Happy holidays to everyone. Have you finished your shopping yet? Have you even started your shopping? It’s that time of year, so I’d like to wish all of you Season’s Greetings and hopes for a very Happy New Year. This can be a busy time with decorating, holiday parties, work deadlines, and end-of-year reports, but what we need to keep in balance is making time for family and friends. Be with the ones you care about—that’s what’s most important.
Many ASPE Chapters have holiday parties instead of, or in addition to, their meetings this month. These special events are a good way to balance professional and family time. Members can include their significant others and introduce them to their ASPE friends, and the ASPE family keeps growing. One thing I’ve learned during my time as an ASPE member is that even though our organization is a professional society, the relationships I’ve made feel like family.
Membership
On the professional side of things, I will do a quick rundown of ASPE news and events. Our ace Vice President, Membership, Jason McDonald, CPD, ASSE 6060, FASPE, reports that membership has bumped up again—to almost 6,700 members. All five ASPE Regions have gained new members. Jason hopes that a push for retention will boost ASPE over the 6,700-member threshold. How is everyone doing with your Ambassador Program?
Certification
ASPE is pleased to announce that 38 candidates passed the recent Certified Plumbing Design Technician (CPDT) exam. The CPDT is a significant credential to add to a resume; it distinguishes an individual as a proficient plumbing designer. The benefits are not just for the CPDT holder—the individual’s employer also benefits. Having a staff of CPDTs and CPDs who specialize in plumbing systems not only provides a higher level of design competency, but it also affords the employer a marketing angle: Our company knows plumbing design.
Are you ready to take the CPD exam? If you want to up the ante and you qualify to take the exam (visit aspe.org/education-credentialing/cpd/exam for eligibility requirements), the exam dates are April 10–21, 2023. You can select the date within that window that works for you and take the exam online. It’s 100 multiple-choice questions, and you have 3.5 hours to complete it. There is a remote monitor during the exam, so a webcam is one of the requirements to take the online test. Visit this article on ASPE Pipeline for more information.
Alfred Steele Scholarship
If you are currently in school earning a degree in engineering, or if you plan to enroll next year, ASPE is accepting applications for the Alfred Steele Scholarship until January 31, 2023. This is an excellent opportunity for ASPE members or their immediate family members to get financial assistance in their pursuit of an engineering degree, so don’t delay in submitting an application.
PEWG
If you haven’t heard, one of ASPE’s goals is to get a plumbing section added to the Mechanical PE exam to make it easier for experienced plumbing designers to earn their PE and stamp the drawings they have designed. ASPE’s Professional Engineer Working Group (PEWG), led by Dave Dexter, FNSPE, FASPE, CPD, CPI, LEED BD+C, PE, and Ron Bartley, PE, CPD, CPI/CPE, FASPE, have gotten the cause in front of NCEES, and it is now in the phase known as PAKS: Professional Activities and Knowledge Study. That’s an important step, and the PWEG has emailed ASPE’s registered PEs to respond to the NCEES PAKS survey. If you received that email, please follow the link and complete the survey. Your help with this effort is important and appreciated.
ASPE Board of Directors
Finally, our new ASPE Board of Directors will convene at the beginning of February for our first quarterly meeting since the Convention. A lot will be on the agenda for us to evaluate, so it will be a two-day working session. As always, the Board will work in the best interests of the membership. If you have any ideas or concerns you’d like us to discuss, please feel free to get them in front of the Board. The best avenues to do that are to email your Region Director, Executive Director/CEO, Billy Smith, FASPE, or me. We’ll make sure your topic is added to the agenda. Your input helps us better serve you and all ASPE members. That’s what we’re here for.
Signing off until next time. Happy Holidays to all and Happy New Year. In the holiday spirit, go out and make someone’s day. Perform a random act of kindness. It will come back around.
