As most of you know, the Texas Section ASCE meets semiannually at ever-changing locations across our great state for their Spring and their Fall “Meetings” (now called “Conferences”). In fact, planning is already underway by the Fort Worth Branch Host Committee for the Fall 2012 Texas Section Conference to be held here November 7th thru the 10th, 2012. The theme of the Conference is “Where the Centennial Begins.....”, acknowledging soon upcoming 100th Anniversary year of the Texas Section ASCE.

At least 22 such semiannual Section Meetings have been in Cowtown since the founding of the Texas Section 98 years ago. Based on the publication “The First Eighty Five Years, A History of the Texas Section, American Society of Civil Engineers”, the following is list of the years of those meetings as well as a some interesting highlights of a few.

1915 - Fort Worth was the site of the Fall meeting. It was just earlier that year when at the Spring Meeting in San Antonio wives began to attend the Section meetings.

1919 1922 1925

1928 - Continuing work was done at this Spring Meeting on the efforts to have the state pass a License Bill for Engineers.

1931 - A new constitution for Texas Section was finalized at this Spring Meeting. Students from the University of Texas and Texas A&M were present, which was the first record of any student attendance.

1936 - The Fall program included many papers on various historical aspects of engineering in the first century of Texas' existence as a republic, a member of the United States of America, and a member of the Confederate States of America. Members attended the Frontier Centennial show and on Saturday traveled to Dallas where the Texas Centennial Exposition was enjoyed along with the Texas- Oklahoma football game. Progress was also being made at this meeting on the License Law which was approaching its critical period of promotion in Texas.

1939 - The Section’s now-traditional complimentary breakfast for students was began at this Fall Meeting.

1941

1947 - This Fall Meeting was divided between Fort Worth and Mineral Wells and much of the program was devoted to the problems of airports.

1952 - Fort Worth was the site of this Fall Meeting during the centennial year of national ASCE.

1955 1959 1965

1972 - During this Spring Meeting at the Rice Hotel, the Executive Committee made plans to meet in the summer to complete the revision of the Rules of Operations for the Section.

1976 - At this Spring Meeting the board made plans to study “technical committees”.

1982 1987

1992 - A plaque was dedicated during this Spring Meeting at the Holly Pump Station and the Holly Water Treatment Plant designating them a Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks. The student canoe races were held at Grapevine Lake.

1997 – The Fort Worth Branch hosted this Spring meeting in Arlington.

2002 2007

As with so many prior Section Meetings that have been in Fort Worth, only time will tell the true historic significance of the upcoming 2012 meeting. So mark your calendars for November 7-10, 2012 and plan to be a part of history-in-the-making at the Renaissance Worthington!

- John P. Wier, P.E., R.P.L.S., Historical Chair, Fort Worth Branch ASCE, November 2011