President’s Message: March 2025

Dear fellow FES members,

I pray that all of you enjoyed and were able to commemorate Black History Month, Engineers Week, and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day in February.

While we have wrapped up our Engineers Week celebration, we will continue to recognize the talented young minds who will one day contribute and advance to the future of our profession. Later this month, on March 14th, we will have the Florida MATHCOUNTS® State Competition in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. We are looking for volunteers to help our staff and committee members. If you are interested in supporting, you can find more information and instructions on how to get involved on our website here.

I am also honored to have led the first historic initiation of the Order of the Engineer in Puerto Rico together with colleagues Omar R. Rodriguez, PE, CGC, Eric M. Jimenez, PE, PMP, CCM, Ing. Florabel Toro Rodriguez, ESQ, PE, MECHE and to collaborate with Miriam Pabon Gonzalez, Ph.D., PE, and Hans X. Figueroa Sweet, PE, BCEE, ENV SP. I want to congratulate all the initiates of this amazing induction ceremony. As Co-Chair with Eric M. Jimenez of the International Affairs Committee of the Florida Engineering Society (FES) with the Collaborative Agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) initiative effort and support from past presidents, Carlos Penin, PE, Kelly Cranford, PE, and Ronald Colas, PE, SI, to bring to fruition and served as a catalyst for this dream to become a reality.

I encourage Chapters to nominate the winners of their yearly Chapter awards for the annual FES Awards. The FES Awards Committee makes the selections, and recipients will be recognized at our 2025 Annual Conference this summer. You can find all the annual award nomination forms on the Awards tab of our website. The deadline is March 15, 2024.

Engineer of the Year – Young Engineer of the Year – Outstanding Service to the Engineering Profession – Outstanding Technical Achievement

In this month’s message, I want to emphasize how important it is to maintain your FES membership. Even though our membership has increased by about 46 people, 478 members still have not renewed their membership for the year.

FES membership is essential to your career advancement, networking, and positive influence, as I hope you have discovered. It provides worthwhile advantages such as the following:

• Professional Development: FES provides seminars, workshops, and useful tools to keep you informed about the latest developments in engineering trends, technology, and best practices. Maintaining contact guarantees that you will continue to develop in your line of work.

• Networking Opportunities: Your FES membership allows you to access a network of other engineers, business leaders, and employers. Networking can result in mentorship, employment opportunities, and partnerships.

• Advocacy and Influence: FES advocates for the engineering profession at the state and national levels. By maintaining your membership, you give engineers a stronger voice in policy decisions and legislation.

• Community Engagement: FES organizes community service events, outreach programs, and educational initiatives. Being an active member allows you to give back to your community and inspire future engineers.

• Recognition and Awards: FES recognizes outstanding achievements through awards and honors. By staying involved, you increase your chances of receiving recognition for your accomplishments.

Our strength is based on our membership size, cohesion, shared objectives, and dedication to promoting and protecting the interests of our members and the engineering profession. I will personally contact our members to urge them to stay up-to-date and renew their membership.

We make online account management simple and convenient. Your online account allows you to do everything from paying your membership bills and signing up for events to looking for webinars, certificates, member directories, and job vacancies. To renew your membership, simply login to your account here.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the FES Professional Engineers Legislative Days, where you will have the opportunity to meet with state legislators to advocate for issues that affect the engineering industry. The 2025 PE legislative days will occur on March 18-19 in Tallahassee, Florida. For more information, click here.

Sincerely,

Charles W. Davis, Ph.D., SSGB | Associate Professor
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University | davisc14@erau.edu