DallaSWE
The Newsletter
of the Society of Women Engineers
January/February
2004
CONTENTS:
February 17
Meeting Notice
President’s Corner - focus
Zap! Contribution
EWEEK
Girl Scout Badge Mar 27
SWE Dallas future
Calendar
SPEAKER: Marianne McKenney – change management consultant
TIME:
LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room
www.nedleys.com
CONTACT: LeEarl Bryant; 972-699-1649
Creating
a Healthy Approach to Productivity
through
Personal
Change Management
Have you ever purchased a new car? You spend hours researching and studying to be sure you’re getting a car that will fit your needs, perform in all circumstances. This arduous process includes listening to salespeople and arranging financing so that you can afford your investment. Then, once you finally make the decision and bring your beautiful car home do you take off its wheels and empty the gas tank and expect it to work? … Of course not!
Then why do we do this to ourselves? We invest in our education and training. Our employer does extensive research prior to investing in us. We get the job and then we pour our entire being into the work at the office, leaving little to give to other areas of life. How do we refill our proverbial gas tank? Why did your organization hire you in the first place? Without a balance in life we cannot be the creative, energetic and transcendental beings we are meant to be. It’s as if you are hired to be creative and solve problems only to learn that the environment that would have your abilities squashed. Who is responsible for that environment? To whom do I complain? Is there something I could do to improve this lifestyle?
Learn how to examine and balance lifestyle choices, including:
The Whole Person Wheel and applications for make you a more productive person in everyday life.
Empowerment Hierarchy and how a greater self esteem is generated by our actions.
How spirituality affects my work?
How to create accountability not “blame ability”.
Marianne McKenney is an energetic facilitator who is dedicated to providing meaningful employee development programs. Her company provides a connection to professionals who can provide solutions to specific challenges facing the organization. She’s combined her passion for educating teams to be more productive and the field of Wellness. The workshops guide people through the turbulent challenges of change. Employees can increase their productivity by making the connection between discovering personal talents, self-responsibility and goal setting.
In addition to being an AFAA (Aerobic and Fitness Association
of America) Certified Group Exercise Instructor, Ms. McKenney has a Masters
degree in Education from the
President’s Corner LeEarl
Bryant
For those who have been involved, you are aware that our
January program featured Jeri Chambers, a volunteer from the Jr League of Plan,
who spoke on upcoming plans for the
Visit http://www.mindstretchingfun.org to find out more. Prior to the meeting, our officers endorsed
the idea of making a contribution toward this effort
and members in attendance took the idea further by supporting a motion that we
donate $1,000 to
I was surprised to learn that SWE is the first science and/or engineering related non-profit to make a donation to this worthy cause for education. I believe that we have established a challenge for others to meet and trust that they will do so. In fact, one of the other advisory board members is also a member of Dallas ASCE and committed to approaching them for a donation as well.
More importantly for the success of the event, they will need many volunteers to help make Zap! a positive experience for young people. (Personally, I believe that they are behind schedule on addressing this need, but I am not able to help so will not say too much.) In any case, they are seeking individuals who will volunteer at least 8 hours of time in a minimum of two-hour shifts sometime in June – August. Most volunteers will be trained in May. Longer commitments are more than welcome. I think this will be an especially great opportunity for students. Obviously, volunteers do not need to be technically trained but our backgrounds will be extra beneficial and we’ll serve as good role models for the children and parents.
We are approaching
the annual celebration of National Engineers’ Week, affectionately referred to
as EWEEK and various engineers in
So, how many women
engineers are participating in these special activities? We’ll never know the
totals but we do have two good examples from our area and I know there are
others.
IEEE Dallas has
selected Dr. Janet Six as their young engineer of the year. Janet has a PhD in Computer Science from UTD
where she was also chair of the IEEE Student Branch. After earning her degree, she taught in the
CS department where she earned recognition as an out-standing teacher from her
students. More recently, Janet has
started her own company that focuses on what I call “human-engineering” for the
internet. She and her husband are
expecting their first child in a few months.
The second woman is
also a very active IEEE member. Jean Eason who is from the
Find out more about
EWEEK 2004 by visiting the web-site: http://www.eweek.org
GIRL SCOUT BADGE - Making Things
that Matter, Mar 27
This year’s badge
project is scheduled for March 27 at the
So far, we appear to be having a rather successful year with
monthly meetings since August and a successful Engineering Career Night for
pre-college students. However, this appearance is superficial and we are
almost bleeding from everywhere. It is
most obvious when you consider that our “interim” Section Rep resigned due to
promotion out of our area and no replacement has been found,
our first GS chair resigned due to job and family obligations (Jaime took up
the challenge), Jill Almaguer has been “acting” as our vp/program chair,
etc. Karla, our extremely qualified and
dedicated treasurer, has been in this position for at least three years.
You wouldn’t know from the newsletters and meeting info, but
we’ve often been lucky to have audiences for our very good speakers. In fact, if I hadn’t
personally recruited about 3 from an IEEE member, others came and brought
guests, and if Jaime hadn’t twisted a few arms, we might have only had 4 or 5
attendees, including non-SWE members. The point? The
officers plan meetings with speakers to provide information and networking
opportunities for our members. We need
as many of you to come as possible, if this is something that you are still
interested in.
Of course, it’s impossible to have a meeting
night that is convenient to everyone.
Most importantly, we
are in the interval in which we should have a nomination chair and committee
and potential candidates for the coming year.
Thanks to Margaret Bareis, Eric Stromberg, and Kim Benson and their
associated officers – we have been able to bridge a period of
time of decreased visibility of SWE in the
What will SWE Dallas
be next year or the next? As I learned
many years ago, SWE is WE. Do we need to
go to two-year officer terms? Do we need
to replace monthly structured meetings with occasional social events and no
program? Do we only become an
organization with two annual events – Career Night and GS Badge?
I truly believe that
we can “struggle” for another year with those who have recently been the most
active and our new handful of new comers and more recent activists. But, we need some
members and friends who come to meetings and inspire us, we need some who can
be “mentored” for future leadership positions, and we need whatever continued
support you can provide.
We greatly value
those who are unable to participate in person but stay as members for the
support of our endeavors and we greatly value those in this category who
previously went “beyond their duty” and are now in a different phase of
life. We need to find a way to not
continue the “burn-out” mode of operation that has ear-marked
us for so many years. Burn-out? By this, I mean we use and use them until
they are burned-out and stay away so they won’t be “drafted” or drop-out to
forget-it-all.
For this coming
year, we need a few members who are available for the “elected” and appointed
positions, others who can come to meetings and network, and others who may only
be able to keep cheering and inspiring us on….
February 2004
Tuesday February 17 - Section Meeting
SPEAKER: Marianne McKenney – chg mgt consultant
TOPIC: Creating a Healthy Approach to Productivity
TIME:
LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room
Feb 15 - 22 National Engineers Week Observance
Tuesday, March 16 - Section Meeting
SPEAKER: TBD
TOPIC: TBD
TIME:
LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room
Saturday March 27 – Girl Scout Badge Event
Chair/contact
- -
Volunteers - needed
Location - Tejas Girl
Scout Council Office
6001 Summerside Dr,
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
March 27– Region 5 Conference -
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 –
JUNE 2004
3rd Tuesday, June 15 – Section meeting; Nedley’s Restaurant
June goal – election re 2004/5 Officers
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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
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. 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
tbd
Vice
President (Interim) Jill Almaguer, P.E.
(h) 972-624-5546
Secretary
(h)
972-422-8626
Treasurer Karla Seidel
(h) 817-481-7123
Scholarship Chair |
Girl Scout WorkShop Chair |
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Fund Development |
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Girl Scout W/S Volunteer Chair |
Certificate of Merit Chair Margaret Bareis |
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Society of Women Engineers