If you’ve been perusing our Community, you may have noticed that former AACE President Chris Caddell posted a reminder that the 2023 election Call for Nominations is now open. He also shared his AACE experience, describing a multi-year involvement with the association, where he has been able to make friends, build connections, and strengthen his career while also giving back to the profession… and it all started because someone encouraged him to get involved.

Chris’ story very much echoes my own. When I joined AACE, I was what you would consider a “lurker” –  happy to scroll through all the wonderful technical content we have in our library so I could utilize what I learnt there to further my career. But in 2017, after completing the CCP, I had a conversation with some members of the Education Board about the quality of the study materials at the time. They invited me to join the Ed Board so I could help update these materials as well as create new content…and so I did… And I was hooked. How could I not get involved…become an intentional participant as they say…to help make better an association which has already given me so much?

We’re a few years down the road now and, like Chris, I have continued to be intentional in my participation. I have held several elected roles, including the one I am in now. And through these, I have made connections and friends whom I value quite highly, improved the depth and breadth of my professional experience, and have grown in my career. And these are very meaningful benefits I have gained from my relationship with our association. Today, as President, I have the privilege of being a part of the decision-making processes, which are shaping and driving the work our association is doing today to continue to add value to our members based on our updated vision because someone encouraged me to get more involved.

This also feels like the right moment to acknowledge some accomplishments of the AACE Board, volunteers, and staff who have been working hard on furthering the objectives of our vision and mission  and implementing tactics to meet the goals of our strategic plan.

1. We are working on an upgrade to our Communities platform, which will launch in November. Members will find it much easier to use, and it’s definitely more attractive. We’ve seen an uptick in usage of the current platform already! (Many thanks to Mary Kathryn, our newest staff member, who has been a significant addition to our membership engagement efforts behind the scenes.)
2. We also have plans to revitalize the mentoring program in the coming months, which will be called the AACE Mentor Network. To become a mentor, help grow our online community, or volunteer in another capacity, please fill out our volunteer form.
3. The Membership Advisory Committee (MAC) is also hard at work on a Section Modernization Plan. The implementation plan is slated to be ready for the Board to review at the October meeting. Headquarters has briefed section leaders on the plan during the section leader Zoom town hall, which was held recently – thank you to the over 100 volunteers who attended! More details to come soon.
4. Our DEI task force continues to meet to follow up on actions which came out of our June Board meeting and will present a report to the Board at our October Board meeting
5. The Ed Board is working on curriculum materials with selected post secondary institutions and expansion of the online learning modules. Volunteers for these efforts are always welcome. Please contact Teri Jefferson for more details.
6. The Tech Board’s estimating sub-committee is gearing up for a gap analysis effort. Please contact Dave Kyle, the subcommittee chair, for more details.
7. Our Women in Project Controls and Rising Professionals committees continue to innovate on member presentations, content, and methods of engagement.

Let me encourage you to reach out, have a conversation, share your concerns and interests, and consider volunteering. You can also follow our brand new Instagram and Facebook pages and share with us and about us through those platforms. All social links can be found in this one easy place: https://linktr.ee/aaceinternational.

Best regards,

Shoshanna