Date: Thursday, October 1, 2015
From: Christopher J. Renfro, EIT
To: All YMF Members and Board Chairs
Subject: ASCE Philadelphia YMF Kicks Off Its 20th Anniversary

As we leave summer behind and look forward to beginning the twentieth new year of our official rebirth in 1995, it caused me to look back at how we got where we are today.

The YMF has developed from a single chair of representation on the Section Board with a handful of members at its start to a complete entity of twenty Board Chairs with hundreds of members. This growth is a result of the dedication and efforts of young civil engineers and students as well as the committed participation of an engaged membership. It is that fact that has culminated in us winning the most prestigious honor bestowed by the national ASCE leadership, the 2015 Younger Member Group Award for large groups, which will be accepted at the National Convention in New York on October 11th.

Once again we will be hosting the classics, starting with the fall Bowling Night to welcome back the colleges, the 20th Annual Winter Social for networking, the Critical Issues Seminar in the spring, and finally the Phillies Game & Tailgate. We will be bringing you more unique technical and social events like last year including construction tours, engineering game-shows and legal introductions, along with community service volunteer events to help the less fortunate and maintain our stretch of road with ASHE under the Adopt-A-Highway program. Additionally, the CivE Club™ is launching into its third year, we are regularly conducting STEM K-12 outreach in local area schools, and the returning Mock Interview service was made available to students. Planning for all this is happening while in the background we have reorganized our internal structure to take on initiatives that will enhance and streamline our appearance, such as upgrading the website, synchronizing communications, and by rebranding.

As part of the ongoing mission to provide enjoyable and meaningful profession-related events, I encourage you to provide feedback; we are listening and are open to suggestions. Please reach out to me with ideas, questions, or anything I can do to improve your experience with us.

Thank you all for your continued participation. Also, a special thanks to Past President Drew Sirianni, the 2014/15 YMF Board, and the Philadelphia Section for their support.

Sincerely,

Chris Renfro

From: Drew E. Sirianni, PE, President, ASCE Philadelphia Section, Younger Member Forum
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: January, 2015

Dear YMF Members,

Welcome back to another exciting year for the YMF Philadelphia Section. This year the YMF continues to support the Philadelphia Section in its effort to assist student members with their transition to becoming young professionals. The YMF started the year with a College Contacts Kick-off Meeting, the meeting was held at Pennoni Associates office in Philadelphia and it provided an opportunity for the students to meet the College Contacts Chairpersons and discuss some ideas for the upcoming year. The kick off theme continued with the annual Welcome Back Bowling Event where students were able to mingle with young engineers in an informal and fun environment. The YMF is making plans to visit all the local ASCE student chapters this year to present and field questions from the students, keep an eye out for the details.

The YMF will be continuing its effort to broaden the Civil Engineering Club in its 3rd consecutive year of operation at the Chester A. Arthur School, these in-classroom sessions are a great opportunity for the general YMF membership to give back to the community. If you are interested in volunteering to lead a classroom presentation/activity, these are typically after-school hours, please contact our CivE Club Coordinator, Nha Truong (Nha.Truong@phila.gov).

The YMF's annual Winter Social is coming up very soon. Last year this event drew over 200 local younger engineers and rose over $2,000 for charity. If your employer would like to sponsor this event (proceeds benefit local charities), please contact Chris Renfro (Christopher.Renfro@phila.gov). Please visit the YMF Events webpage for additional information.

Finally, the YMF has teamed with the ASHE Younger Member Committee (YMC) to adopt a section of State Route 2018 (Bethlehem Pike) from Lafayette Avenue Connector to Butler Pike in Montgomery County, PA. Look for advertisement of the first cleanup in the late winter or early spring.

Thanks to all the YMF Board Members and General Members who helped to make 2014 a success. All the best to you in 2015!

Sincerely,

Drew E. Sirianni, PE

From: Chris Gray, PE, ASCE Philadelphia Younger Member Forum President
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: July 11, 2013

Dear YMF Members,

As you may have heard, Philadelphia YMF participated in the first ever Civil Engineering (CivE) Club in Pennsylvania during our last Board year. This was one of 10 programs initiated nationally through ASCE. Sponsored by the Philadelphia YMF, the after-school program promoted civil engineering to students at the Chester A. Arthur Middle School in Central Philadelphia. Students learned various civil engineering principles from the benefits of reinforcing soil for increasing bearing capacity to various techniques in building an efficient bridge. The club was capped with an awards program which featured a balsa wood design competition. Thanks to the many participants on the board and in the membership who made this club a success; and, a special thank you to the hard work and dedication of Jesse Gormley (Outreach Co-Chair '12-'13) and Kazi Hassan (YMF President '12-'13) whom without their efforts, the vision of this tremendous outreach effort would not have come to fruition.

Philadelphia YMF will be keeping the momentum and having another outstanding year in 2013-2014. We are fortunate to have an amazing board with 23 dedicated members. This year we plan to continue to grow our outreach efforts through not only the CivE Club, but also opportunities such as the Boys and Girls Club of America. Additionally, we plan to continue our college outreach to bridge the gap between local college students and the working world. A new goal planned this year is a joint community service event with a local university.

We are fortunate to have a very motivated group to organize exciting community service events for our members. We have a planned volunteer event with Friends of Wissahickon, which includes improvement to local bike trails in Fairmount Park. And, in addition to our continued participation in CanStruction, we anticipate to host at least (2) other community service / charity type events which could range from a volunteer day with Philabundance to a 3-on-3 charity type event with proceeds to benefit those in need.

Philadelphia YMF also has a number of exciting social events planned in the fall, including our Welcome Back Bowling event as well as a joint happy hour planned with the South Jersey YMG. These events will lead us into our Winter Social in January 2014. Last year our Winter Social raised $1,761 for local charities thanks to the 168 younger members who attended the event and may have participated in our raffle. We hope to trump these tallies in 2014 and will need your help to do so.

Following the Winter Social, our YMF will of course participate in the Engineers Week events (February 16-22, 2014) through engaging the students and celebrating our profession with our peers. Heading into the spring of 2014 we will be offering a number of great events ranging from our critical issues seminar and construction tours to happy hours and more community service events.

This year, our board will be focusing on continuing to grow our outreach efforts, increase our involvement with community service, and expand our network through social media while continuing to offer interesting and highly touted events that keep our members engaged and informed.

Without the support of our Younger Members, we would not be able to accomplish so much. On behalf of Philadelphia YMF, I want to thank you all for your dedication and continued support of our ASCE group. And I hope that you continue to find that your involvement with ASCE is educational, rewarding, and fun. Thank you again for your support and I am looking forward to sharing an exciting year with you!

Thank You,

Chris Gray

From: Kazi M. Hassan, PE, ASCE Philadelphia Younger Member Forum President
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: February 19, 2013

Dear YMF Members,

As you may have heard, Philadelphia YMF was awarded 2013 Outstanding Community Service Project Award for CANstruction 2012. The award was presented at the Eastern Regional Younger Member Conference in Warwick, Rhode Island. This award was the icing on the cake for the tremendous year Philadelphia YMF has had during the 2011-2012. I would like to congratulate the 2012 YMF CANstruction team and thank all of the board members for their dedication.

Philadelphia YMF is keeping the momentum and having another outstanding year in 2012-2013. Since June 2012, Philadelphia YMF hosted six (6) K-12 outreach events, five (5) College outreach events, four (4) social events, one (1) technical event, one (1) construction tour, and participated in two (2) community service events. We are upholding ASCE's dedication to educate and promote Civil Engineering to K-12 students. In addition to the schools from last year, the YMF presented at two (2) new middle schools this year and are planning to visit and present throughout 2013.

We ended January 2013 with our 17th Annual Winter Social, raising $1,761 for local charities. Even with a winter storm warning looming, 168 younger members gathered for this annual social networking event and raised money for the less fortunate. February is a great month for Engineers. We are in the middle of E-week, and we hope to see all of the engineers at the numerous events that are planned throughout the week.

Philadelphia YMF is gearing up to finish the 2012-2013 year strong. Starting in March, we plan to host several construction tours, outreach events, and social events. We will continue to host successful events and end the year on a high note.

One of our main goals for this year was to increase our presence on Social Media. As many of you know, YMF actively participates in Facebook and Twitter. We have reached our original goal, doubling our Facebook membership from 42 to 94 followers, and now we are aiming to surpass 100 by next month.

On behalf of Philadelphia YMF, I want to thank all the Younger Members for your dedication and for participating in ASCE events. Not only has the attendance increased at our YMF events, but the Section events have been very well attended. I want to thank you for your continued support.

Thank You,

Kazi

From: Kazi M. Hassan, PE, ASCE Philadelphia Younger Member Forum President
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: August 30, 2012

Dear YMF Members,

On behalf of the YMF board members, along with the Philadelphia Section, I welcome you to our YMF website. We are dedicated to serve college students, young engineers, and professional engineers in the Philadelphia region.

2011-2012 has been a great year for Philadelphia YMF; it was a year of breaking records in all categories. YMF successfully hosted more elementary school visits, college visits, technical events, and construction tours than previous years. We had a record attendance at our 16th Annual Winter Social and we donated $1,827 to local Philadelphia charities. Our Canstruction team raised over 13,000 pounds of food for Philabundance and also won the “Best Meal” award at the competition. These are all accomplishments that were only made possible with dedication and hard work from YMF members.

In this early 2012-2013 year, we have already had a few successful events. We started the year with a technical meeting on Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (IIS) and the annual Phillies game/tailgate held earlier this month. We will use the knowledge gained from our past experiences as a tool to continue hosting events that are both innovative and successful, as the year progresses. To view information regarding both our past and upcoming events, please visit our website. We will also be using social media outlets to keep you informed of all upcoming events. Feel free to browse through our YMF website, Facebook, and Twitter page.

As you may know, ASCE Philadelphia Section will be celebrating their 100th Anniversary in 2013. This special occasion will bring several special events and announcement highlighting civil engineering achievements. The celebration will be concluded by the 100th Anniversary Gala on May 4th, 2013 at the Franklin Institute. Be sure to stay up to date with YMF and Philadelphia Section of ASCE.

Thank You,

Kazi

From: Jeremy Chrzan, PE, PTOE, LEED-AP, ASCE Philadelphia Younger Member Forum President
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: December 29, 2011

Dear YMF Members,

We're only a few months into the 2011-2012 YMF year, and I'm already proud of what this board has accomplished. Our Community Service, Technical Group, and Social Chairs hosted our annual Welcome Back Bowling event, a trail and pedestrian bridge restoration in Wissahickon Valley Park, a community clean-up on Philly Cares Day, a tour of the Route 29 PA Turnpike E-ZPass Interchange, a tour of the Schuylkill River Trail Railroad Crossing Bridge, and a spirited networking happy hour. It’s been great seeing some new faces at these events, particularly our student members, and I hope the trend will continue throughout the new year.

The YMF Outreach Committee and College Contact Chairs have been doing an excellent job contacting our student members and following-through on our commitment to elementary, middle, and high school outreach. Adrienne Nikolic recently discussed and demonstrated how water is filtered and processed for 7th grade students at McCall Elementary, with plans to return again later in the school year. Colette Montague and Jesse Gormley also hosted presentations at Villanova and Temple Universities, with talks at our other local engineering colleges scheduled for 2012. On the National front, the YMF was selected by ASCE Nationals to help pilot their new High School Engineering Club program; Bucks County Technical High School has already held one successful Engineering Club meeting, with more planned for the rest of the school year.

Moving into 2012, the YMF plans to keep our calendar full. We'll begin 2012 by hosting our 16th Annual Winter Social. We'll return to McGillin's Olde Ale House on January 30th, 2012 for what is traditionally the Section's largest event. The Winter Social Charity Raffle will be raising money for the Philabundance food bank and Future City Competition, so please encourage your employer to participate as a sponsor.

As December winds down, I wish you all a safe and happy new year. See you in 2012!

- Jeremy

From: Jeremy Chrzan, PE, PTOE, LEED-AP, ASCE Philadelphia Younger Member Forum President
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: August 24, 2011

Dear YMF Members,

Welcome to the 2011-2012 YMF year, our 17th year as a YMF and the 99th year of the Philadelphia Section. I'm proud to serve this year's board of 21 motivated members, each with different professional experiences and interests in engineering disciplines. With a board of this size, their varied background is providing unique viewpoints and opportunities to serve the interests of the younger engineering community. I'm excited by the ideas we've discussed, and am interested to see what they'll come up with next.

Since the May election, we've hosted a successful trail clean-up in Fairmount Park and celebrated a win at the annual Phillies Tailgate/Game hosted by the Delaware, Philadelphia and South Jersey YMF groups. We've also finalized planning for the October 6th "Engineering Your Own Success" career development seminar featuring best-selling author Anthony Fasano, P.E. This event, like most of our events, is relevant to engineering students, young professionals, and the young at heart. I hope you'll RSVP and attend.

The planning of professional development and technical seminars, social and networking events, community service activities, college outreach events, and many unique construction tours are already in the works. Our Outreach Committee is also looking to build on their past experiences by presenting a series of science and math teaching lessons to school students. If you have an affiliation with an area elementary or middle school, or if you would like to be involved in this program, please get in contact with us; we're eager to hear from you.

I hope you'll take advantage of these fun activities and programs. Based on my YMF experiences over the years, I cannot over-stress the personal and professional benefits of being an active YMF member. This is an exciting time to be an engineer in our area, and I'm confident that this year's board is planning events that will contribute to your understanding and enjoyment of the profession.

To remain up-to-date about our upcoming events, please take a moment to bookmark the event link on our website, sign-up for our monthly email list, follow our Twitter account, or "friend-us" on Facebook. If you have any suggestions for our group, please email me at jeremy@chrzan.com.

Thank you for this opportunity to serve our engineering community. I look forward to seeing you at our events.

- Jeremy

From: Mike Wagner, P.E. President, ASCE Philadelphia Younger Member Forum
To: All Younger Engineers (and those that are young at heart)
Date: October, 2010

Well it's the start of another YMF year and the start of my term as President. First I'd like to thank Cathy Farrell for a great job last year as President and for her accomplishments throughout the year. She's left pretty big shoes to fill.

We've got an exciting year ahead of us and it starts with our new board. We have 24 members this year leaving us plenty of folks to help us have a very productive year. We've already have two construction tours in the works and have set a date and time for the annual bowling event. While the venue had to change due to the fact that our old location has closed, this year we expect the event to be even more successful.

We plan to continue our outreach to local colleges and schools in the area to promote the civil engineering profession to potential future engineers.

Please keep updated of events on our website and if you are not receiving our e-mails of updated events or have any suggestions please feel free to contact me at mgwagner@urbanengineers.com.

Mike

From: Cathy Farrell, P.E., President, ASCE Philadelphia Younger Member Forum
To: All Younger Engineers (and those that are young at heart)
Date: March, 2010

Dear YMF Members,

Thank you to all of those that attended our Winter Social. We had over 150 people in attendance! While the drinks, buffet and raffle are enjoyable parts of the social it's the people that attend that make the event so much fun. So thank you! Also thank you to the YMF board... it was truly a team effort to pull the event off!

Please check out the events page of our site to see the latest happenings. My personal favorite spring/summer time activity is the Critical Issues Seminar. I enjoy this event because the panel of speakers bring different perspectives to a topic. Plus since its held at a bar, it's more informal... helping to make younger people feel more comfortable in asking questions to those who have been in the industry for a longer time.

Although... I have to admit I also enjoy the tailgate with the South Jersey and Delaware YMF groups and cleaning up the Wissahickon... theres a big sense of accomplishment to see the difference in the trail after 4 hours of cleaning it up.

Hope to see you at our events!

Cathy

Ps... If you're interested in joining the June 2010-May 2011 board, please contact me cfarrell@mbakercorp.com or 215-442-5316. Self nominations are due by April 23rd.

From: Cathy Farrell, P.E., President, ASCE Philadelphia Younger Member Forum
To: All Younger Engineers (and those that are young at heart)
Date: October, 2009

Welcome to the YMF!

I'm proud to be a member of this organization because of the opportunities it provides to network, develop professionally, volunteer and promote the field of civil engineering.

As a young engineer, it can be intimidating to walk into a dinner meeting/office/job meeting and not know anyone else or have as much technical knowledge. The YMF is here to bridge that gap by hosting events that allow civil engineers to socialize with one another in a more casual setting. Our technical and professional development events help members get a jump start on the technical knowledge learning curve.

In addition, each year YMF rolls up our sleeves and ventures outside to do volunteer work. We regularly interact with the local colleges (Drexel, Swarthmore, Temple, Villanova, and Widener) to show them that the "real world" isn't that bad. The YMF is also in the beginning phases of interacting with elementary and middle school students to show them the world of civil engineering.

I'm very lucky to have a motivated board to plan our events.

Please check our website's EVENTS section for the latest happenings.

Also, if you have any suggestions for our group, email me at cfarrell@mbakercorp.com.

Cathy

From: Don Gusic, P.E., President of the ASCE Philadelphia Younger Members Forum
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: March, 2009

Dear YMF Members,

Thank you for supporting many of our past events and hopefully supporting the remaining events this year. We have an active board which includes members who have been on the board for many years, but we also have several first time board members. It's the hard work and dedication provided by the YMF board that allows us to put on so many successful events geared toward networking and providing a link between the college student, young engineer and the seasoned veteran.

We have had several successful events including happy hours, technical meetings, tours and our two largest events so far this year: the Winter Social and co-hosting the 2009 Eastern Region Younger Member Council (ERYMC). Our year is not over yet and we still are planning at least two more happy hours (one in March and one in May). We are also finalizing the details for our Critical issues Seminar in April. Additionally don't forget to support the Philadelphia Section events, including but not limited to dinner meetings, technical meetings and the Spring Social.

We are currently looking for people interested in joining next year's board. Information for the positions can be found in the membership section under member responsibilities. Joining the YMF Board is a good way to develop contacts in the industry and also prepare you for taking part in the Section Board. If you are interested in joining the board, please contact me by March 28th.

Please check our website's "Events" section for information on planned events. Also, if you are not receiving emails from us regarding events, please contact us.

Thanks again for your continued support of the ASCE Philadelphia Section YMF.

Don Gusic, P.E.

From: Don Gusic, P.E., President of the ASCE Philadelphia Younger Members Forum
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: August, 2008

Dear YMF Members,

Thank you for supporting many of our past events and hopefully supporting our events this year. We have an active board which includes members who have been on the board for many years, but we also have several first time board members. It's the hard work and dedication provided by the YMF board that allows us to put on so many successful events geared toward networking and providing a link between college students, young engineers and seasoned veterans.

As with most years, we plan to have several happy hours, technical meetings, construction tours, service events and student outreach. In addition to these events, the YMF board will be supporting South Jersey and ASCE Nationals with the planning and implementation of the Eastern Region Younger Member Council (ERYMC) which will be held in Cherry Hill, NJ on February 6-7, 2009.

One of my focuses for the YMF will be increasing outreach efforts for ASCE. This includes creating interest in engineering by supporting Future Cities and other programs focused on younger students. Additionally, we want to increase our interaction with college students to help ease the transition between formal education and the professional world. We intend on supporting our section’s effort of public outreach with the goal of helping the public and politicians understand what engineers do and why infrastructure funding is important.

Please check our website's Events section for information on planned events. Also, if you are not receiving emails from us regarding events, please contact us.

Thanks again for your continued support of the ASCE Philadelphia Section YMF.

- Don

From: Joe Platt, P.E., President of the ASCE Philadelphia Younger Members Forum
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: February 2008

Dear YMF Members,

I'd first off like to say thank you to the nearly 200 of you who attended the Winter Social on January 28th. The event topped last year's attendance, making it the YMF's largest event ever!

We've started the year off on a good note, so let's keep it going. On March 20th we will be holding a joint event with the Engineer's Club of Philadelphia at Elephant and Castle. The event will cover the importance of professional licensure and the necessary steps to get your PE. In mid-April we will be hosting a Happy Hour in Center City. Finally on June 4th we will be co-hosting a Phillies game with our friends down in Delaware. So continue to check our events link periodically for more information about each of these upcoming events.

Finally, in the coming month we will begin the process of forming the new YMF Board for the 2008-2009 year. Several board positions will be opening up, so if you are interested in becoming active at a higher level, please contact me directly and we can discuss your interests.

Thanks again for making the Winter Social a tremendous success!

- Joe Platt, P.E.

From: Joe Platt, P.E., President of the ASCE Philadelphia Younger Members Forum
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: September 2007

Dear YMF Members,

Well its the start of a new year. We have an excellent Board this year with many new faces and new ideas to continue the success that we had last year.

The Section's first dinner meeting of the year will be held on October 11, 2007 at the Union League of Philadelphia. This meeting is used to introduce the YMF to the Section, so I would encourage everyone to come out and show the Section just how strong a group we are. Details about the dinner can be found here.

Our calendar of events is starting to take shape so please continue to check this ASCE award winning website for information on our upcoming events.

I hope to see you at the October meeting.

- Joe Platt, P.E.

From: John Federico, P.E., President of the ASCE Philadelphia Younger Members Forum
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: April 2007

Dear YMF Members,

Although we are quickly approaching the end of the YMF calendar year in June (and thus my term as President), we still have plenty of exciting events left. Between the CHOP Construction Tour on April 18, the Yards Brewery Tour on April 21, an upcoming community service event in May, and the Election Happy Hour on May 17, there are plenty of events to look forward to in the next two months.

Aside from our upcoming events, I also want to mention how impressed I am with the number of YMF members interested in serving on the board next year. As I write this, we have already received notices from seven new individuals who are ready to become more active in the YMF. The willingness to donate time is what keeps a volunteer organization like the YMF thriving. Although at times it can be inconvenient and even stressful, I can attest that the friendships and experiences gained through participation more than compensate for the effort expended. That said, I sincerely want to thank everyone who have been involved with the YMF this year - keep it up!

Until the next Happy Hour,

John Federico, P.E.

From: John Federico, P.E., President of the ASCE Philadelphia Younger Members Forum
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: March 2007

Greetings fellow young engineers,

First of all, I just want to say thank you to everyone who attended the Winter Social on January 31st – with 171 attendees, it was the YMF's largest event ever! And I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the largest YMF events in the country, which is outstanding.

Let's try to build on this momentum by having a great turnout at the Critical Issues Seminar on March 14th at the Elephant & Castle. The seminar will cover the increasingly hot topic of Politics and Engineering and will feature a panel of experts in the field of engineering, politics and capital budget programming, all of whom have a stake in tackling the political issues that our profession will face in the future.

In mid-April we will be hosting a construction tour of the new Children's Hospital of Philadelphia building, followed by a nearby Happy Hour in University City. Other upcoming events this Spring include a tour of the Yards Brewery in Northeast Philly, a Community Service event, and our annual Election Happy Hour in May. Please check our events link periodically for more information about each of these upcoming events.

Also, in the next two months we will choose the new YMF Board for the 2007-2008 year. Several board positions will be opening up, so if you are interested in becoming active at a higher level, please contact me directly and we can discuss your interests.

Hope to see you at the next event!

John Federico, P.E.

From: John Federico, P.E., President of the ASCE Philadelphia Younger Members Forum
To: All Younger Engineers
Date: February 2007

Greetings fellow young engineers,

As we move forward into February of 2007, the Philadelphia YMF has just completed several events, including two Technical Group meetings and the increasingly popular Winter Social. Many thanks to all of you who attended the Winter Social, and of course a special thanks to the YMF board members that planned this event.

Our events calendar for the Spring is starting to take shape, and it looks to be an exciting time of the year. On March 14th the joint ECP/YMF team will bring us this year's YMF Critical Issues Seminar. The seminar will cover the increasingly hot topic of Politics and Engineering. This event will feature a panel of experts in the field of engineering, politics and capital budget programming, all of whom have a stake in tackling the political issues that our profession will face in the future. In April we will be hosting a construction tour of the new Children's Hospital building in University City, followed by a nearby Happy Hour. And in May, we will be holding our annual Election Happy Hour at a location TBD.

So please check our events link periodically for more information about each of these upcoming events. See you soon.

John Federico, P.E.