PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Transitioning to a New Year
Helen V. Hickman, CPG-07535
hickmanhydro@att.net
Welcome to the new and returning members of the American Institute of Professional Geologists. The first TPG of 2016 means that the President’s message is written by somebody new! My name is Helen Hickman and I am your 2016 President. I will briefly introduce the new 2016 Executive Committee includ- ing me below to those who do not know us yet, but firstly I wish to thank our Immediate Past President, Dr. Foster Sawyer, who has served AIPG with such dedication last year as the 2015 President. As you probably know, Foster is a professor who works with students every day at the South Dakota School of Mines. He worked particularly hard last year, combining his duties as 2015 AIPG President in what turned out to be an unusually complicated year - with his duties as teacher, mentor and advisor at his regular job, so he certainly deserves our thanks for his efforts. However, he is not quite off the hook! I continue to look forward to working with him on the Executive Board this year, as the Immediate Past President.
Traditionally, the first edition of TPG focuses on our student members. It is an opportunity for students to write and submit articles that will be read by all AIPG members. This provides all our members a window into the lives of students in today’s fluctuating, fast- paced and competitive environment, and introduces everyone in the organization to the important aspects of a student Geoscientist’s life, like how a student uses Google Earth or the importance of field work. This issue also contains articles by practicing and retired pro- fessional geoscientists. It contains won- derful advice on the important subjects that are not taught on most University curricula - like the need for a mentor; Loss Prevention; how to adapt to the new “Energy” career market. AIPG can provide information on what it takes to obtain a license to practice as a geosci-
entist in the United States or overseas, if international travel appeals to you. Did you know that AIPG has cooperative agreements with several organizations overseas including Canada, Britain and Europe? The AIPG offers something for everyone at all stages in their careers, and we believe that we can all succeed by helping each other.
How can we help you to be successful as students and transition into a suc- cessful career? AIPG wants to encourage all Geosciences students to become full members of AIPG. We would like AIPG student sections in Universities across this country, so we can provide sup- port to students that supplements their Departmental and University career centers. It is for this reason that our student membership is free. We are a unique organization that focuses on the importance of educating our members on the Geosciences profession. The student section is run by the students, which teaches leadership skills. An AIPG mem- ber is a sponsor for the chapter, so they can help guide the student Executive Committee and help with inviting speak- ers on topics that might be of interest to the Chapter. It is important that stu- dents think early in their careers about the types of courses they need to take to meet career goals, and that they network with professionals in order to broaden the opportunities to find a job. The state AIPG section organizes talks and field trips throughout the year; students are also welcome to attend these events.
Student members and Chapters are eligible to apply for scholarships. Now is the time to be applying for these scholar- ships. Some state AIPG sections award scholarships; for those opportunities you need to check with the individual section officers whose names and contact infor- mation will appear at
www.aipg.org, then click on Local AIPG to allow you to see information on the individual section contacts and websites. National AIPG
offers several scholarships for under- graduate and graduate students and a student Chapter can win an award too. Check the AIPG website under Students Resources for more information on mem- bership and scholarship information.
We have a wonderful staff at head- quarters in Denver, Colorado, so if you have any questions about membership- related issues, you can contact Vickie Hill via email; she is the Membership Services guru! All the staff information is listed on the website under “Contact”.
Now a short introduction of the 2016 Board and me: Our new 2016 Executive Committee are as follows: Foster Sawyer becomes Past President and Adam Heft, from the Michigan section, becomes President Elect. Adam has several years of involvement with AIPG, both at the National and section level, and is a very strong Michigan section member. David Pyles, the new Vice President from the Illinois/Indiana section is also a strong section member, having been the 2011 National Conference Chair in Chicago and served on the Advisory Board for the past two years. As Vice President, Dave will be coordinating the Advisory Board’s work with the individual Section officers, so if you need some help as a new section officer or inactive section, please talk with Dave. Doug Bartlett is our Treasurer in his second year of a two year term; Doug is also serving as chair of the Executive Director Search Committee, and serves other important roles in some business aspects of AIPG. He is a supporting member of the Arizona sec- tion and co-chaired the 2014 National Conference in Prescott, Arizona. Keri Nutter is our new Secretary – also a two year position. Keri has served on the Advisory Board for two years and was the Chair for the 2015 National Conference
President’s Message continued on page 33.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56