COUNCIL HISTORY

A HISTORY OF IEEE-REGION 3
Compiled by W. L. Sullivan
Region 3 Director, 1974-75

A Special Project of the Region 3 Strategic Planning Committee

In Florida, this was the driving force behind the formation of the Florida Council. In the middle 1970's many engineers, including many IEEE members, had experienced or were facing loss of employment due to the poor economy and reductions in the aerospace program. The coordinated effort of all the Sections through a statewide organization had much appeal. In 1978 the Florida Council was fully operative, with only one Section declining to participate. Professional issues, including wage busting at Kennedy Space Center, engineering registration, the energy crisis, and legislative liaison were dealt with directly by the Council or in concert with the Florida Council of Engineers.

With no financial support available from the Region or elsewhere the Sections grudgingly agreed to assessments by the Council, but most of them were not in position to continue this for any length of time. Another temporary source of funds was derived from a technical conference, Florida Eclectic, held in March, 1979, at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. This conference, with 400 registrants, generated about $2,000, from tutorials and exhibits, which served to keep the Council solvent for a time. Financing continued to be a critical problem until the advent of SOUTHCON in 1981 , and that conference has been a major financial resource since that time. Also, USAB funding of PACE projects was of some help during these lean days. As will be covered later, once the Florida Council was on a sound financial footing, it was able to be of real help to its constituent Sections in their times of trouble.