South Carolina Society of Professional Engineers

Executive Director’s Report – August 1, 2023

SCSPE — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 15:12:51 +0000

Good morning. I hope you have all stayed cool in these dog days of summer. I know I am not alone in looking forward to cooler days. For those of you that have to be in the field, make sure you are staying hydrated and watch for these signs of heat exhaustion.

If you are a Professional Engineer, remember that Wednesday is National Licensed Professional Engineers Day.

Executive Director’s Report – July 11, 2023

SCSPE — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 10:43:00 +0000

Good morning. I hope you all enjoyed the holiday last week. Between the holiday spirit and the heat, there is no denying that summer is here.

SCSPE’s new fiscal year began on July 1, 2023. President Adam Way, has a lot of big plans for us this year. Way and I are working on our first Virtual Chapter Meeting, Pizzas with PEs, and finding our speaker for the Fall Symposium.

Executive Director’s Report – June 20, 2023

SCSPE — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 07:41:00 +0000

Good morning. I hope you all had a good weekend. I hope the fathers out there enjoyed their special day. It was great seeing many of you at the SC Engineering Conference and Trade Show.

The House and Senate Budget Conference Committee finally came to an agreement on Friday, June 9, 2022. After some fierce debate and questions about how much money would be allocated to Clemson’s new veterinary school, they came to a consensus and passed it out. During the debate, the proviso that would allow Professional Engineers to take a course and then be able to do soil classifications for septic tank installations was pulled out for a Rule 24 violation. I’m sure this will not be the last we hear of this issue, but I hope the Home Builders Association of South Carolina looks for a long-term fix that SCSPE, the Soil Classifiers, SCDHEC, and SCDLLR can all agree on.

Executive Director’s Report – June 6, 2023

SCSPE — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 07:41:00 +0000

Good morning,

We hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend and short week. We enjoyed the long weekend and returned refreshed and ready to prepare for the Annual Meeting and SC Engineering Conference & Trade Show.

Mark your calendars and plan to attend next week’s Annual Meeting. President Marshall Norris, PE, will be giving an update on the 2023-2024 year at the Annual Meeting. We will also install officers and directors, vote on the budget, hear from the Educational Foundation, and more. You don’t have to be registered to attend. You can also join virtually here. Click here for the calendar invite.

Executive Director’s Report – May 23, 2023

SCSPE — Tue, 23 May 2023 07:41:00 +0000

Good morning. I hope you all had a good weekend. It is the last full week of May, and as we approach the end of our fiscal year (June 30) and with the legislature out, our newsletters will slowly go down to two a month and as needed during the summer. We will keep you well informed about what is happening in the Engineering community.

The House of Representatives and Senate returned last week after being called back into session by Governor McMaster. The Senate met in a perfunctory status while the House of Representatives took up the abortion bill again. The Conference Committee on H.4300 (the appropriations bill) met last week. They have yet to pass the budget, but the conferees continue to negotiate. They will meet again soon at the Call of The Chair.

Executive Director’s Report – May 9, 2023

SCSPE — Tue, 09 May 2023 07:41:00 +0000

Good morning. I hope you had a good weekend and are already off to a productive week. Here in Columbia, it is the final week of the first regular session of the 125 General Assembly. Is it me, or does the air smell better this week?

Having said that, the General Assembly has yet to pass a Sine Die Resolution. The Sine Die Resolution marks the end of the session and lays out certain things the legislature can return to Columbia to take up. Typically, one body has passed the resolution by this time, but here we are with three legislative days left, and we in the lobby have yet to see anything.

Executive Director’s Report – May 2, 2023

SCSPE — Tue, 02 May 2023 07:41:00 +0000

Good morning. I hope everyone had a great weekend. The weather was touch and go at times, but all in all, it was a great weekend here in South Carolina.

For those of us who spend a portion of our time at the SC State House, we are bracing for the final six days of the first session of the 125^th SC General Assembly. Last week was the final week for most subcommittees for this year’s session. Full committees will be meeting this week, and those bills still have a shot of passing this year if they have already crossed over from one body to the other. In committee last week, the Senate continued to debate the split of SCDHEC. With the House bill (H.4124) already moved from one body to the other, we anticipate that whatever they pass in the Senate will be used for compromise in the Conference Committee. The House version has not passed the Senate yet, so Conference Committee may not be in the cards this year.

Executive Director’s Report – October 4, 2022

SCSPE — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 14:01:00 +0000

Good afternoon,

I hope you all fared well during Hurricane Ian. We did ok here at SCSPE-HQ, but we realize others may have not.

SCSPE was put on alert Friday evening by emergency management. During the State of Emergency, engineers can volunteer to do assessments, inspections and other duties thanks to the Volunteer Engineers act we passed years ago. When the State of Emergency is called, engineering associations and professional societies are third in line (behind the State and the State Guard Engineering Detachment). Luckily, the damage must not have been too bad, as I have not heard anything since Friday night.

Executive Director’s Report – September 20, 2022

SCSPE — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 19:02:46 +0000

Good morning. It is hard to believe tomorrow is the last day of summer. It certainly does not feel that way here in Columbia, but change is in the air. Soon enough, we will have changing leaves, cooler weather, and holidays right around the corner.

I would like to start with thanking the SCSPE Piedmont Chapter for hosting me last Monday. It was great to be back at a Chapter meeting and share what NSPE & SCSPE have been working on. To other Chapters, let me know if you’d like me to come to speak to your Chapter about what the Society has been and will be working on. Chapters are where the rubber hits the road, so I love speaking to members I may not get to meet otherwise.

Executive Director’s Report – July 26, 2022

SCSPE — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 08:25:28 +0000

Good morning. I hope you are all enjoying the hot summer. As vacation season starts to wrap up, I thought it was a good time to give you an update, pump you up for Licensed PE Day (August 3, 2022), and invite you to Beers with Engineers at the Ballpark with SCSPE and the SCSPE Columbia Chapter for #LicensedPEDay.

SCSPE is working hard planning out this Fiscal Year. We will be bringing back our annual events like the SCSPE Fall Symposium and Winter Meeting. We will also be working on more webinars for our members and planning on bringing back the SCSPE Disaster Preparedness Training event this year.