DallaSWE
The Newsletter of the Society of Women Engineers
Dallas Section
Decenber2003
CONTENTS:
December 8 Social Report
Thank You from 2002 Scholarship recipient – Erin Fleming
Jean Cathcart Resignation
January Meeting plans – Zap! with Sci-Tech Discovery Center
President’s Corner – Certificate of Merit Program and Margaret Bareis
Calendar
December 8 Section Social
Those of you who were able to make the December social enjoyed good company, food, and an entertainment education experience. Amazingly, professional hypnotist and co-founder of Dallas’s Hypnotic Solutions Reed Rogers was able to find around 12 people out of the over-flow audience who were willing to have a “hypnotic” experience. Reed took fewer than ten minutes to relax the group and then found a strong group of 8 who remained for further demonstrations. I was surprised to learn that hypnotists have learned that those with higher IQs are the easiest to hypnotize due to their imagination and that they use different examples of analogies when hypnotizing engineers.
We left with the additional
knowledge that the waking moments of each day can be used for self-hypnotics
effects toward improving ourselves and our out looks on life. "Enjoying
the Power of Your Mind" proved a good way to begin the holiday season and
set the stage for a better New Year. (Don’t be too surprised if you soon hear
that Reed Rogers has signed an agreement for a TV series re the powers of
hypnotics.)
THANK YOU DALLAS SWE
“Thanks so much for your generous scholarship. It will help my family and me so much in meeting the expense of my college education. … I’ve also enclosed a copy of my fall class schedule demonstrating my engineering curriculum. Sincerely,
Erin Fleming”
GIRL SCOUT BADGE COMMITTEE CHAIR RESIGNS
Active volunteer Jean Cathcart has regretfully submitted her resignation as committee chair for our 2003 Girl Scout Badge Program. Jean reports that she has been helping her mother conquer some health problems and doesn’t know how long it will be before all is better. Since joining Raytheon and moving to Dallas several years ago, Jean has been a valued member and volunteer. Even though she lives in the McKinney area and has not been able to come to many meetings, she has served as the counselor for the UTD Student Section since about 1999. Jean became involved with the Girl Scout Badge program about the same time and served as chair of the event in 2000 and 2001, while also directing the “silly putty” portion of the activity.
We look forward to the time when Jean and her mom are back to “norm” and trust that she’ll be able to “monitor’ our GS efforts so we won’t stray off-track.
Thank you Jean for being such a good friend and valued volunteer.
January 20th Section Meeting – Nedley’s Restaurant
Be one of the first members of the Dallas public to learn about the summer 2004 bioengineering focused exhibit at the Shops of Willow Bend. Bring family and friends to network and hear not only about Zap! but also the Plano Junior League’s project to establish a special inter-active exhibit center – the Sci-Tech Discovery Center.
This is the time and place for engineers to shine – so bring out your light.
President’s Corner LeEarl Bryant
I finally found the time to deliver our blank certificates to 2003 chair Margaret Bareis and then “chatted” way too long. For those of you who are new to Dallas, you may be interested in learning more about the program. (Official details can be found at swe.org.)
This pre-college activity was initiated many years ago by SWE as a way to out-reach to pre-college women students who exhibit interest and academic accomplishments in math and science. If I remember correctly, we give certificates to the high school women students with the highest rankings in math and science related courses.
At the time the program began, Texas SWE covered the whole state with a few volunteers in Dallas and others scattered throughout the state. I can remember when we sent out snail-mail letters to approximately 400 high schools in all areas of the state. Believe it or not, we then had volunteers who hand-lettered the certificates. For example, Marian Anderson practiced her calligraphy on over 200 certificates at least for two years. Marian graduated with her CE in structures during WWII and is now retired in south Texas. When technology improved typewriters, we then found volunteers and secretaries who gradually took over the lettering task. Regardless of how the certificates were lettered, we then mailed the certificates to the schools for presentation in the spring. In some cases, we provided and still provide volunteers for the presentation ceremony.
When Dallas SWE emerged from the split of Texas SWE, we focused on presenting certificates in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and now we only cover the Dallas area since our Fort Worth Section has taken on that area.
Today, we’re really modern. Kim Benson directed the program last year and it was a one-woman enterprise. If I understand the process, Kim emailed the requirements to Region X of the Texas education system. Region X distributes the email announcement to the appropriate high school counselors and math and science educators. Participating schools then email back the names of their nominees and the certificate to be awarded. A computer program is used to print out the names on the “official” certificates and these are then stuffed in envelopes, addressed, and mailed.
Margaret won’t particularly like this spotlight but I thought it was time to bring you up to date on her doings. For those new to our area or organization, Margaret is a valued member and volunteer who most-recently served as 1997-1998 President, 1999 -2001 Section Representative. Like many in our area, her successful career recently hit a major obstacle in the form of a lay-off from Boeing. As many of you probably appreciate, this area doesn’t support a tremendous number of employment opportunities for mechanical engineers and the present economic downturn is keeping her on her toes.
So, Margaret is taking advantage of the setback to start work on a PhD and also spend more time with her teenage sons. Though she hasn’t yet decided on the final focus of her studies, Margaret is busy taking courses at SMU while also serving as an active Boy Scout Committee Member for her sons’ troop. If I remember correctly, her sons are 15 and 13. Needless to say, the Bareis family is busy at this phase of their lives.
I suspect that Margaret would also appreciate leads for employment that can take advantage of her experience and desire for a career in our geographical area.
Tuesday January 20 Section Meeting SPEAKER Jeri Chambers TOPIC: SciTech Discovery Center and Zap! DATE: Tuesday January 20, 2004 TIME: 6:15 PM, start networking LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room
February 2004
Tuesday February 17 Section Meeting SPEAKER: Marianne McKenney – chg mgt consultant TOPIC: TBD DATE: Tuesday, February 17 TIME: 6:15 PM, start networking LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room
Feb 15 - 22 National Engineers Week Observance
Tuesday March 16 Section Meeting SPEAKER: TBD TOPIC: TBD DATE: Tuesday, March 16 TIME: 6:15 PM, start networking LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room
Saturday March 27 – Girl Scout Badge Event
Chair/contact - - Jaime Hunter
Volunteers - needed
Location - Tejas Girl Scout Council Office 6001 Summerside Dr, Dallas, TX 75252.
The Council Office is located about 2 blocks west of Preston Rd on Summerside Dr. Summerside is a stop light on Preston, south of Frankford Road and North of Campbell Rd. Summerside is a T-intersection with Preston. At the intersection of Preston and Summerside, the east side of Preston road is a strip mall that includes Texas Land and Cattle Steakhouse. Turn west at the stoplight, and the Council Office is on the north side of Summerside Dr.
Volunteers Needed
March – Region 5 Conference - Padre Island
Tuesday, April 20 – Section Meeting; Nedley’s Restaurant
TBD SWE UTD – Student Section Banquet – Upgrade Recognition
TBD Certificate of Merit Program – Chair Margaret Bareis; vice chair needed
MAY 2004
3rd Tuesday, May 18 – Section meeting; Nedley’s Restaurant
May 15 – Dallas Scholarship Application Deadline
JUNE 2004
3rd Tuesday, June 15 – Section meeting; Nedley’s Restaurant
June goal – election re 2004/5 Officers
======
I’ve got several ideas of how we might work with other engineering organizations in our area on some new, joint projects. I’m having problems getting contacts within these organizations. So, I need members to volunteer to serve as SWE-liaisons with other organizations. Please reply to l.bryant@ieee.org with your name and affiliation with any other Dallas area organization with an engineering, technology, and computer science slant.
SWE Cares
Recognizing that going through career transition is normal, SWE helps its members by offering a dues discount to members who are experience a period of unemployment. We want to help you find not just any job, but the right job that meets your career expectations.
www.swe.org/careers You know what to do and you know how to do it! Visit the SWE career center where job opportunities meet SWE member resumes.
Join the SWE resume database where hundreds of recruiters identify new candidates all the time.
OBJECTIVES OF THE SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS
• To inform young women, their parents, counselors, and the public in general of the qualifications and achievements of women engineers and of the opportunities open to them.
• To assist women engineers in readying themselves for a return to active work after temporary retirements.
• To serve as a center of information on women in engineering.
• To encourage women engineers to attain high levels of educational and professional achievement.
CHECK US OUT! www.dallaswe.org
If
you need to update your contact information, please feel free to use the
submission form on the web. This is for our local chapter use only – it does
not connect in with www.swe.org. There is also a survey page.
Please take the opportunity to let us know your opinions. We would greatly
appreciate your input.
President LeEarl Bryant
(h) 972-699-1649
Section Representative (Interim) Kim Benson
(w) 972-966-6506
(h) 972-456-4900
Vice President (Interim) Jill Almaguer, P.E.
(h) 972-624-5546
Secretary Jaime Hunter
(h) 972-422-8626
Treasurer Karla Seidel
(h) 817-481-7123
Fund DevelopmentOpen |
SWE AwardsOpen |
Web MasterBarbara Vilbigvilbig@comcast.com |
Certificates of MeritMargaret Bareis(h) 972-247-6588b2bareis@prodigy.net |
Girl Scout Workshop ChairJaime Hunter(h) 972-422-5546jaime.hunter@swe.org |
Region C DirectorApril Lauper |
ENGINEERING CAREER NIGHTEric Strombergestromberg@dal.devry.edu
|
Dallas Scholarship ProgramLuAnne Beckley(w) 214-670-9273
|
Society of Women Engineers
Dallas Section
P.O. Box 852022
Richardson, TX 75085