EDUCATIONAL TRUST Trust Board Meets During WPM Dan Dragone, Chair The DFI Educational Trust Board of Trustees had its first meeting of 2018 in February during the DFI Winter Planning Meeting (WPM) in St. Augustine, Fla. Dan Dragone of BAUER-Pileco presided over the meeting, his first meeting as chair. Two new trustees were welcomed by the board: Seth Pearlman, P.E., D.GE, of Menard and Helen Robinson, P.E., of GEI Consultants. Two new of f icer s were installed during this annual organizational meeting: Tracy Brettmann, P.E., D.GE, of A.H. Beck Foundation Co. as vice chair and Rudy Frizzi, P.E., G.E., D.GE, of Langan Engineering and Environmental Services as secretary. Mike Wysockey, Ph.D., P.E., of Thatcher Engineering Corp. [email protected] serves as Trust treasurer by being treasurer of the DFI Board of Trustees. In addition, Dragone appointed new members to various standing committees. Discussion topics by the board included financial matters, including a review of the year-end financial statements for 2017. Due to contributions, successful fundraising events and the outstanding performance of the Trust’s investments during 2017, the Trust’s assets increased by about 11.5 percent to a total of $3.46 million by end of 2017. Board members also discussed short- and long-term fundraising strategies, including possible new events and campaigns. Trust board at the Winter Planning Meeting Upcoming DFI Educational Trust Events DFI Educational Trust Pennsylvania Golf Outing July 16, 2018 | Chartiers Country Club, Pittsburgh, Pa. DFI Educational Trust/ACE Mentor Program of New Jersey Annual Golf Outing August 9, 2018 | Royce Brook Golf Club, Hillsborough, N.J. DFI Educational Trust Manuel Fine Civil Engineering Scholarship Fundraising Dinner September 2018 | Toronto, Canada DFI Educational Trust California Golf Outing October 22, 2018 | Castlewood Country Club, Pleasanton, Calif. DFI Educational Trust 13 Annual Gala Fundraising Dinner November 8, 2018 | Terrace On The Park, Corona, N.Y. th Student Program at Georgia Tech With funding from the DFI Educational Trust, Georgia Tech hosted a program on March 8-9 for 120 middle school students from Charles R. Drew Charter School. The program was designed to introduce students to science, technology, engi- including geotechnical engineering. The 7 graders were on campus for the cul- mination of a geotechnical design challenge, as part of the Center for Bio- mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (CBBG) Outreach program. The CBBG program focuses on neering and math (STEM) careers, th introducing students to geotechnical and bio-inspired engineering through the use of problem-based learning: a challenge that tasked teams with designing and creating a 3D printed root-inspired deep pile foundation to resist pullout. The two- month program included educational modules and interact ive sessions implementing the design process. On the final two days, students were able to test DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAY/JUNE 2018 • 79
