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Letters to US Congressmen and Senators I do that, and I am happy to do it, but this week, I felt compelled to write our six Congressmen and two Senators in Washington for myself. I felt these lawmakers should at least hear my personal concerns. I am worried about where our nation is headed with our health care system. Whether you disagree with the administration or agree, this proposed change is critical, perhaps to our economy as we know it and certainly to our health care delivery system as we know it. We are a great nation. We have made democracy and capitalism work where many others have failed. Our success is a result of our ability to make our voices heard on issues. By the way, giving your honest opinion to a Congressman that you think is opposed to your direction is still important. He or she probably is going to vote the way they were going to anyway, but at least the congressman will know someone has another view. I urge you to contact at least your congressman and senators. Emailing is one way, but I chose to FAX all eight in the SC delegation. I felt like they needed a piece of paper; it is not as easy to delete, well, I guess a trash can may sit by the FAX machine. Also, I found it difficult to find their personal email addresses. I’ll save you some time and energy. Here are the names and FAX numbers for the SC delegation. The health care issue may not be important to you; so save this list for something that is. Exercise your right to petition your government. If you don’t speak/write you are never heard. The Honorable Henry Brown The Honorable Joe Wilson The Honorable Gresham Barrett The Honorable Robert D. Inglis The Honorable John Spratt The Honorable James Clyburn The Honorable Lindsey Graham The Honorable James DeMint Legislators are at Home; Contact Them Now on Tort Reform Make contact with your legislators while they are not in. They do not have to come to Columbia three days a week. The House and Senate leadership has said they will deal with tort reform in 2010 because the last session was dominated with the economy and the state budget. Now is the time to let your legislator know what is important to you. You may have personal as well as business and professional issues that your legislator should be aware of. They are more receptive now than when they are in session. An issue that has been important to engineers and the companies for whom they work is tort reform. The SC General Assembly needs to complete its work and pass the rest of the tort reform issues that were not dealt with several years ago. Making this legislation a priority in January is in the hands of the House and Senate Republican Caucuses, especially the House. Therefore, please communicate with your Republican House and Senate members, and tell them you would like to see tort reform passed in 2010. The bill contains unfinished reform, but tightening the 8-year statute of repose for design and construction industries is especially important to engineers, surveyors, architects and construction companies. Also, one of the big ticket items in the bill is placing reasonable limits on punitive and non-economic damages. Go to this link: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/html-pages/housebios.html. Find your house member and contact him or her. Ask them to make House bill 3489 – the Tort Reform bill—a priority for the House Republican Caucus. Emails are available as are phone numbers and addresses. Here is the link for the Senate: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/html-pages/senatebios.html. See talking points for this important legislation here<< State Chamber with Local Chambers Hold Grassroots Regional Meetings Engineers should take advantage of this opportunity to let your local chambers and the state chamber know what you think is important. Although these meeting eventually create a state plan, your local ideas are important to your local chamber. A statewide issue might be the viability and growth of the State Ports, which is important to the entire state. A local issue that may not make the state chamber’s final list could be widening a section of the Interstate within a county or seeking state funds for a water project or an environmental clean up. Legislators often attend these meetings to see what is on their constituents’ minds, too. They may also have an interest in a road widening, repairing a bridge or a water project. Consider going to your Grassroots Regional Meeting. Call the State Chamber for more information at 803 255 2628 or click here for the list of the regional meetings, dates, times and locations. Issues that are important to engineers include further strengthening tort reform legislation, fair and reasonable rates and settlements from the Workers Compensation Commission and insurance companies, balancing nature with economic development and growth. Attend one of these meetings and let them know what you as an engineer think should be issues for the next General Assembly. If you don’t speak you will never be heard. Tomorrow Has Arrived ACEC-SC TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE REMINDER To RSVP, email Joe Jones at joe@jma-associations.com Pat Jenkins Wins Big at 2009 SC Engineering Conference Mr. Jenkins won the SCSPE Educational Foundation raffle. The raffle was not as sophisticated as the TV lotteries, and he did not use the money as the TV winners usually do. Tickets were steep, but the reward for someone was high; however, Mr. Jenkins gave his winnings back to the Foundation for scholarships. In 2009, the Foundation awarded three $1,000 scholarships. Mr. Jenkins’ contribution paid for most of those scholarships. Engineer Takes on American Red Cross Fundraiser The campaign covers Red Cross chapters serving 28 state counties. His goal is to raise $594,000 during the coming year. Mr. Eliatamby is president of Alliance Consulting Engineers in Columbia. The campaign seeks contributions from businesses, school group’s church and civic groups as well as individuals. The funds support disaster relief, fire victim assistance, emergency military communications, first aid and CPR training and disaster preparedness. The money Mr. Eliatamby’s campaign raises stays within the 28 counties. S&ME engineers gain LEED accreditation
The American Council of Engineering of South Carolina is a member of organization of the ACEC-SC Reports is published for members firms and friends by
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"What we do is all around you."
We would like to thank those that have committed to participate in the 2009 SC Engineering Conference. Silver Bronze Mid-Morning Break Sponsor Trade Show Exhibitors August 6 August 7 September 10 October 10 October 7-10
We would like to congratulate our 2009 Engineering Excellence Awards winners and their clients. Palmetto Award WPC, Inc. Engineering Excellence Awards WPC, Inc. Honor Awards HGBD/BV
ACEC-SC welcomes the following new members.
ACEC-SC would like to thank the following members for there continued support. For membership information contact Ginger Booker at ginger@jma-associations.com. The mission of ACEC-SC is to promote and protect the business interests and professional standards of engineers in the state of South Carolina; and to improve member firms' ability to profitably provide quality services to their clients. ACEC-SC is an Organization of more than 80 Engineering firms employing more than 4,000 individuals. Membership Information
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