Featuring Local Speakers and Chapter Camaraderie, the IECA Family Is Your Source for Education

By Charles R. Riling, Jr.

I attended my first chapter event in 1996 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the Mid-Atlantic Chapter’s (MAC) 3rd Annual Conference. It happened to be the 25th Anniversary of IECA. I had never heard of IECA or the MAC until I received a conference announcement during the summer of 1996.

A Whole New World
A buddy of mine for many years, Mr. Bob Weiford, had started working for the newly formed West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection. This division previously was a part of the Division of Natural Resources. He also had seen the announcement, and we thought this would be a worthwhile venture for us to expand our knowledge base about erosion and sediment control. West Virginia was just beginning to get heavily involved into protecting our state’s waters from pollution caused by construction activities.

The West Virginia Division of Highways had an erosion and sediment control manual that was developed in 1972. It was very seldom used and never enforced. In 1993, I was given the task of updating the manual to make it understandable and useful. This task returned to my plate when I had to do a second manual in 1995 utilizing metric units. Getting involved with the MAC and IECA helped reinforce what I had done with the updated manual and provided more insight to what was needed in the future.

What better way to learn about what was going on in our own backyard than to attend a conference representing the states of the Mid-Atlantic region? Both Bob and I wanted to find out what other states were doing and how they were approaching dealing with erosion and sediment control on construction projects. It gave me the opportunity not only to learn how highway construction issues were being handled elsewhere, but also it enlightened me to the world of erosion and sediment control by introducing me to the vast amounts of products on the market. In West Virginia, we were using rolled matting, and that was about it. In addition to all of this, and possibly more important, were the number of contacts I made that I could call on to try and resolve problems. On top of all of this, I literally found a whole other world known as the International Erosion Control Association. I was happier than a pig wallowing in mud!

You probably are asking yourself, Why is this fool babbling on and on? If you are like me, you will learn quickly that you are not the only one having these types of problems. They exist all around the world. It is nice to have people that you can relate to and talk to. If you are on the fence about whether to get involved, jump to your local chapter’s side of the fence and learn what you have been missing. It is a rewarding feeling to know that you can be involved in an organization that is working diligently towards providing protection of the world’s water resources by practicing more responsible construction practices. Not only will you learn how to succeed in your job, but the “family” atmosphere of the chapter and of IECA in general will also be one that you will cherish.

Local Speakers, Quality Education
As chair of the Chapter Advisory Committee (CAC) for the past couple of years, I would like to tell you about an important tool that we, in conjunction with the Professional Development Committee (PDC), have put together for the benefit of anyone planning a conference or a workshop. Have you ever had the task of putting together a technical program for a conference or workshop, and you didn’t know where to start?  You may have an idea of the subject matter that you would like to present, but you have no clue where you can find a speaker. Now you can find that person that will make your show a success.

The CAC and PDC have developed a Speakers Bureau that is available through the Chapter Portal of IECA’s web page.  If you do not know how to access the Chapter Portal, please contact your chapter president or IECA staff for instructions. It is important that we populate this invaluable tool with speaker names and contact information to make life easier in the future when you are trying to find that one-in-a-million speaker.

Here’s how the Speakers Bureau works. During your travels to meetings, conferences and workshops, when you hear people give presentations that you think everyone would enjoy, just do the following:

• Tell them how much you enjoyed the presentation.
• Ask them if they would be willing to present in other areas.
• Tell them about IECA’s Speakers Bureau and that you would like to nominate them for inclusion in the database. If they reply yes, inform them that they will receive an e-mail from IECA asking for confirmation that they are agreeable to be placed on the roster.
• You will need to go to the Chapter Portal of the IECA web page. Once you have entered the portal, go to the Speakers Bureau link. Once there, fill in the appropriate information and submit to IECA. You are finished, and now others can benefit by bringing that particular speaker to their conference or workshop! This is the way that IECA can keep spreading quality education across the country at a grassroots level.
• There are many people to thank for making this Speakers Bureau idea become a reality. All the members of the CAC and PDC spent several meetings putting together the criteria necessary to make this a very functional tool. I wish to thank each and every one of them for the tireless efforts they not only provided for this endeavor, but for all the hard work that each committee does on a daily basis. You are never thanked enough as a volunteer. I would like to thank IECA staff member Meg Tully for guiding us through this process and IT Manager Scott Johnson for putting it together in an online process. A job well done!

As you can see, my involvement with the IECA family has grown over the years, because I find that I get more out of it than I give. Whether you choose to be involved in your local chapter, as a speaker, or as a committee member, I believe that you will find involvement to be a worthwhile experience. So give it a try-the IECA family will welcome you!

– Charles R. Riling, Jr. serves on IECA’s Board of Directors as technical vice president. He is the immediate past chair of the Chapter Advisory Committee.