DFI ACTIVITIES WPM: Generating New Thoughts and Ideas Emi l io Fandino, DFI bus ines s The annual DFI Winter Planning Meeting (WPM) is an opportunity for trustees and committee chairs to reflect on the past year and make plans for the year to come. The 2016 meeting was held in Orlando, Fla., February 24-26, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel and Resort. (The DFI Educational Trust Board met February 24, see p. 77.) John Wolosick, DFI president , addressed the group several times during the meeting and spoke about teamwork the success of the 40 Annual Conference and highlighted upcoming events. and planning for the future. He reflected on th administrator, presented an orientation workshop for the trustees focusing on their need for awareness of DFI’s finances, and how to navigate those waters. Three new DFI trustees began their terms: Professor Anne Lemnitzer from University of California, Irvine; Marty Taube, P.E., P.G., from Menard Group USA; and Dr. Conrad Felice, P.E., from ILF Consultants. New trustees with John Wolosick and Theresa Engler Mary Ellen Bruce Large, technical activities manager, led a brainstorming session for the committee chairs and trustees. It was an opportunity to discuss the future of DFI and hot topics in the industry. A vibrant discussion ensued, with trustees and chairs suggesting new conference and seminar themes, considering topics to add to existing seminars, highlighting potential partnering opportunities and discussing industry trends. The most popular topics included risk, site characterization and working platform safety, all of which were discussed in depth to see how they might fit in to existing DFI seminars, or if new events may be planned. International Involvement Emad Sharif, newly-elected chair of DFI Middle East, presented his regional chapter report. He reported that in spite of the sharp drop in oil prices and some political instability in the Middle East, the deep foundations industry has continued to grow and attract international com- panies and technologies. He then highlighted some iconic mega pro- jects including the New Royal Atlantis in Palm Jumeira; One Zabeel Tower, with over 100 stories, in Dubai; and the FIFA World Cup 2022 facilities in Qatar. DFI Middle East is under- taking a campaign to expand i ts membership and include a greater diversity of members. Dr. K.S. Rama Krishna, DFI trustee and Emad Sharif, chair of DFI Middle East chair of DFI of India, also made the long journey to the U.S. for the WPM. He reported that DFI of India is now widely known in geotech- nical professional circles across the country. All four planned quarterly workshops took place in 2015, and are planned again Committee chairs and trustees at the WPM for 2016. DFI of India also established its quarterly newsletter in 2015, which is extremely successful. See more details in the Regional Report on p. 71. A representative from DFI Europe was unable to attend so Theresa Engler provided an update to the trustees and committee members. For a concise summary of ongo- ing activities in Europe, please refer to the Regional Report in the March/April issue. DFI Board Meeting A principal subject of the board meeting was the DFI Committee Project Fund program. This is the fifth year DFI designated funds to the program. Technical committees submit proposals to conduct research projects that “support approved undertakings, those deemed useful toward advancing deep foundation technology.” This year, 14 proposals were submitted; a substantial increase from the 5 that were submitted in 2015. A panel reviewed and ranked them, recommending five projects for funding (see p. 29). Theresa Engler, DFI’s executive director, reported on membership statistics, reviewed the events of the past year and gave an overview of the year to come. Engler also led a discussion on how to increase committee member involvement and on ways to recognize the outstanding contributions of individual committee members. Addi- tionally, the near final 2015 financials were reviewed, the 2016 budget adopted and future meetings discussed. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAY/JUNE 2016 • 23
