2014 SC Engineering Conference & Trade Show

The SC Engineering Conference & Trade show was held June 12–15, 2014 at the Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa with 207 attendees.

The mission of the SC Engineering Conference is to have “timely presentation on various engineering subject, keynote presentations and enough PDHs to meet the state’s annual requirements.”

The SC Engineering Conference is a partnership of the American Council of Engineering Companies of South Carolina (ACEC-SC), American Society of Civil Engineers – South Carolina Section (ASCE-SC), and the South Carolina Society of Professional Engineers (SCSPE).  By joining together, these groups are able to provide more educational programs to attract South Carolina engineers.  This year, attendees were able to gain up to 15.5 PDHs with full participation.

Registration opened on Thursday, June 12, 2014.  The conference began with SCSPE, ACEC-SC and ASCE-SC conducting board meetings before noon.  The Trade Show opened at Noon with 29 exhibitors.  Sessions began at 1:00 PM with the conference mainstay “Board Panel Discussion with the SC State Registration Board for Professional Engineers and Surveyors.”   Attendees got a break to see the trade show and then came back at 2:45 for “A Year in Antarctica: What One Engineer Did,” with M.K. Baldwin, PE, C.E.M.  Following another break Thomas Heard Robertson, PE, AICP, RLS lead a session called “The Panama Canal: Unlocking World Trade”.  Those who attended Thursday earned 3.5 PDHs, and enjoyed a Trade Show reception concluding at 6:00 PM.

Friday started early with both registration and the trade show opening at 7:30 AM.  SCSPE held their annual meeting and officer installation at 7:30 AM as well.  Sessions began at 8:00 AM until 5:15 PM with lunch and a Keynote Address by Paul V. Kumler, PE on “The Aircraft Design and Certification Process”.  Up to 7 PDHs could be obtained for those who attended the full day. Tracks for the day included Business, Civil, Environmental, General, Geotechnical, and Transportation.  For a second year in a row, a very popular all day track – “Disaster Assistance Program: Building Evaluator Training” was offered.  The Disaster Assistance Program was presented by Michael Lingerfelt, FAIA, LEED ® AP.  This session trained and registered professional evaluators in the Safety Assessment Program allowing volunteers to network across the country in the event of a disaster by earthquake, wind and water.  Friday concluded with the Low Country Fest dinner with entertainment by “Positive Vibration”.

Saturday began with the ACEC-SC annual meeting and officer installation at 7:30 AM.  Sessions started at 8:00 AM though 2:00 PM allowing up to 5 PDHs for the day.  For the first time the conference ran two concurrent tracks (General and Rail) on Saturday.  Those who attended the full conference were able to earn a total of 15.5 PDHs. 

Saturday night’s award banquet sponsored by Terracon began with a cocktail reception before enjoying a nice dinner.  After dinner, the following awards were given: SCSPE – Engineer of the Year to Mr. David Wilson, PE and Young Engineer of the Year to Mr. Andrew “Andy” Rogers, PE and NSPE Fellow to Mr. James “Jim” Justus, PE, F.NSPE.  Following the awards attendees enjoyed entertainment by the “Hilarious Hypnotist Doc Holiday”.  Sixteen good sports were nice enough to volunteer for Doc Holiday to Hypnotize, and it was billed hilarious.

Thank you to our sponsors and exhibitors for making this year’s conference a success.

SAVE THE DATE – 2015 SC Engineering Conference & Trade Show, June 11–14, 2015 at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort, in Myrtle Beach, SC.