Glenn/Bragaw Interchange Tour

Last week we had the opportunity to walk through the newly opened Glenn Highway/Bragaw Street Interchange. Jon Carpenter and Kevin Kruger of Wilder Construction took a little time to tell us about the background and timeline of the project. We discussed the difference between the design-build process used for this project and the typical design-bid-build process. We learned that the 42” water main that runs under the new bridge fill had to be fully encased in concrete before the fill could be placed and got to see some photos of the process. Wilder shared their experience of coming across two contaminated sites that were not anticipated when the project began and how they were dealt with. We also got to see some time lapse photos and videos of the bridge girders going up. Following their presentation, Kevin took our group on a site tour. Hard hats and vests were required because we were walking into some closed portions of the site. Drivers and other pedestrians seemed to think we were just being overly cautious while walking on the new sidewalks and trails. We were able to utilize the brand new pedestrian push-buttons that make noises so you know they’ve been triggered. We walked across the new bridge, looking down on rush hour traffic on the Glenn Highway. Even though the project only officially opened last week, it operates like it’s always been here. I showed the group the newly realigned headwaters of Chester Creek. Before it was a filthy ditch that surprisingly turned out to be wetlands and impacts had to be mitigated. The newly re-vegetated ditch now looks like a creek and I feel bad for anyone who wants to change it after us because it won’t be easy! Landscaping and artwork are the two main components left to complete next year and I hope we can go out again to see the finished product. Thanks to everyone who attended and shared in the discussions, and to my Wilder guys for staying late to share with us. All of you made it a great experience!

SWE FY09 Kick-off

SWE Greatland had a great kick-off meeting on Wednesday. It was great to see new faces, as well as returning members. There was about 15 participants. We started off with an ice breaker that helped us get to know each other. We enjoyed yummy munchies over great conversation. It was a great way to kick off the new fiscal year. Melissa, the President, gave a brief overview of what SWE Greatland is about and the activities they've been involved in. We hope to continue our activities and be more active in the local schools. We are looking forward to some new and exciting meetings this year so stay tuned!

SWE FY09

It's here already!! SWE FY09! The Board had it's first meeting this past Tuesday where we discussed our ideas for the new SWE year. We hope to continue our outreach programs, increase membership, charity functions, and brainstorm on meeting ideas. All ideas and suggestions are greatly appreciated! Please contact any of the officers if you have an idea. We'll be starting the year with our annual kick-off meeting which is typically a casual meet 'n greet function where members can come and meet the officers and learn what SWE Greatland is all about! We've determined that SWE monthly meetings will be held the 2nd Wednesday of every month at DOWL Engineers. Look for announcements for our September meeting! If you wish to be on the SWE Greatland mailing list, please contact any of our officers. We look forward to meeting you soon!

SWE End-of-the-Year BBQ

With nice June sunshine and great company, the SWE end-of-the-year bar-b-que was well attended and a good time by all! Laura Strand was generous enough to host the event on June 19th at her home. With approximately 20 attendees, there was plenty of food and left overs to go around. We shared comments on the Alaska Run for Women port-a-potty entry (pictures forthcoming), networked, and mentioned upcoming SWE ideas for the new fiscal year. Have a great summer everyone and see you in the fall!!

Toastmasters Meeting Recap

Thanks to Duane Epton who presented at our SWE Greatland meeting on Wednesday. Duane gave us lots of good advice on how to be an effective communicator and leader. He reviewed the essential skills to be a good speaker, how to grab someone's attention and be clear and concise about what your trying to communicate to your audience. Fellow toastmasters attended the meeting and gave great testimonials on how toastmasters has changed their life! It was encouraging to know that many of our peers have the same fears and discomforts about speaking in front of groups and knowing that they have overcome those obstacles by joining toastmasters.

Also, we would like to congratulate our first recipients of our SWE Greatland Scholarships that we launched off this year:
Margaret Dunn - East HS
Roxanne Risse - South HS
Marina Critchett - Homer HS
Each recipient received $500 toward their engineering education. Congratulations to all the applicants. It was a hard decision as they were all deserving of this award. We hope to continue our scholarship program every year here on out. If you're interested in serving on our scholarship committee, please contact any of our officers.

Working Mothers Panel & MS Walk Recap

A BIG thank-you goes out to our working mothers who served on our panel for our April 9th meeting: Mary, Carey, Erin and Anne! We appreciate you taking the time out of your busy lives to share with those who plan on having children someday while working at the same time. These working mothers gave great advice and shared a lot of the same helpful hints: don't hesitate to ask for help, take a few minutes everyday to relax, enjoy the time with your baby - time goes by too fast, and don't forget to take care of yourself too! Although the meeting wasn't well attended, those who came got a lot out of it where it was a personable meeting with flowing conversation.

The MS Walk was a success! Team SWE surpassed their goal of $500. We raised close to $700 to not only support research for a cure tomorrow, but also to provide programs which address the needs of people living with MS today. It was a beautiful spring day. Our team of 8 joined 1,100 other walkers around Lake Hood to help fund MS research. Some of us ended up at the free bar-b-que at the finish line to fill up on free hot dogs and chips. It was a good time by all!

SWE Region J Conference - Vancouver

Some of us just got back from the Region J Conference in Vancouver/Portland area and had a wonderful time. The theme was 'Sustainable and Responsible Engineering.' We had the privilege of lodging in the first LEED certified Hilton in the world! We got to experience wonderful workshops on sustainability from 'The Solar Highway' to 'Agricycle' as well as sessions that taught us how to communicate effectively and strategize toward our future career goals. Keynote speakers included the National SWE President - Michelle Tortolani, Mayor of Vancouver - Royce Pollard and Oregon Secretary of State - Bill Bradbury. All the speakers gave an eye opener of how we can do little things to protect the environment in a big way. The conference was well attended with approximately 150 participants. There were four professional representatives from the Greatland Section and one student from Fairbanks. We enjoyed networking with our fellow region members and exchanging ideas for our sections.

Tomorrow we hope to see you at our monthly meeting featuring a working mother's panel. Five working mothers will answer questions on finding a work-life balance and much more. The meeting will take place at DOWL Engineers located at 4041 B Street at 5:30pm. Please bring some questions to ask and stories to share.

Negotiation Workshop Recap

Angie Richards from The Growth Company gave an excellent presentation on negotiating on Saturday. It was well attended with 21 participants! She taught us that the way to become a good negotiator is to be a good listener, ask better questions, and do your homework! Key strategies should include knowing your objectives and outcomes and develop a list of alternative outcomes. She gave a great overview of the do's and don'ts of negotiating. We received wonderful feedback from the attendees and do hope to continue this type of program in the future. All the attendees stated they would attend another! If you missed this one, but are interested in similar workshops provided by The Growth Company, log onto their website. They offer a variety of workshops and their instructors are highly recommended!

Upcoming Events

A few things are coming up and we don't want you to miss out!
**Only a few more days left until you can register for our Negotiations Workshop, held Saturday 3/29/08. If you're interested and haven't turned in your registration, please contact Cindy Ellis at 907.267.4833.
**Also, we have our MS Walk website up and running. Team SWE will be participating in the walk for MS. We've been successful in raising $500 in years past and enjoy participating every year. If you are interested in joining the team, log onto our team website. The 4 mile walk starts at 10:00am on 4/19/08 at the Millennium Hotel, proceeds around Lake Hood, and ends at the DOT&PF Headquarters parking lot with a free BBQ.
**Our working panels meeting has been determined. It will be held 4/9/08 at DOWL Engineers. We'll be having a panel of 5 mothers with different backgrounds who have had experience juggling children with work. For those of you who are thinking of starting a family some day, please come and bring questions! This has been a popular request for a few years now and we are looking forward to a great program.
If you have any questions regarding our programs and events, don't hesitate to contact any of our officers. Contact information can be found on our website: http://www.swealaska.org/.

Welcome to the SWE Greatland Blog!

I read in the SWE Magazine that blogging is a great way to announce upcoming events and recap our past events. I thought it was a great idea! I am looking forward to informing members, sponsors and co-workers how our activities are doing. Yesterday we had our second social lunch at Doriolas in mid-town Anchorage. We had a bigger turnout than our last social lunch, approximately 15 people attended and it was a great time for networking and socializing. It's become a popular interest and we hope to organize more in the future months. Stay tuned for details for our next social lunch! Upcoming events we are looking forward to:

• Negiotiations Workshop - 3/29/08
• MathCounts - 3/29/08
• SWE Region J Conference - 4/4/08-4/6/08
• Working Mothers Panel - TBD
• MS Walk - 4/19/08