EWRI Holds “Council Weekend”

The first EWRI "Council Weekend" was held on the weekend of February 8, 2003 in Reston, Virginia. Active participation by the almost 100 EWRI stalwarts in attendance was very high; perhaps due in no small part to the chilly weather outside which discouraged wandering about the premises.

When EWRI was brought into existence, it was with the intent that EWRI would be a "council-driven" organization within which councils would be the entrepreneurial force to conceptualize activities and form the committees necessary to carry them out. The EWRI Executive Committees (ExComs) would thus exist to coordinate and provide oversight to the councils; and the Governing Board would exist to set policy and to interface with our parent ASCE organization.

Bob Chuck, Ray Walton, and Karen Kabbes enjoy the opportunity to converse during the Council Weekend.

However, as with any new entity, EWRI is still very much in the process of finding the best way of using this structure to effectively and efficiently capture the expertise of our active volunteer members.

With that thought in mind, the EWRI Governing Board decided at the Portland leadership workshop to establish Council Weekend by asking the councils to meet collectively early in the fiscal year at a venue where each could attend to its own business without distractions and yet have the opportunity to interact with other councils. Weather notwithstanding, February was deemed to be a timeframe when not much else is happening; and the Reston location allowed the EWRI staff to provide maximum logistical support at minimum cost.

The EWRI Governing Board and the three ExComs participated fully, but the real contribution to the future of the EWRI was made by the council members.

The snow-covered pool didn’t stop the fun.

President Cecil Lue-Hing initiated a brief Saturday morning plenary session by updating the participants on items of general interest from the ASCE Board Committee Week. President-elect Tom Rachford next explained the agenda for the weekend. Don Phelps, Treasurer, outlined the impact of the new ASCE FY03 – FY04 budgeting process on the Institutes, including EWRI. Brian Parsons, EWRI Director, wrapped up the first half of the morning session by reviewing the EWRI Program Assessment and Evaluation System (PAES).

ASCE’s David Rosenblum provided some very useful insights to the use of the ASCE eRoom capability during a Saturday lunch break. The rest of the weekend was devoted to working sessions and interaction among the council members.

Most of Saturday was spent with each council working systematically through the following tasks:

• A review of the council mission in relationship to the ASCE/EWRI goals and those of the other councils
• An evaluation of council and committee activities, using the PAES data
• Planning for the future, building on the brainstorming output from past leadership workshops
• Preparation for Sunday morning reporting and a group Q&A session.

Whereas past leadership workshops were focused on mission, vision and leadership … "big picture" … issues, this Reston weekend was intended to be focused on more detailed … "nitty-gritty" … issues. Both types of efforts have their place; it is anticipated that both will be continued for the foreseeable future.

Bob Williams, Jeanette Brown, and Cecil Lue-Hing pose for the camera.

On Sunday morning, a spokesperson for each council highlighted their productivity and their ongoing activities, but primarily their plans for the future. The ensuing discussions were lively and hopefully everyone came away from the weekend with an appreciation for the high level of activity taking place in the various Member Services, Products & Development and Technical Activities councils and committees.

It is apparent that our collective mind set is continuing to move away from the old TAC/MDG/Division operating model and into an EWRI operating model that emphasizes rapid response to ideas and opportunities and maintaining year-round momentum and productivity. It is also apparent that we must continue to examine and adjust our policies, processes, procedures and structure to maximize our potential.

With their own self-evaluation and planning effort out of the way early in this fiscal year, the EWRI councils will be much better prepared to focus their attention on their respective committees during meetings at the June 2003 Philadelphia Congress. Meanwhile, the EWRI Governing Board is confident that the ExComs will work diligently to ensure that the initiatives identified during the council weekend will be sustained.

Overall, the first Council Weekend appears to have been a success and we look forward to having an even more successful experience next year by implementing some of the thoughtful suggestions for improvement from those in attendance. To better involve our broader leadership potential, the EWRI Governing Board and the EWRI ExComs anticipate involving the councils more directly in planning and organizing the 2004 Council Weekend.