BRANCH SECRETARY MONTHLY MEETING REPORT
TEXAS SECTION-ASCE
Please send to the Executive Secretary, Texas Section-ASCE, 1524 S. IH-35, Suite 180, Austin, Texas 78704, after each meeting. (Phone: 512-472-8905 Fax: 512-472-5641 E-Mail: )
ATTENDANCE
BRANCH: Fort Worth Meeting Members: 31
DATE OF MEETING: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 Spouses: 0
LOCATION: Richland Hills Church of Christ Guests: 5
Fort Worth, Texas Students: 0
PRESIDING: John Wier, P.E. Total: 36
(X ) President ( ) Other
A. Board Meeting
· No Board Meeting was held
B. Business Meeting Comments:
· John Wier welcomed everyone to the February meeting of the Fort Worth Branch.
· Curtis Beitel gave the invocation.
· John recognized guests at each of the tables
· John discussed the upcoming Engineer’s Week Reception
§ This year’s Engineer’s Week is being called “Engineers Make a World of Difference”
§ A reception is being held from 4pm-7pm at the Petroleum Club in downtown Fort Worth
§ The Engineers Week Banquet will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2006, at the Petroleum Club
· Scott Berman introduced Jay Sappington as the Fort Worth Branch Edmund Friedman Young Engineer of the Year
· Jay Sappington gave an acceptance speech. He will officially receive the award at the banquet on Saturday.
· John introduced Scott Berman for the Younger Member Announcements
o The younger members will have a brewery tour on Wednesday
o Fort Worth Golden Gloves competition starts this week. Volunteers are needed from the Fort Worth Branch
o The Science Fair, to be held at UTA, needs judges. Scott requested volunteers.
o ASCE Fort Worth Branch tree grates are still for sale
· Devon Tiner provided an update on the Membership contest.
· Roxanne Pillar then introduced Kim Dignum, today’s speaker.
C. Program Highlights:
Speaker: Kim Dignum, Certified Financial Planner, Exec. V.P., Summit Financial Partners
Title of Presentation: “Engineering Your Financial Future”
Program Comments or Highlights:
· Ms. Dignum started by asking the group if we had done our “Sudoku” for the day. There was little to no response.
· She then explained how the Financial Planning process is also like problem solving for engineers.
· There are important steps to the Financial Planning Process:
1. Need to prepare a Financial Position Statement (where you are)
2. Need to plan for finances (where you’ll go)
3. Make a budget
4. Look at different obstacles that can get in your way, such as insurance, health, aging, parents, children, family, college, etc.
· College is a huge robber of retirement funds.
· Ms. Dignum said that if we can, max our our 401k and 457 plans. She also stated that pension plans are starting to go away and social security may not be around when we retire..
· A good source of retirement savings is a Roth IRA. It can grow tax-free.
· How do you plan for retirement when your plan is not enough? You can take greater risks or you can put more money away.
· What is asset allocation? It tells you what you have in assets.
· Ms. Dignum recommends finding a professional for financial advice. There are fee-based planners and commission-based planners. She recommends fee-based planners.
· In the Question & Answer session, topics included:
1. Roth IRA – Ms. Dignum said the Roth option is in our 401(k) plans, if your employer provides it.
2. Banks – Banks are now providing financial planning. Some have brokers in the lobbies. Some have comprehensive planning (recommended over brokers)
3. What are pros/cons of 529 plan? Pros – Tax-free earnings until 2010, then taxed at Child’s tax rate, and the funds can be moved around to anyone in your family for education. Cons – Has to be used only for education.
D. Close of Meeting:
· Roxanne thanked Ms. Dignum for the presentation and presented her with an ASCE gold bar.
· Roxanne mentioned the speaker/program for the next meeting – Renee Lamb, Tarrant County, speaking on the County’s upcoming Bond Election
· John adjourned the meeting and asked everyone to bus their trays.
Submitted by: Stephen Crawford – Secretary E-Mail:
Phone: 817-847-1422 Fax: 817-232-9784