Message from SEAOG President John Hutton, PE SE

Well here it is: the last of my erratic SEAOG president's messages – time for a little reflection and a little looking forward.
I am not sure exactly when I joined the Executive Committee, as I went to the meetings for several years off and on before actually joining. I was sort of a pinch hitter for Jim Saylor when he got tied up and could not make a meeting. It was always an opportunity I looked forward to &n; sitting around a table and getting to hear what was on the minds of some of Georgia’s most prominent structural engineers. Over the years the Committee members all changed, well all except for one particularly opinionated engineer.

If you are a longstanding SEAOG member, you may have noticed a name missing from the 2010/2011 Executive Committee ballot. After almost 20 years Al Lagerstrom has stepped down from the board – well, sort of. Al graciously offered to become the first SEAOG Executive Director and open up a spot for a new Committee member. Al was a founding member of SEAOG back in 1991, or as it was called then, CASE &n; Georgia. Al has served in every leadership position on the board &n; Secretary, Vice-President, President and most recently, Treasurer. As Executive Director it looks like he will just be taking on more responsibilities, not less, including refining our budget, managing our finances, communicating with members and arranging events. Al and a friend have also redesigned and updated our website. Check it out if you haven't done so already. So much for cutting back in retirement. It really is a great benefit to have an Executive Director, a position that we have needed for many years, who is not only willing to do a lot of the required background work, but who truly has our best interest at heart and also knows our history better than anyone else. Thanks Al!

We welcome two new Executive Committee Directors, Wilbur Bragg and Rob Weilacher. Both are longtime SEAOG members. I can always count on Wilbur being at our membership meetings and asking insightful questions of our speakers. Rob has already volunteered his efforts to SEAOG several times. He organized the structural track at last years GEA PDH day, was instrumental in getting our seminars approved for continuing education credits with the Florida Board of Registration and is the chairman of the 2011 Engineers Week.

Michael Planer, Chief Operating Officer with Pruit Eberly Stone and also an Executive Committee member with the Coalition of American Structural Engineers, CASE , has stepped up as SEAOG's new Treasurer. I have passed my presidential torch on to the able hands of Kurt Swensson. Kurt is president of KSI Structural Engineers and is an active member several committees with national structural professional organizations including ASCE/SEI, American Institute of Steel Construction and the Building Seismic Safety Council.

As always SEAOG has a busy year planned. Our Fall events include:

Membership Meetings:

Hands on Welding Seminar

Please see our updated website, www.seaog.org, for the event times and dates. We are also in the planning stages of a training program, in conjunction with the National Council of Structural Engineering Associations (NCSEA) for those taking the new 16 hour professional Structural Engineering exam, which will be given for the first time April, 2011.

Also in this issue is a brief synopsis of the career and contributions of the late T. Z. Chastain, one of Georgia's most prominent structural engineers. With his leadership participation in numerous professional organizations, he was a true inspiration to the structural engineering community. As always I hope you will join us at our upcoming SEAOG events and I encourage you to become active in SEAOG and other professional organizations, if you are not already. The organizations are always looking for new and willing volunteers. You will meet some great people and I know you will find it enlightening and rewarding. .
 

In Memory of Theron Z. "T.Z." Chastain



Theron Z., "T.Z.", Chastain, a pioneer in the Atlanta structural engineering community, passed away June 18, 2010, at the age of eighty-nine. T.Z. was a recognized leader in the design of reinforced concrete structures and in the investigation of structural collapses. In a career that spanned over fifty years, he earned a reputation as a practical engineer with a great passion for his work and his profession.

T.Z. received his bachelor's degree in 1943 and his master's degree in 1947, both in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was licensed as a professional engineer in 1943 (GA PE 2292!). He served as a naval architect during World War II, afterwards providing his expertise for the U.S. Navy Construction Battalion. From 1947 to 1954, he worked for I.E. Morris and Associates, a structural consulting firm, and Abreu and Robeson, Inc., an architectural and engineering firm, both based in Atlanta.

He started a private practice in 1954. In 1959, he established the Atlanta structural engineering firm Chastain & Tindel, where he worked on prominent structures such as the Southern Bell Telephone Company Building (now the AT&T Communications Building), the Richard B. Russell Federal Building, and the University of Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum. He practiced with the company until it merged with Rosser, White, Hobbs, Davidson, McClellan, Kelly, Inc., (now Rosser International) in 1981.

Shortly thereafter, he founded the Atlanta based Chastain Forensic Corp., which was eventually acquired by forensic engineer Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc., in 1990. He remained as the office manager of the division until 1991 and continued as part-time consultant until his retirement in 2001. The Chastain Division was the foundation of WJE's current Atlanta branch operations.

T.Z. was extremely generous in giving his time to professional organizations and was recognized as "Engineer of the Year" by the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers and the "Consulting Engineer of the Year" by the Consulting Engineers Council of Georgia. He was president of ACI in 1981. He served on various committees throughout his career, including ACI Committee 318-Structural Concrete Building Code, ACI Committee 364-Rehabilitation, and ACI 412-Design of Reinforced Concrete Slabs. Additionally, he was chairman of the ACI chapter activities committee and spoke at various international ACI-sponsored seminars throughout Asia and South and Central America.

He was a fellow and life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and served as president of the Georgia chapter in 1963. He was a fellow and member of the American Consulting Engineers Council, the National Academy of Forensic Engineers, and the American Society for Testing and Materials.