A Message From FES President Kelly Cranford
Hello FES Members,
Wow – this year has flown by! We have increased our membership over the past year and have a definite “seat at the table” for the milestone building inspection rules, water quality rules, and regulations concerning the procurement of professional services. Remember: without friction, there is no movement.
If you have not already done so, join one or more of our Interest Groups to keep up to date on what is happening in Florida. We have some exciting speakers lined up for virtual sessions. Our Environmental / Water Resources Subcommittee has been very involved with the Clean Water regulations. In the upcoming year, we plan to have at least quarterly sessions for all the Interest Groups (Aviation & Maritime, Energy, Environmental & Water Resources, Geotechnical & Materials, Land Development, Transportation, and Vertical Support).
Our second issue of Engineering Florida will be published soon. Each issue will be better than the one before. We are working on adding reoccurring columns and timely content to each edition. EngiNews, our online newsletter, has also been expanded to include more technical articles and a deeper dive into some topics briefly covered in Engineering Florida. We also link to a new section on our website, “By Members, For Members,” under the Publications and Resources tab, which covers a broad range of topics. The Engineering Florida podcasts can be found under the Newsroom tab. If you would like to submit an article for publication or be interviewed for the podcast, email Stacey Butler, Marketing Specialist.
As approved earlier this year by a board vote, I recently signed the documents transferring 50% of both headquarters’ properties to ACEC Florida. This was one of the action items left to complete after ACEC Florida transitioned from FICE (a practice section of FES) to an independent organization. It was an important step since we will discuss, and hopefully vote on, the future of both properties at our Annual Meeting. One property needs the demolition of an existing building and reconstruction / major repair of retaining walls. The other needs significant repairs and possibly remodeling to bring it to Class A office space standards. Staff and members of both organizations have been collecting data so both boards can make an informed decision on a path forward (sell, make only immediately needed repairs, and/or bring up to class A standards). The proceeds (if we sell) or costs (if we keep) will be split 50-50 between FES and ACEC Florida.
What have I learned during my year as your President? With the help of our outstanding members and staff, we have only just begun to make a difference in our state, nation, and world. I look forward to continuing to serve on the FES Board and as Co-Chair of the next FELI class. (Look for the FELI Class of 2024 application coming soon!)
Hope to see you all at our Annual Conference, July 26-29, 2023, in Marco Island!
Kelly Cranford, PE, ENV SP, FES Fellow
Culpepper and Terpening, Inc. | Principal Project Manager
(772) 485-1334 – kellyecranford@gmail.com
