President's Memo
March 2000
The Future Holds So Much Promise
by Jo Coke
If you want time to fly by, become ACI President. It seems like this, my last memo to you, is being written only a few weeks after the first. As one would expect, it has been a year of new experiences, wonderful new relationships… and some frustration because there is much ground to cover, many challenges for the new century, and we can’t do it all at once!
Although there are a multitude of memories and impressions from the past year that remain with me, I call your attention to these:
Global reach of ACI — In 1904, when we were chartered as the “National Association of Cement Users, ” the focus was necessarily on the United States. Our interaction with Canada and then Mexico expanded this to North America. We now have 88 chapters, 55 of which are in the U.S.
In 2000, our focus includes both North and South America, as we allocate time and resources to our southern colleagues. In the future, ACI will gradually expand its focal points to other parts of the world, exchanging information, cooperating, and collaborating for the improvement of the industry worldwide.
This is an exciting prognosis, for it means that our technology will both improve from external input and be of assistance to others as they work within their systems for better constructed facilities. As technology advances, we will have the ability to reduce human suffering and death from natural catastrophes.
Women in ACI — In 1999, I became ACI’s first woman president; in 1989, I had joined the ACI Board of Direction as only the second woman to do so. (Katharine Mather preceded me in 1968.) The following year, Mary Hurd became No. 3 on the Board. Fast forward to 1997, almost a decade later, when three women joined the Board: Catherine French, Debby Cagley Orsak, and Sharon Wood. We’re making progress!
More young women engineers are now graduating and pursuing their careers. They are joining ACI knowing that membership will assist them in their networking and continuing education. Many women work on committees, but a review of the 1999 Committee Roster indicates just two Board committee chairs and five technical committee chairs, from a universe of 20 Standing Board Committees and 118 Technical Committees.
I have found ACI members to be most accepting of women. The female approach to the consensus process is quite different from the male approach. (Just read any of John Gray’s books on Mars and Venus and you will understand what I mean.) Working for ACI goals and purposes establishes camaraderie and provides a way to give back to our industry. To those who may feel intimidated to join, I ask you to give us a try. You will be pleasantly surprised by ACI, and very warmly welcomed.
A sidebar to both genders: One does not have to be an engineer to join and actively participate in ACI. The Institute needs resources from any number of fields. As a technical society, ACI’s only requirement for membership is an interest in concrete.
Complexity of ACI — Every day I learn something about ACI that I never knew before. It is an incredible organization, comprised of innumerable facets of knowledge development and delivery to the construction industry. The Institute’s history is rich with technical giants gifting us unstintingly of their time and resources. We are fortunate to have a fine staff in Farmington Hills, now numbering approximately 75, who consistently show themselves to be dedicated to the goals and willing to perform above and beyond. Our myriad of volunteer technical and administrative committees, each with its own challenges, mandates excellence in staff follow through.
As we become more aware of the implications of the e-world, our efforts to progress without misstep must be gargantuan. We are well equipped to fly, with the best in both volunteer and staff resources.
Passing the gavel is bittersweet. One tends to look at what’s been left unaccomplished, even when logic says it couldn’t all be done. But the future holds so much promise, with the structure in place to maintain momentum, that I am anxious to participate in the next stage.
My sincere thanks to all of you for your aid and assistance. My employer, Synthetic Industries, has been especially supportive, providing the necessary time and resources, and for that I am infinitely grateful. I pledge to continue my efforts towards our goal of Better Constructed Facilities.
Jo Coke
President
American Concrete Institute
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