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The Homefront HEADER HERE Announcing the 2020–21 Chapter of the Year – Nashville

Curt Schmidt, Region 10 Director, Chapter Support Committee Co-chair, and Strategic Initiative Coordinator An independent committee of former AEG Chapter officers reviewed the Annual Chapter Reports submitted to AEG Headquarters. This year, being unlike any previous years due to COVID restrictions to meetings in person, the committee had to focus on Chapters that conducted virtual meetings for their members and others and maintained contact with their members through email and social media. The ad hoc committee selected the Nashville Chapter the Chapter who did these things with an exemplary manner. The Chapter was honored with a certificate at the 2021 Annual Meeting in San Antonio.

The Southern Nevada and the St. Louis Chapters were also awarded “Chapters of Distinction” for their efforts to offer online meetings and communication with their members.

Oregon Chapter

Ryan Cole, Secretary Hello from Oregon! In June, the Oregon Chapter elected new board members for 2022. These include Chair Nancy Calhoun, RG; Chair-elect Aine Mines, PE, CEG; Treasurer Bryon Free; Secretary Ryan Cole, RG; and Past Chair Mike Marshall, CEG, LEG. Unfortunately for the Chapter, Bryon Free is embarking on a new career opportunity as a high school teacher and had to resign his position. Congratulations Bryon, we wish you well on your new adventure and thank you for your service on the Board!

In early September we had a joint Regional meeting with AEG President Bill Godwin presenting to the Nisqually and Puget Sound Chapters. It was interesting and we hope to have another joint meeting in the future! Later in the month we held our first in-person meeting since the start of the pandemic. An outdoor social was held at Rogue Brewing’s Eastside Pub and Pilot Brewery, and was well attended by a mix of students, early career professionals, AEG long-haulers, and folks new to the Portland area. It was a very enthusiastic group, and it was great to see faces in-person again!

In October, our Chapter hosted a fantastic virtual meeting with a presentation by the Vice Chair of the Oregon State Board of Geologist Examiners, Ericka Koss, PE, CEG. Ericka provided an in-depth overview of new requirements for Continuing Education requirements for

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geologist registration in the State of Oregon. Did you know that eleven of the ASBOG states have Continuing Education requirements? Oregon is the newest state to join the club and will require RGs and CEGs to complete eight hours of continuing education each calendar year. Virtual AEG has been a wild ride, but we are looking forward to transitioning back to in-person events as more people get vaccinated, hospitalizations drop, and the restrictions on inperson gatherings are relaxed. Maybe we’ll all be maskless for Student Night in May 2022!

Texas Chapter

Skye Ibarra, Vice Chair Our 2021 fall meeting was held virtually and in coordination with Becky Johnson, PG, Chair of the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists. Becky presented a fantastic ethics hour and emphasized the importance of diversity and inclusion in STEM fields and organizations like AEG. We can support our current membership and new members by recognizing and working against bias and actively encouraging diversity in our activities and careers. She covered the ethics of situations like the water problems in Flint, Michigan, and the widespread development of coastal low-lying areas that will be directly affected by sea level rise in the coming decades. Lastly, we discussed the ethics inherent in being a licensed and practicing geoscientist and how those ethical practices protect the public. Our fall meeting included the chance to introduce our new board, courtesy of Pat Frost, our outgoing Chair. Chapter members voted in Eric Stiffler as the incoming Chair, Skye Ibarra as Vice-Chair, Beronica Lee-Brand as Treasurer, Matthew Cowan as Secretary, and Ashley Aguilar as Student Liaison. The evening of our virtual meeting included a Zoom social hour to give members a chance to catch up with friends before we jump back into in-person meetings later this year. Several of our members were able to take advantage of the AEG Annual Meeting being local this year and met up in San Antonio. AEG Texas Chapter members met up during the Annual Meeting in San Antonio. PHOTO COURTESY OF CYNTHIA PALOMARES