I hope everyone had a wonderful summer with hopefully some fantastic vacations and outdoor time with family and friends!
Since our last meeting in June, the Houston Gulf Coast chapter board has met and finalized the remaining meetings for the second half of the year and began to plan for the 2023.
Our board meeting was focused on our monthly meeting schedule, happy hours, sponsors, scholarships, and speakers. Here is a brief overview of our board meeting and upcoming plans:
Dale Carnegie Webinar
We postponed this webinar to October 27th with some minor changes due to low attendance. This webinar will be free to all participants both members and non-members. It is a great opportunity to learn about disagreeing agreeably while receiving 1 PDH from Dale Carnegie.
Happy Hour
We would like to help our members to engage with one another and have fun, so we are planning one additional happy hour for this year and are also exploring the option of having a joint happy hour with another professional organization in Houston. We are also trying to find a sponsor for this upcoming happy hour, if you know anyone interested in sponsoring this event, please contact any of the board members.
Scholarship
The board is so excited to again offer one scholarship cash grant of $1250 this year. The application deadline is September 30, 2022. This scholarship will be open to University of Houston, Texas A&M University (College Station), Prairie View A&M University and Rice University students. We will invite the recipient to attend one of our monthly meetings and give a short presentation on his/her research or internship experience. The hope is that we can engage students now who will eventually become a participating member.
Monthly Meetings (2023)
We are looking into resuming next year’s meetings in-person. We need your feedback for planning and will conduct a survey during each of the remaining general meetings this year as a basis for our next year’s planning.
Speakers (2023)
We are now looking for speakers for the next year. If you have suggestions for a speaker and / or topic, please let us know.
Grow SEAoT-Houston/Gulf Coast
We would like to invite different group of professionals to in person meetings next year, which I think is great for fostering relationships. The board also discussed having more diverse subjects in our monthly meetings that resonates with wider audiences. Stay tuned regarding this update.
It is great to be back and hope to see you all at our monthly meetings!
Sincerely,
Zahra Sara Buerstinghaus, Ph.D., P.E.
President
SEAoT Houston/Gulf Coast Chapter
