Midnight Sun Brewery Tour

Thanks to Katie Johnson for organizing a tour of the Midnight Sun Brewery last night. We had an excellent turnout with new faces and great social dinner after the tour. Gary, our tour guide, was very informative and highlighted interesting facts on the oldest brewery in Anchorage. We were also excited to find out that he started his career life as a civil engineer! Midnight Sun had a great selection of festive beers and even featured a tasty beer for breast cancer awareness.

New Addition to the Nutter Family

Congratulations to Keri Nutter, Outreach Co-Chair, in delivering a healthy baby girl on Oct. 25th! Welcome the newest member of the SWE Greatland Section, Audrey Grace. Audrey was born at 4:17pm weighing 7 lbs 11 oz and 20.5 inches long. The Nutter family is happy and healthy. We can only hope we have another engineer on our hands!

ASHRAE Presidential Member Bellenger Remembered

We are saddened to hear that another great female engineer has passed. Immediate past ASHRAE President Lynn G. Bellenger, who served as the first woman president in the Society’s 116 year history, passed away Wednesday, Oct. 19. She was president for the 2010-11 Society year, with her term ending in June 2011.

Bellenger, P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, was a recognized expert in energy management, with a strong focus on the need for energy modeling to help create and refine more efficient buildings. She was a partner, Pathfinder Engineers & Architects, Rochester, N.Y.

To honor the remarkable legacy that she leaves, ASHRAE announced on Friday the creation of the Lynn G. Bellenger Memorial Fund, which will be used to recognize women in engineering through scholarships or other means. Please click here if you would like to donate. Otherwise, contributions can be mailed to Lynn G. Bellenger Memorial Fund c/o ASHRAE 1791 Tullie Cir. NE Atlanta, GA 30329.

Bellenger was a recipient of an ASHRAE Exceptional Service Award, a Distinguished Service Award, two first-place ASHRAE Technology Awards and the Lincoln Bouillon Membership Award. She received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Principia College and a Master of Science in environmental science from Rutgers University.

SWE Greatland Meeting: Women & Politics

Thanks to Janet Reiser for speaking at our monthly meeting today. As a female engineer, she shared her experiences in the world of politics - what made her run for State Senate, what campaigning was like, and lessons learned from the experience. It was very informative and enlightening. Thanks Janet!

SWE Greatland Update 10-18-11

October is looking busy, see what we've got to look forward to...SWE Greatland Update 10-18-11.

JBER Girl Scout Workshop

Volunteers Melissa Branch, Keri Nutter, Shorty Mormilo, and Jo Neumaier participated in the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) Girl Scouts Art, Architecture, and Engineering workshop at Ft Richardson today. This is the first time SWE Greatland has participated in this particular workshop. Approximately 80 girls grades 4 through 9 attended and participated in the event. Our activity was "dirt towers" to explain and exhibit the use of geosynthetics to strengthen roads, retaining structures, and embankments. Thanks to the volunteers that gave up their Saturday to educate our future engineers!

KAKM Harvest of Wines

Thanks to the 15 volunteers that helped out with the annual KAKM Harvest of Wines. Your hard work made the event run smoothly and KAKM is grateful for your time and dedication. It was a good time by all with silent auction, live auction, and great food with wine. It gives us a great opportunity to publicize SWE and network with the community. Thanks again to: Becky, Jason, Cindy, Melissa, Kristin, Katie, Sarah, Laura, Tanya, Keri, Tyler, Sharon, Karen, Haide, and Jen.

SWE Greatland Board Meeting

The SWE Greatland officers met today to discuss upcoming meetings for the rest of the year, potential leadership workshop, volunteer opportunities, and approved the FY12 budget. This month we are busy with helping at KAKM Harvest of Wines (Oct 14th), JBER Girl Scout workshop (Oct 15th), our monthly meeting "Women in Politics" (Oct 19th), and the brewery tour at Midnight Sun (Oct 26th). Click here to view our meeting minutes. If you are interested in any of our activities, contact any of our officers, sign up for our weekly updates, or look us up on facebook!