A Gift For Teaching
Saturday, August 23, 2008
On Saturday August 23, several YMF members volunteered at A Gift for Teaching, which is a free store for teachers. We divided puppet-making materials into over approximately 125 packages for individual classrooms. This task was part of an initiative to involve children in the arts.
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Membership Happy Hour
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Younger Members held our annual Membership Happy Hour at the Harp and Celt Irish pub on August 14th. Over 20 people attended the happy hour, including some new faces. We were able to fill openings on our board as well as meet new people! YMF is always looking for new people to get involved, we’d love to see you at our next event!
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Icebreaker
Thursday, July 31, 2008
On July 31, 2008, ASCE ECB held the first annual Icebreaker networking event. The purpose of the event was to encourage networking among engineers and others from various engineering-related disciplines. The attendees enjoyed hot hors d’oeuvres, drinks, games, Wii, raffles, DJ Scratch ‘n’ Sniff (Andy Nothstine of Glatting Jackson), and an Elvis impersonator (Steve Gillis of Miller Legg). Because this year is ASCE ECB’s 50th anniversary, the attendees also enjoyed birthday cake. The event was held at the Winter Park Farmers’ Market, which was donated for the event by the City of Winter Park. The Icebreaker was attended by approximately 200 people, and included great food, drink, games, prizes, and networking.
ASCE ECB would like to say a special thanks to all who participated including: government agencies, vendors, societies and our corporate sponsors. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to the Icebreaker Committee for making this happen. Our participants and the planning committee made this a successful event! Do not worry if you missed out. We will be holding the event again next year! Click here to see all event sponsors' logos.
Participating Societies:
| ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) |
| ASHE (American Society of Highway Engineers) |
| FES (Florida Engineering Society) |
| WTS (Women’s Transportation Seminar) |
| SMPS (Society for Marketing Professional Services) |
Government Participation:
City of Winter Park
Orange County
St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD)
Corporate sponsors:
| Avcon |
| Boyle |
| CDM |
| Gibbs & Register, Inc. |
| HDR |
| HNTB |
| Horizon Engineering Group |
| HSW Engineering |
| Miller Legg |
| Mitigation Marketing |
| MSCW |
| PB |
| RC Aviation |
VHB
Water Resource Technologies |
Eleven organizations provided raffle prizes for the event including:
| American Pie |
| ASCE Membership |
| ASCE Press |
| ASCE Structural Engineering Institute |
| Bahama Breeze |
| Chick-fil-A |
| Panera |
| PBS&J |
| St. Johns River Water Management District |
| Sweet! By Good Golly Miss Holly |
| Tap Room at Dubsdread Golf |
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Support Our Troops - Care Package Collection
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Last month, YMF held a care package drive for our overseas troops. Our members and their coworkers donated all kinds of goodies, which were collected on July 24, as we enjoyed ourselves at the Cheyenne Saloon on Church Street. All the happy hour attendees signed a letter Sarah Greene had composed to thank the troops. On July 26, Cathy Polityka, Michelle Everett, and Sarah spent the day packing shampoo, body wash, lotion, beef jerky, trail mix, magazines, and lots of other treats into boxes for the troops. Each box also contained a copy of the signed letter. Sarah’s friend Liv even flew over from Sweden to help us! We packed 28 boxes and delivered them to the post office. A few days later, we received our first "thank you" e-mail from one of the units that received our care packages! We also received a Thank You Note from one of the units thanking us for our support!
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Crash-A-Rama
Friday, June 20, 2008
On June 20, YMF attended "Crash-A-Rama" at Orlando Speedworld. Participants enjoyed hot dogs and refreshments served at the tailgate party prior to viewing several races, including the always popular Figure 8 School Bus Race.
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St. Johns River Cleanup
Saturday, June 7, 2008
In conjunction with National River Cleanup Week, YMF once again took part in the St. Johns River Cleanup (12th Annual)! On Saturday, June 7th, 14 YMF members met at Blue Springs State Park in Orange City for the 12th Annual St. Johns River Cleanup. The team used the park’s canoes to have greater access to the river for the cleanup effort. Members paddled the St. Johns River and scoured the banks and waters for any trash and debris. Lunch was served afterwards. Thanks for helping to preserve our natural resources!
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Adopt-a-Road
Saturday, May 17, 2008
On May 17, 2008, YMF picked up garbage along Hiawassee Road, north of Colonial Drive, as part of their annual Adopt-a-Road commitment. The members collected 4 large bags of garbage. The roadway looked much better after they were done! Thanks to Cathy Polityka, Loreen Choate, Brandon Bobo, Mary Fickert Thomas, Chrissy Gernon, and Er. Mark Van Hala for helping out!
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All About Bridges
Friday, April 25, 2008
On April 25, 2008 YMF taught Michelle Paradiz’ 2nd grade class at Riverdale Elementary about bridges. Michelle Everett read a book about bridges, written by Loreen Choate, to the class. Then, Michelle, Loreen, Alex Paradiz, and Cathy Polityka helped the children build toothpick and gumdrop truss bridges. The children were also given two extra gum drops to eat!
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I-4/SR 408 Interchange Tour
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Approximately 50 YMF members toured the I-4/SR 408 for a second time since construction began. The first tour took place approximately a year ago and members got to see the many changes that have occurred since then. We'd like to thank FDOT, HNTB and PCL for guiding us through the site.
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Post PE Happy Hour
Friday, April 11, 2008
Volunteers from the E4ADay met with some of the PE test takers for a happy hour to celebrate the end of a successful day for everyone.
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Engineer for a Day
Friday, April 11, 2008
Members of Central Florida's engineering community collaborated with area high schools for the 25th Annual Engineer for a Day event. The event featured participation from 12 local engineering firms and 70 high school students. Event participants registered by submitting a one page essay addressing several questions including: "As an engineer, how will you contribute to improving humanity's quality of life?". The morning session was conducted at FDOT's Orlando Urban Office on South Semoran Boulevard. During this time, students were engaged by guest speakers in both industry and academia. Volunteers from ASCE's Younger Member Forum also chimed in to answer questions and offer insight into the life of an engineer. Undoubtedly, the most inspiring question of the morning was posed by an idealistic future engineer who asked: "Is a career in engineering as exciting as it is portrayed in movies and other media?" The YMF panel was certain they had not seen the same movies, but answered unanimously and resoundingly that engineering could be very exciting indeed. The morning session closed with a mystery design competition where the students were tasked with constructing a roller coaster from foam tubing insulation. The "loopiest" roller coaster at the least material cost was pronounced the winner. In the afternoon, students were hosted for lunch and activities by the following engineering organizations:
City of Orlando Public Works, EAC Consulting Inc, Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin, X-nth, HDR, HNTB, Inwood Engineers, Jacobs Engineering, MSCW, Paul J. Ford & Co., RS&H, Seminole County Public Works. A heartfelt thanks to all the company and school administrators who helped to make the 2008 Engineer for a Day event an overwhelming success.
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Expanding Your Horizons
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Six YMF volunteers helped out at the annual Expanding
Your Horizons Conference on Saturday, March 1 at the University of
Central Florida. The Conference is for middle school girls who are
interested in math, science and engineering. The girls attended two
workshops with hands-on activities led by women engineers, participated
in a career panel discussion, and visited the CREOL labs at UCF. One of
the workshops involved building a sand filter to treat lake water. The
girls also played a game where they had to find the most efficient way
to switch 2 groups of girls without breaking a set of rules. YMF
volunteers participated as group leaders, workshop leaders, and career
panelists. You can check out the East Orlando Sun Newspaper article about the event online.
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Strawberry Festival
Friday, February 29, 2008
On
Friday, February 29th, seven YMF members headed to the Strawberry
Festival in Plant City. There was a variety of fresh strawberry
desserts to try as well as a free concert by country artist Miranda
Lambert.
Afterwards everyone headed to the Hard Rock Casino to do a little gambling before heading back to Orlando.
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MathCounts
Saturday, February 23, 2008
YMF members volunteered at the local Mathcounts competition for middle school students on Saturday February 23, 2008 at the First Baptist Church in Orlando.
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Seminole County Regional Science, Math, & Engineering Fair
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Four YMF members volunteered as judges at the Seminole County Regional Science, Math, & Engineering Fair on Saturday February 16, 2008. The Seminole County Fair was held at the Seminole Towne Center Mall.
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| Seminole County Science Fair |
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Ronald McDonald House Dinner
Thursday, February 7, 2008
On February 7, 2008, ASCE YMF and the Water Resources Technical Group joined together to provide dinner for approximately 60 guests at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH), located near Arnold Palmer Hospital. Five members went grocery shopping on February 6, and approximately 20 people cooked at RMH on February 7. Thanks for all the help! We made tacos with all the toppings, and Spanish rice. We served homemade cookies too! The families were very grateful. We received a tour of the house afterwards. RMH provides a safe, welcoming and warm home away from home for seriously ill children, who are receiving medical treatment, and their families. The program has provided comfort to more than 10 million families for more than 30 years.
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Tour - Turnpike Widening Project
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The
East Central Branch of ASCE YMF toured the Turnpike Widening Project.
The tour was led by Jim Carr, the project manager, representing the
Middlesex Companies, Inc., the prime contractor. Attendees drove the
over 4-mile stretch of Turnpike, from I-4 to the Beeline Expressway,
stopping periodically to view areas of new construction. In total there
were 5 bridges/overpasses that needed widening or additional
maintenance to make room for the additional 4 lanes of traffic along
the Turnpike. After the tour everyone went to T.G.I.Fridays for a happy
hour. This was the first tour in a series of tours that the East
Central Branch of ASCE YMF is coordinating. Don't miss the next tour of
the I-4/408 Interchange Project on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. To
reserve your spot, contact Rohan Punit at rpunit@gmail.com.
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Disney Marathon
Sunday, January 13, 2008
On January 13, 2008, sixteen members of ASCE YMF volunteered at Water Stop #8 (mile 8) at the 15th annual Walt Disney World Marathon. The volunteers arrived at Disney World before 5 AM to prepare and hand out cups of water and PowerAde to the nearly 13,000 thirsty runners. The runners were very thankful to the volunteers, as the volunteers provided them refreshments and cheered them on!
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| Disney Marathon - Water Stop #8 |
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2008 Regional Leadership Conference
Fri.-Sat., January 11-12, 2008
Seven YMF members attended this year's Regional Conference in Baltimore, MD. At the conference, the East Central Branch YMF was awarded the 2008 ERYMC Community Service Project Award (for our Annual Engineer for a Day event), and the 2007 National Public Service Award. Cathy Polityka, P.E., was awarded the 2008 ERYMC Outstanding Younger Member in Community Service Activities Award. These awards would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of our YMF members!
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