Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Passing the Baton
For my last blog entry I could reflect on my last year as president...but I'll be doing a lot of that at the annual conference this week. Instead, I'd like to talk about what brought me to this position and what's next for the role of president, as David Mongan takes the helm on Saturday.
One of the main reasons I was interested in filling the role of ASCE president was my desire to follow many of my heroes...leaders who lived a life of integrity. ASCE has been blessed with countless engineers who have stepped forward to spend a year in office. I believe that to truly fill a leadership role, you must understand "followship." Now that's a word that I just made up ( I guess you could call it a "Bill-ism" ) but the idea behind it is important for the role of ASCE president. I am proud to have followed in those leaders' footsteps over the past year. A lot of what I have done this year has followed in the great tradition of these role models and I am confident that David Mongan will be an inspiring leader. I know David to be a man whose life is based on ethics, integrity and high principles. He comes well prepared for this role as he has served in almost every chair that ASCE offers! He's had just about all the opportunities available to truly understand ASCE's past, present and future. David has a passion for diversity, Engineers Without Borders and implementation of Vision 2025. I wish David great success in his upcoming year. I encourage members to support him and his initiatives and get to know him a bit by visiting his president's blog. My job in the last days of my presidency is to finish my final lap of this relay race and to pass the baton to David, so that he too can run his lap to the best of his ability.
Thank you for making my first blogging experience a rewarding one. I've thoroughly enjoyed discussing important issues with our members through this forum and have appreciated all your comments and well wishes.
One of the main reasons I was interested in filling the role of ASCE president was my desire to follow many of my heroes...leaders who lived a life of integrity. ASCE has been blessed with countless engineers who have stepped forward to spend a year in office. I believe that to truly fill a leadership role, you must understand "followship." Now that's a word that I just made up ( I guess you could call it a "Bill-ism" ) but the idea behind it is important for the role of ASCE president. I am proud to have followed in those leaders' footsteps over the past year. A lot of what I have done this year has followed in the great tradition of these role models and I am confident that David Mongan will be an inspiring leader. I know David to be a man whose life is based on ethics, integrity and high principles. He comes well prepared for this role as he has served in almost every chair that ASCE offers! He's had just about all the opportunities available to truly understand ASCE's past, present and future. David has a passion for diversity, Engineers Without Borders and implementation of Vision 2025. I wish David great success in his upcoming year. I encourage members to support him and his initiatives and get to know him a bit by visiting his president's blog. My job in the last days of my presidency is to finish my final lap of this relay race and to pass the baton to David, so that he too can run his lap to the best of his ability.
Thank you for making my first blogging experience a rewarding one. I've thoroughly enjoyed discussing important issues with our members through this forum and have appreciated all your comments and well wishes.