Attending NCEES meetings allows members to connect with each other, share their ideas, and help shape the professions. In order to better engage new members, NCEES expanded its funding for the 2014 annual meeting. All member board members and administrators attending their first annual meeting within 24 months of their appointment or hire date were funded to attend. Fifty-two members and administrators took advantage of the new funding this year.

NCEES launched an email campaign before the annual meeting to educate first-time attendees about what to expect at the meeting, including how to prepare for voting in the business sessions. Articles in the Council’s newsletter, Licensure Exchange, also focused on informing new members about the meeting.

A First-Time Attendee Luncheon introduced these new meeting attendees to NCEES leaders and gave them the opportunity to meet each other. As part of the lunch, NCEES Chief Operating Officer Davy McDowell, P.E., gave an overview of the Council and how members can get involved, explained the purpose of the annual meeting, and provided tips for successfully navigating the business sessions and forums.

“Until I got here, I really didn’t know what to expect, although I’d been well prepared. With what NCEES sent before the meeting and the board discussion, we had a lot of immersion into the issues and the motions that were going to be brought forth. But until I came to the annual meeting, I didn’t realize the broadness of the conversations that I’d be able to be a part of. The experience has been encouraging.” Laura Reinbold, P.E., Tennessee State Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners Member