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The El Paso Branch of ASCE endorses Jerry B. Paz for ASCE Region 6 Director. Click below to see our endorsement letter.

“We at the El Paso Branch strongly believe that Jerry will make good on his vision statement and will diligently and proudly serve the entire Region 6. We strongly endorse Jerry for the position of Region 6 Director and encourage our members to vote for him on the current elections now through June 3rd.” -Sergio Mendez, P.E., M.ASCE, President, ASCE El Paso Branch

ASCE Elections are going on now! If you haven’t voted already, login to your ASCE account at https://www.asce.org/elections/ and vote before June 3rd!

For a pdf of this statement, click here.

Dear ASCE Colleagues,

It is with great disappointment that we wish to inform you that the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has declined its invitation to host the American Institute of Steel Construction’s (AISC) Student Steel Bridge Competition (SSBC) 2019 National Finals.

On July 27, 2018, AISC announced that it had terminated its three-decade SSBC partnership with ASCE due to “moving in different directions.” One of the most significant “directions” AISC adopted was to prohibit international universities from the competition. In concurrence with their faculty advisors and the ASCE UTEP Chapter, UTEP has declined to host the event due to these rule changes.

One of our Branch’s most recent successes was working with the ASCE UTEP Chapter, ASCE Texas Section and UTEP to host the 2017 Texas-Mexico Student Symposium. Early in the planning phase, we chose “Building Bridges. Trascendiendo Fronteras.” as the mission statement for the event that included the regionals for the SSBC and Concrete Canoe Competition, and hours of courses and networking opportunities for students and professionals. With over 300 students from 18 universities (including four universities in Mexico), the event was made stronger by international involvement.

After that event, we knew that team was capable to host the SSBC finals and we were ecstatic when the opportunity arose. With over 40 teams from the United States, Mexico, Canada and China competing in the SSBC 2018 Final, we hoped for, and were prepared to assist UTEP in hosting, an even bigger event in 2019. However, upon learning of AISC’s isolationist rule change, we feel that we cannot continue with our support.

We feel that bridges serve as powerful symbols of our profession, our region, and our values. While it is within AISC’s rights to make these changes, we feel that the direction is inconsistent with our values as civil engineers and as El Pasoans, and we fully support UTEP in its decision. We hope that in the future, AISC will reverse their decision and elect to build bridges and transcend borders.

Sincerely,

Christopher J. Nance, P.E., M.ASCE, President, ASCE El Paso Branch

Sergio R. Mendez, P.E., M.ASCE, Treasurer, ASCE El Paso Branch

Jesse Valles, P.E., M.ASCE, Secretary, ASCE El Paso Branch

Marvin H. Gomez, P.E., M.ASCE, Section Director, ASCE El Paso Branch

Roxanna R. Medina, P.E., M.ASCE, Past President, ASCE El Paso Branch

Jorge Grajeda, P.E., M.ASCE, Director, ASCE El Paso Branch

Alexandra Riccillo, E.I.T., A.M.ASCE, Director, ASCE El Paso Branch

Nicholas N. Ybarra, P.E., M.ASCE, Director, ASCE El Paso Branch

Manuel A. Salas, P.E., M.ASCE, Director, ASCE El Paso Branch

Isabella Villagomez, S.M.ASCE, President/SSBC Co-Director, ASCE UTEP Chapter

Elizabeth Montes, E.I.T., A.M.ASCE, SSBC Co-Director, ASCE UTEP Chapter

This has been a busy year, and one of our goals has been to write a major update to our Branch bylaws. The proposed bylaws were first made available to our membership at our November General Meeting, and will be voted on during our March 29th General Meeting.

Mostly, we’ve updated them to be consistent with the ASCE Texas Section Constitution and Bylaws. Both the existing and proposed bylaws can be viewed below. If you have any comments, be sure to send them to admin@epasce.org.

Existing ASCE El Paso Branch Constitution and Bylaws
Proposed ASCE El Paso Branch Bylaws

via TexASCE

Texas’ voters made the right choice yesterday as they voted ‘yes’ on Proposition 1. The new dedicated portion of the state’s oil and gas collection will increase revenue to the State Highway Fund without harming the Rainy Day Fund. In turn, this funding will be invested into modernizing roads and bridges across our state. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that 38 percent of our major roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and this funding will help TXDOT improve our transportation system. With over 80 percent of voters in support of the amendment, it will show our legislators that Texans are serious about funding our transportation infrastructure.

With almost 80% of the voters in support of Proposition 1, it is evident that Texans care about their infrastructure and its importance to our economy. Many thanks to supporters of the constitutional amendment to fund our infrastructure without new taxes, fees or debt. The Section appreciates all the efforts of the membership to promote Proposition 1. Thank you for your hard work and grassroots support of this civil engineering issue.

The following are nominees:

President elect – Marvin Gomez
Treasurer – Roxanna Rivera
Secretary – Chris Nance
Director 2014-2016:
Thomas Vick
Jesse Valles
Jorge Grajeda

The following officers will be proceeding based on prior elections:

Past President –Yvonne C. Curry
President – Wendy Arredondo
Board Director 2013-2015:
Sergio Mendez
Shane Brooks
Section Director 2013-2015 – Gilbert Andujo

The 2014 Member Referral Drive launched earlier this month and your fellow members have already begun to earn valuable prizes!

Refer friends and colleagues now so that they can receive all of the valuable benefits of ASCE membership that you do!

1. Recruit – Tap into your network of friends and colleagues and tell them about the value of ASCE. To help you get started, download ASCE Benefits-at-a-Glance or visit Recruitment Tools.
2. Refer – Simply complete the ASCE Membership Drive form and we’ll do the asking for you. Your recruits will receive a special email invitation and you will get reward credit when they join.
3. Reward – The more recruits who join, the more you win! We’ll keep your personal scoreboard up-to-date so that you can track all of your colleagues and friends who join.

Details at: http://mgam.asce.org/

UTEP will be competing in the Texas-Mexico Regional Concrete Canoe competition on April 25 through 26, 2014, which is hosted at the University of Texas at Tyler, in Tyler, Texas. The team is building a concrete canoe and will compete against other universities on the design of the canoe, the quality of the finished concrete, an oral presentation, and a paddling race. The winner of the Texas-Mexico Competition will be invited to compete at the national competition that will take place in June 2014 at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The concrete canoe team, “Team Legacy,” is actively fundraising to cover expenses, such as building materials, tools, supplies, and travel expenses, and is asking for contributions to help with this year’s competition.
For more information, visit the Concrete Canoe section on the ASCE website. Or contact Cristobal Robles (cirobles@miner.utep.edu) or Jorge Velarde (javelardemoreno@miner.utep.edu).