before the package goes forward to the Surgeon General for approval. RADM Williams reiterated the importance of the Healthy Building Initiative to the Engineer category, the PHS, and to the entire Nation at large.
6. Mentoring Program: The necessary framework and materials are now ready to set the mentoring program in motion. RADM Williams encourages all Engineers and Architects to visit the mentoring web site (www.usphsengineers.org/menthome.htm) and to actively participate in the program.
7. Senior Leadership Networking: The OCE is giving some thought to the formation of a discussion group of senior managers from the various OPDIVs to provide occasional feedback to the Chief Engineer on the status of the Engineer category. More information will be forthcoming as this develops.
8. Junior Engineers and EPAC: RADM Williams encourages the EPAC to recruit more Junior Engineers and Architects into the committee. The future of the EPAC rests with the junior officers of today.
9. The PHS March: Many of us have never heard the PHS song/march, or even knew one existed. It is often played at national meetings, especially when in the company of other service organizations. The OCE is planning to have the march re-recorded and available for listening on the engineers web site so that some of us will recognize it when we hear it.
EPAC Chair: CAPT
Kinney reported the following:
The EPAC Chair is accepting all requests from EPAC members
who currently do not have designated alternates. There is a specific form that is required (see Bylaws Attachment
C). All members must have a designated
alternate, so please fill out the form and get it in if you do not have one.
Division
of Commissioned Personnel (DCP) Liaison:
LT Scharen reported the following for CDR Marylouise Ganaway:
1.
CDR Ganaway will be in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 1st
for two career sessions.
2.
CDR Ganaway is working with the EPAC Recruiting and
Retention Subcommittee to match engineer applicants with PHS engineering
vacancies.
3.
CDR Ganaway is looking for an engineer volunteer to go
with her to the Citadel Military College of South Carolina on September 29 for
a career day.
Commissioned Officers
Association (COA) Liaison: No report was given this month.
Junior
Engineer Report: LT Boyd reported
the following:
1.
The OSG Junior Officer Ad Hoc Committee will be
reconvening in the near future to discuss the possibility of establishing a
Junior Officer Professional Advisory Committee.
2.
The Career Development and Mentoring Subcommittees are
working together to reach our newest Engineers and Architects and promote the
Mentoring Program. Additional
information will be put in the welcome package and presented during the welcome
call on mentoring, and the new engineers hired since 1999 will be contacted as
potential proteges by the Mentoring Subcommittee.
3.
The Rules Subcommittee put together a proposal to
increase Junior Engineer involvement on the EPAC. LT Boyd requested that the EPAC consider the recommendations of
this proposal and offered additional suggestions for including (formally or
informally) Junior Engineers in EPAC activities.
Job Vacancies:
There were no new vacancy announcements.
Known vacancies are posted on the PHS Engineers web site (www.usphsengineers.org/vacancy.htm).
OLD BUSINESS
There were no Old Business items discussed.
NEW BUSINESS
SAME Committee
Involvement by the EPAC: LT Scharen
reported the following:
LT Scharen accompanied RADM Williams and CAPT Rodenbeck in attending the Society of American Military Engineers’ (SAME) National Education and Training Conference held in San Diego on May 17 – 20. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the type of engineering the other services are involved with, especially the Coast Guard and Air Force, who expressed the most interest in the PHS. There were over 1,300 people at the conference, most of which are involved in the design and construction business. There are several SAME committees that mirror the subcommittee work in EPAC, such as the Awards, Readiness, and Mentoring subcommittees. They also have a Young Member group similar to the Junior Officer Ad Hoc Committee. SAME presents the opportunity for PHS engineers to be active in these committees, which may present new ideas and perspectives for the PHS. The next annual conference is scheduled to be in Nashville the last week in May 2001.
SAME Liaison Proposal: As a follow-up to the discussion above, CAPT Rodenbeck proposed a motion to the EPAC that a position for a new ex-officio member be established to serve as the SAME Liaison. The person recommended to fill that position was LT Scharen. CAPT Kinney put the motion to a vote, and it carried unanimously.
Ian K. Burgess Outstanding Young Engineer of the Year (YEOY) Award: CDR West reported that this year the Awards Subcommittee received three nominations for the Ian K. Burgess YEOY Award; however, one nominee was found ineligible. Of the remaining two nominees, one turned out to be Civil Service (CS) and the other Commissioned Corps (CC). The awards selection committee, composed of a panel of seven engineers representing five or six different OPDIVs, scored the two virtually equal. Therefore, the Awards Subcommittee recommended to the Chief Engineer that the award be presented to both engineers. This outcome raises the question of whether there should be two Ian K. Burgess awards established; one specifically for CS engineers and the other for CC. The benefits would include: 1) promoting the accomplishments of CS engineers, 2) increasing the opportunity for our Junior Engineers to be recognized, and 3) it may increase the number of nominations for the award. The question was brought to the floor for debate. There was one opinion expressed that the creation of a second award, especially when there are so few nominations submitted already, would “water down” the significance of the award. However, others argued that there is a perception that the award is only for CC engineers, and that a separate award for CS applicants is justified and would increase the number of nominations submitted. A clarification was made that if there were only one nominee for either the CS or CC award that it did not necessarily mean that person would get an automatic award. The Subcommittee will still make recommendations to the Chief Engineer of those deserving of the award, but may also recommend no award be given if it feels the nominees are without merit. A motion was presented that, when appropriate, based on the quality of the candidates, that the EPAC consider awarding both a CS and CC Ian K. Burgess Award. The motion passed unanimously.
SUBCOMMITTEE
REPORTS
1. Awards: CDR
West reported the following.
USPHS Literary Awards: The Literary
Award evaluations are complete, the winners have been notified and their names
have been posted on the web. The
plaques have been ordered and certificates completed.
Ian K. Burgess Outstanding YEOY Award:
As with the Literary Awards, the winners have been notified and the plaques
have been ordered.
SAME Awards: The Subcommittee has
drafted a call for nominations to name the awards and is ready to submit it to
the OCE for comment. The Subcommittee
is also working on a nomination process commensurate with the SAME schedule and
criteria. Specifics from SAME are still
pending.
2. Building Design
& Construction: CDR Martinez was not available for the meeting and no
report was given. CAPT Cuzme announced
that the Healthy Buildings Seminar will be held on June 27-28 in San Antonio,
Texas, and encourages members from the Subcommittee to attend if possible. For more information, contact CAPT Cuzme.
3. Career Development: Ms. Hayes reported
the following.
Welcome Program Update: The latest batch
of welcome letters from RADM Williams has been sent to the new engineers. LT Boyd will be asking CAPT Kinney to send
the welcome package to these new engineers very soon. After that, LT Boyd will be sending emails to EPAC members asking
them to make welcome calls to these new engineers. Please make these calls as soon as you can because several
subcommittees use the information that is gained from these calls.
Engineering Leadership Development Seminar: This is currently the Subcommittee’s major effort. The Subcommittee has tentatively decided on several items regarding the seminar.
It
will be mid to late March 2001.
It
will be 2½ days plus a reception/icebreaker the evening before the first day of
the seminar.
We
are considering 4 locations at this time-San Antonio, Las Vegas, the D.C. metro
area, and Denver.
The Office of
the Chief Engineer will sponsor a conference planner to handle the logistical
details for the seminar. A task order
is currently being written for the conference planner. The Subcommittee is having a couple of
conference calls this month to brainstorm topics that would be appropriate for
junior level engineers and topics that would be appropriate for mid-level to
senior engineers. Anyone is welcome to
join those conference calls. We would
be especially glad for input from any civil service engineers. Contact Lisa for information on the
conference calls. After the topics are
agreed on, we will begin to identify speakers.
The next
Career Development Subcommittee call is June 15 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
4. Emergency Preparedness: CAPT Rodenbeck reported the following.
The
Subcommittee is continuing its effort to develop a guide on how to select
engineers for deployment. The
Subcommittee plans to have a draft for the EPAC to review by the August
meeting. If approved it will go to the
OCE for final approval before being sent to the Office of Emergency
Preparedness (OEP). The information is
intended to help OEP understand what functions/tasks engineers can perform
during emergencies and help OEP select appropriate engineers for assignment.
5. Information: CAPT Chadwick, on behalf of CAPT Sullenger,
reported the following.
Web Page: The transition from the Unix box to the Windows NT
box will take place in June. LCDR Coene
has converted the Engineer Database from FileMaker Pro to MS Access. The interface is almost complete.
Picture Book: Trinh is looking into the cost for having a private photographer convert pictures and negatives to electronic format. If this is feasible, the EPAC will have all images in electronic format and send the originals to the Historian. We will then begin the process of indexing the photos. The final electronic set of images will be kept with the Chief Engineer.
6. Mentoring: Mr. Mitch Williams reported the
following.
The
first two mentoring pairs have tentatively been identified, subject to
acceptance by the prospective mentoring team members. One team pairs a CDC mentor with an ATSDR protégé, and the other
team consists of two IHS engineers. An
EPAC member from one of the represented agencies will serve as a Mentoring Team
Advisor for each pair.
The
Mentoring Subcommittee (with the Junior Engineer Liaison) has been working to
identify methods for enlisting participation in the Program. Methods identified
thus far include: a). Encouraging participation within the Welcome Package sent
to new PHS engineers and architects; b). Direct contact with new engineers and
architects; c). Soliciting participation at the Engineering Symposium; d).
Include as a topic on the Chief Engineer's Junior Engineer conference call; e).
Mail a hard copy of a notice to all engineers and architects; f). Solicit
participation at the Engineering Leadership Development Conference; and, g).
Provide Certificates to all participants.
The
Mentoring Subcommittee continues to work towards identifying program elements
relating to mentoring for the Engineering Leadership Development Conference.
An
article is being prepared for inclusion in the upcoming Chief Engineer's News
Report.
Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Mentoring
Subcommittee is scheduled for June 13, 2000 at 11:00 a.m. ET.
7. Recruiting and
Retention: CDR Crump was not available for the meeting and no report was
given.
8. Rules: CAPT
Chadwick reported the following.
The Rules Subcommittee has been actively contacting members
who do not have designated alternates and requesting that they complete the
paperwork to designate an alternate. Other
EPAC members can not be designated as alternates.
EPAC membership self-nomination notices were emailed to all
PHS Engineers and Architects in the past month. The self-nomination forms are due to the OCE by June 30. The Subcommittee encourages all interested
Engineers and Architects at all levels to apply.
The Subcommittee has reviewed the Junior Engineer membership
issue proposed to the Rules Subcommittee to improve Junior Engineer and
Architect membership within the EPAC.
The Subcommittee reviewed the EPAC Charter, which requires that there be
at least one junior EPAC member with less than five years of professional
experience at the time of appointment.
The Subcommittee also reviewed the Bylaws which further defines the
membership criteria for Junior Engineers.
Specifically, for Commissioned Officers they must be at the 03 rank or
below, and for Civil Service they must be at the GS-11 grade or below. The Subcommittee discussed the possibility
of changing the Charter and Bylaws to increase the required number of Junior
Engineers; however, the problem is more a recruitment issue since very few, if
any, Junior Engineers typically apply for membership. Therefore the Subcommittee does not recommend any formal changes
but discussed the following alternative recommendations: 1) the EPAC Chair can
assign Junior Engineer ex-officio members without limit for one-year renewable
terms; 2) each EPAC Subcommittee be charged to recruit one Junior Engineer for
that Subcommittee; and 3) EPAC members consider making Junior Engineers as
their alternates. After some open
discussion it was decided that the Rules Subcommittee will continue to review
this issue to formalize some of the above recommendations.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was
adjourned at approximately 2:50 p.m. EDT.
EPAC MEETING
PARTICIPATION:
Participants: (Members in bold, with alternates attending
matched by number to the members absent):
CAPT Thomas Bedick
(NIH), LT Sean Boyd (FDA, Alternate #1), CAPT Kevin Chadwick (IHS), LCDR Michael Coene (FDA), CAPT Jose Cuzme
(IHS), LTJG Alan Fogarty (IHS), CDR Jo Ann Griffith (EPA), Ms. Lisa Hayes
(ATSDR), Mr. Tony Iannacchione (CDC), CAPT Cris Kinney (IHS), LCDR Louis
Lightner (HRSA), CDR David McDonnell (IHS), CAPT Sven Rodenbeck (ATSDR), LT Hilda Scharen (DCP/PSC), CDR Maurice West (ATSDR), Mr. Mitchell
Williams (NIH), RADM Robert Williams (ATSDR), LCDR Tony Zimmer (CDC,
Alternate #2).
Members Absent:
CAPT Terry
Christensen (NIH), CAPT Joseph Cocalis (CDC), CDR Eric Crump (EPA), CDR Kenneth
Martinez (CDC, #2), CDR Ron Mickelsen (CDC), CDR Kathy Poneleit (FDA), CAPT
Gene Sullenger (FDA, #1).
Authorization
I have recorded the above EPAC meeting minutes:
CDR David I. McDonnell, P.E. Date
Executive Secretary, EPAC
I have read the above minutes which accurately describe this
meeting, and on behalf of the EPAC approve their distribution:
CAPT E. Crispin Kinney, P.E. Date
Chairperson, EPAC
I authorize distribution of these minutes:
RADM Robert C. Williams, P.E. Date
Chief Engineer, USPHS