RESTON, Va. –The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recognizes the Wisconsin Section of ASCE as this year’s Outstanding Civil Engineer Advocate of the Year for the team section.
The Wisconsin Section recently released its 2020 Report Card for Wisconsin’s Infrastructure, which graded 13 categories of infrastructure pertinent to Wisconsinites and provided a cumulative grade ‘C’. The Section used this advocacy tool as a means of reaching out to elected officials to inform them of the state’s infrastructure needs. The team was also active in pushing its message to the media, conducting dozens of interviews with print, digital, radio and television outlets all over the state.
The Outstanding Civil Engineer Advocate of the Year Award was created to recognize the efforts of ASCE Key Contact advocates who consistently promote ASCE’s legislative issues that advance the engineering profession and the public we serve. This can be done through meetings with policymakers, interactions with the media, and spearheading advocacy tools such as pertinent reports to their state. Awardees can be nominated by another individual or group.
‘ASCE’s Wisconsin Section has gone above and beyond in the past year to establish itself as a trusted voice on all infrastructure issues in the local community,” said Jean-Louis Briaud, Ph.D., President, American Society of Civil Engineers. “Not only did they release the comprehensive 2020 Report Card for Wisconsin’s Infrastructure, but they have served as a consistent voice in local media outlets on the need for infrastructure investment and have engaged with policymakers on this critical issue. We are thankful to have such a devoted group of members advancing the profession and serving their local community.”
The ASCE Wisconsin Section held grass roots events in Green Bay and Milwaukee to discuss infrastructure issues in Wisconsin and to raise awareness for the 2020 Wisconsin Infrastructure Report Card. Mayors, city engineers, infrastructure executive directors, and professional society leaders spoke to attendees, which were comprised of ASCE Members and local interested parties at the events. Upon releasing the ASCE Wisconsin Infrastructure Report Card, ASCE Wisconsin Members began contacting Wisconsin’s federally elected officials to notify them of Wisconsin’s Infrastructure Report Card and to establish a professional connection with their delegation, which resulted in several meetings with elected officials.
“The Wisconsin Section wanted to make sure that the 2020 Report Card for Wisconsin’s Infrastructure was put to use through advocacy efforts once it was released; especially since this is Wisconsin’s first report card in 13 years,” said Ken Mika, PE M.ASCE, Co-Chair of the Wisconsin Report Card and Advocacy efforts. “This recognition is an honor and consecrates the efforts put forth by our 50-plus volunteers who worked on the Report Card and advocacy efforts.”
For more information regarding the ASCE and the full detailed report card, please visit the ASCE website at: http://sections.asce.org/
