.
It’s been an honor to serve as president of SEAON these last two years, and I want to again thank the Board and members of SEAON for their support and hard work. I’m excited to see in what direction our new president leads us and ask only that you give him the same support you gave me.
Ken Kilzer
SEAON President
kkilzer@olsson.com