TEXTILES.ORG
By L. David Suits
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by outgoing NAGS president, Dean Sandri. There were 20 in attendance.
A brief overview of NAGS was given. NAGS is a chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society made up of individual members whose mission is: “To provide leadership in advancing the education and research of geosynthetics.” The management structure of NAGS includes an elected board of directors and a paid executive director.
The 2011–2013 board of directors included:
President: Dean Sandri–Anchor Wall
President-elect: Robert Mackey–S2Li
Treasurer: Corey Bobba–FHWA
Immediate Past President: David Elton–Auburn University
Vice Presidents: Marolo Alfaro–University of Manitoba, Richard Brachman–Queens University, John Henderson–TenCate, Jay McKelvey–Earth
Engineering Inc., Dhani Narejo–GSE
Executive Director: Dave Suits
Outgoing president Sandri reviewed his two years as president:
- Geo-Frontiers 2011 was a very successful event for NAGS. This was due
to the efforts of previous NAGS boards. - During the past two years, significant accomplishments in the following areas have been made: 1) Bimonthly board meetings, 2) Resurrection of regional short courses in conjunction with the Geosynthetics Materials Association (GMA), 3) Establishment of NAGS as a registered provider of professional development hours, 4) Initiated the process for an appropriate name change, 5) Bid on and was granted the hosting of the Geo-Americas 2016 conference.
Following these remarks, Sandri introduced incoming president, Robert Mackey, and turned the president’s gavel over to him. He wished Bob well and offered to listen, guide, and support his efforts. Mackey assumes this role following this biennial meeting.
The 2013–2015 board of directors was introduced:
President: Robert Mackey–S2Li
President-elect: John Henderson–TenCate
Treasurer: Corey Bobba–FHWA
Immediate Past President: Dean Sandri–Anchor Wall
Vice Presidents: Michael Bernardi–TenCate (newly elected member), Richard Brachman–Queens University, Jay McKelvey–Earth Engineering
Inc., Dhani Narejo–GSE
Executive Director: Dave Suits
Co-opt members to be determined by the board: Up to 2 co-opted members may be added.
Following the introduction of the new board, incoming president Mackey reviewed his goals for the next two years. He opened his remarks with the question, “Who or what is NAGS?” He shared these thoughts regarding the question: 1) NAGS is a society of dedicated and active members who help carry out the basic mission of the society of promoting education in the area of geosynthetics. They also belong to a number of other professional organizations that provide the opportunity for interaction with those who may not be familiar with these materials. 2) NAGS routinely interacts with a number of other geosynthetics related organizations in North America, including: the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) and its GMA division, the Geosynthetics Institute (GSI), the Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the International Association of Geosynthetic Installers (IAGI), the Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI), and the Canadian Geotechnical Society and its geosynthetics committee.
Mackey stated the following as his basic goals for the coming two years: 1) Strengthen the bridges with above organizations and build new ones with other groups, 2) Expand our definition of education, 3) Improve communications using our new website and Facebook page, 4) Bring the bylaws up to date, 5) Initiate development of a long-range strategic plan.
Following these remarks, Mackey recognized the outgoing NAGS officers: Dean Sandri as outgoing president, Marolo Alfaro as an outgoing vice president, and David Elton as outgoing past president.
The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.