In Honor Of
Our American Engineers

The week of February 21, 2008 has been dedicated as National Engineers’ Week. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and honor the members of the Engineering Community. I commend you for your many accomplishments and contributions to our society and our great nation.

To those who have worked in the defense sector, we owe a special gratitude because your contributions have kept our country safe and free from aggression. Our cities and shores have been free from bombings and invasion because of our nation’s military, technological strength and your engineering contributions.

To those in the commercial sector, we thank you for your contributions in too many areas to mention. Your signature touches everything made by mankind, no matter how small and in every industry. I can visualize the engineering effort that not only developed a product, but the equipment used to manufacture and produce it. Your presence is everywhere.

You, the members of the engineering community, have made our lives safer, healthier, easier, more enjoyable, more efficient and more productive to say the very least. You have done this often under adverse conditions, through dedicated service and personal sacrifice, and for this, you also have our appreciation and our gratitude.

You are a unique breed; the better you do your work, the sooner you will be without a job, without an income and without a career. Knowing this, you always proceed and do your very best. Your function is to design yourself out of a job. You have done this admirably.

However, I am proud to be a member of the engineering community, knowing that we function to solve problems and move on to new challenges. I am proud, and you should also be proud, to be members of a profession that has performed so outstandingly.

We are still concerned about the crisis in engineering unemployment, under-utilization, off shoring and the importing of foreign workers. We will continue to tell others that our unemployed and under-utilized members of the engineering community must not be forgotten. We are also concerned about our students who are trying to enter the profession.

We must continuously strive for a manpower balance that provides our American engineers and students with the opportunity to pursue their careers and enhance their engineering skills. We shall prevail in this endeavor.

We thank you for your efforts, dedication and achievements. We applaud you and will tell the rest of the world of your capabilities, willingness, readiness and desire to do even more.

God bless you all, not only during National Engineers’ Week, but also throughout the year.

Richard F. Tax,
President

A New Beginning for AEA

Everyone has heard how the American Medical Association (AMA) serves the medical profession and doctors, supporting them and providing information to the public. Now, consider how we can build the American Engineering Association (AEA) into such a prestigious group for Engineers.  Briefly, an AMA for Engineers.  This is something we truly need to continue to ensure that American engineers are the best, most qualified and experienced engineers in the world today.  To this end we plan to make some changes – thus, “A New Beginning.”

To standardize and simplify our records: AEA dues/fees will be payable based on the calendar year, and no longer as a subscription beginning with the date you join and ending a year later.  The current dues payment will cover the present through Dec. 31, 2008.

Next, to build AEA into a formidable Engineering organization capable of dealing with the professional concerns of our members and those of the Engineering community, we will be improving AEA’s organizational structure.  By this we mean to recruit AEA Section representatives, set up AEA Sections around the country, hold local meetings, and enlist AEA Directors to represent each of the major Engineering disciplines.  These Directors should address the specific professional concerns and issues related to their discipline along with issues and concerns relating to all engineering fields.  Thus uniting the entire profession.

Until now, engineers have been divided by discipline and even sex.  That’s over!  With AEA we find unity.^1.

Finally, my goal has always been to ”Enhance the Engineering Profession and U.S. Engineering Capabilities.”  This means not only uniting engineers from all disciplines and addressing their important needs to insure a full and successful lifetime career, but also taking these needs, along with solutions, directly to our Representatives in Washington.  This will require a staff and office in the Washington D.C. area, plus representation on the Hill.

All of these goals depend upon YOU, the members of the Engineering community.  With your support and desire to enhance our profession I know we will succeed.^2.

Please, join us in our quest for a better profession.

Sincerely,
Richard F. Tax
President

1.  A glance at AEA  http://www.aea.org/aeaGlancePrint.pdf
2.  This will get you started  http://www.aea.org/membership.htm