Draft Minutes

ACE Board Meeting

20 Oct 2004

Baltimore, MD

Members Present: Tony Dalrymple (President), Billy Edge (past-President), Orville Magoon, Lesley Ewing, Fred Raichlen, Dave Kriebel, and John Ramsey.

The ACE Board meeting was opened by Tony Dalrymple, who thanked members for attending. He referred to minutes from the previous meeting (in Gainesville, FL) and noted that some action items have been accomplished, some are continuing, and others have not been done. Those minutes were subsequently approved by all present.

Committee Reports

Membership

Edge, as Membership Chair, reported that total membership in ACE was now 208, including 126 members, 40 associate members, 7 affiliates, and 35 student members. He also reported that students can now join ACE for free, as recommended at a previous Board meeting.

The issue of corporate membership was discussed. Ewing and Edge noted that we do not have a formal corporate membership category yet and that ACE needs to respond to a request by Ron Noble regarding the status of corporate memberships. Edge noted that there may be some confusion in the by-laws regarding how many individual memberships each corporation gets with a corporate membership, and that we may need to revise the by-laws once a formal policy is established. In discussion, it was agreed that ACE needs to formalize a policy for corporate memberships, and establish a policy to link corporate web pages from the ACE web page.

CEM:

Edge and Ewing printed about 100 copies of the CEM and sold all copies. Dalrymple and Edge asked if ACE should make a second printing? Ewing noted that it is not a lot of work at this point since the printer can print from a disk and can print small batches and ship anywhere in the world. It was suggested that someone from ACE should contact Steve Hughes to see if there have been any substantive changes in the CEN since the last printing.

The Board then discussed whether ACE should add a small administrative fee to the sale price, as the previous copies sold for cost at $100 but did not generate any revenue for ACE. The Board consensus was that ACE should have revenue of $25 or $50 to cover ACE costs. Some Board members then asked whether ACE can add a fee as a 503c entity? Dalrymple suggested that ACE consult an attorney to clarify whether income from CEM sales constitutes a “profit” if ACE has other costs for other activities, i.e. if the revenue is used for other ACE-sponsored activities.

Research Committee

Dalrymple reported that there has been no new work on the research committee.

COPRI Memorandum of Understanding

Dalrymple reported that an MOU between ASCE and COPRI was signed last spring to allow us to do joint activities. The first major activity under the MOU is the work on coastal engineering certification.

Treasurers Report

Ewing passed out a budget summary for 2002-2004 showing a balance of $12,836.83. This has grown from 2003 by $2500 or so as a result of some increase in membership. Major cash flows were generated by income and expenses related to selling copies of the CEM, and by expenses associated with the March 2004 newsletter. Kriebel noted that expenses on the CEM sales exceed income, which seemed to justify some administrative fee being added to the sale price of the CEM. Edge then moved for acceptance of the budget and members accepted by acclamation.

Old Business

Certification

Dalrymple reviewed the history of the ACE certification committee and noted that the ACE membership seems to be behind this issue, but that some members are against it. He attended a COPRI Board meeting and noted that COPRI agreed that ACE should take a leading role in the establishment of coastal engineering certification. COPRI has set up a corporation, Civil Engineering Certification, Inc (CEC), to isolate ASCE from legal action on certification. The

CEC will set up separate “academy’s” for certification in different specialty areas. Thus, the CEC would award certification, not COPRI or other organizations such as ACE. This should also provide some legal isolation for ACE in the certification area.

Dalrymple then COPRI now needs to tell CEC how to setup certification details: what the body of knowledge is, how certification ties into ASCE 465 education (under grad + 30 hrs), etc. So the “ball is now in the COPRI court” to decide certification. COPRI is willing to let ACE take the lead on details, and ACE now needs to develop a plan.

The model for certification being cited most frequently is one proposed by EWRI which requires 10 years experience plus an oral exam (interview). Edge noted that ACE does not have to follow the EWRI model, but we need a business model. COPRI is looking for a business model from ACE by spring 2005. Dalrymple noted that ACE also needs to get the word out and get states to put emphasis on the need for certification of coastal engineers.

Discussion then addressed issues such as: what will ACE members be willing to pay for annual fee? One board member suggested certification fees should be less than fees for a professional license. Another member disagreed noting that certification is a step beyond licensing and may be valuable in its own right.

Additional discussion focused on the body of knowledge in coastal engineering. There was broad agreement among Board members on the need for knowledge of (1) waves and (2) sediment transport. Kriebel noted that a previous ACE certification committee also suggested some required knowledge of coastal engineering structures, mainly pile supported structures and rubble mound structures. No additional consensus on the body of knowledge was reached and it was decided that this should be the first task of a new ACE certification committee.

Kriebel raised the idea of ACE developing a trademark protection for the Certified Coastal Engineer (CCE) designation. Magoon said that if ACE held a trademark, it would than have to vigorously counter any other use of the name, which may prove troublesome.

Ramsey noted that a new certification committee is being formed. Thus far the committee is composed of Dave Warren, Jack Cox, and Dave Kriebel. Other individuals discussed but not yet committed include: Mike Walther, Russ Boudreau, and Dick Seymour. Karyn Erickson was also mentioned but Edge noted that she is the ACE representative to COPRI’s Civil Engineering Certification, Inc (CEC).

Annual Meeting

Dalrymple noted that ACE needs to schedule its annual meeting, and asked whether we should “tag along” with another organization or do some “stand alone” meeting? Board members suggested several alternatives: meeting during the Florida Shore and Beach meeting, meeting during the Coastal Disasters conference in Charleston, or meeting during the Corps’ CERB meeting. After discussion, however, most members seemed to favor a stand alone meeting.

Calendar

Ewing noted that Erica Betts-Carr is handling the calendar but that she may need relief. Edge noted that ACE owes a “thank you” to Pat Earman, Leslie Ewing, and Erica for getting the calendar produced.

Dalrymple proposed that ACE should send calendars to all ACE members as part of their membership dues so that members get something tangible for their dues payment.

Ramsey suggested that the calendars should have space for corporations to add logos so they could give out to clients for marketing. It was agreed that the back page should be lengthened in order to allow space for corporations to add logos. Dalrymple and Ewing both noted that ACE needs to encourage and remind members to contribute photos for the calendar.

Web Site

Dalrymple noted that ACE has a new web master, Don Slinn from the University of Florida. He has asked Don to look into changing internet service providers to ensure that right level of service (packages for web site hosting) and ensure we are paying appropriate amount.

Board members then discussed the use and content of the web site, asking how we can make the web site more useful? One idea is to post the short form of the ACE application form on the web site. Another is to add a section listing links to coastal engineering corporations. One question that arose in discussion was whether ACE should provide links to the Corps of Engineers? It was agreed that someone from ACE should discuss this with the Corps. Additional suggestions included listing coastal engineering meetings and conferences, and adding a discussion forum on issues such as certification. Dalrymple asked whether ACE should propose taking over the “Coastal Engineering Page” from the University of Delaware. Board members endorsed this idea and suggested that Dalrymple pursue this.

Coastal Engineering Education

Dalrymple suggested that ACE should try to establish short courses and continuing education for the ACE annual meeting. Ramsey concurred and noted that such courses, with continuing ed credits, are more valuable to many members than simply having another conference. Edge suggested that ACE should also think about “webinars” that would use the web for continuing education. Ramsey further suggested that the ACE web pages should act as a repository for on-line course material.

Raichlen asked whether ACR should support a student paper at the ICCE, and maybe award a student paper prize. Dalrymple suggested that ACE could contribute maybe $500 toward the cost of a student attending the conference. Magoon further suggested that ACE develop an entire session or tack of student papers at the ICCE.

Newsletter

Dalrymple asked about the status of Nels Sultan as the editor of the newsletter and asked if he wants to be relieved? Discussion then centered on a replacements, and several names were suggested including Dan Cox , Patrick Lynette, or Kevin Haas. It was also suggested that ACE should move toward electronic mailing of the newsletter rather than paper mailing.

Vision Thing

Dalrymple closed the meeting by asking Board members to think about a long-term vision, asking what should ACE be doing in terms of “deliverables” to members? Several suggestions we reoffered, and the meeting concluded with Edge being assigned to look into the full range of member benefits.