IEEE
Region 3 History
Contents
of the Region 3 History document:
FOREWORD
OVERVIEW
I. IN THE BEGINNING 1963-1969
II. BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
1970-1979
III. EXPANDING THE SERVICES
1980-1989
IV. INTO THE FUTURE 1990-1993
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
FOREWORD
It
has been thirty years since the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers was founded by the merger
of its predecessor societies, the American Institute
of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) and the Institute of
Radio Engineers (IRE). This seems an appropriate time
to look back over this period and document those events
and trends that have brought us to where we are today.
That is the purpose of this history.
IEEE is a member-oriented technical and professional
society. The organization exists for the purpose of
delivering various services in its fields of interest
to its members. For management and administrative
purposes the membership units, Sections, Subsections,
Society Chapters, and Student Branches, are grouped
into geographical Regions to best fulfill the needs
of the members and the missions of the IEEE.
Initially, the Regional organization consisted essentially
of the Region Director. Subsequently, the organization
evolved, step by step, into the comprehensive Regional
structure that exists today. This is the story of
how multitudes of dedicated volunteers have worked
together to build a Regional organization that can
more effectively serve the needs of more than 33,000
members who reside in the geographic area of Region
3, essentially the Southeastern United States and
the island of Jamaica.
It is hoped that this history of Region 3 will be
more than a nostalgic record of past events for those
who were part of the process, that it will motivate
and encourage those who serve in any of the organizational
units of the Region, and that they may benefit from
these past experiences and dedicate themselves to
further improvement in services rendered by IEEE to
its members.
This history is dedicated to the memory of three distinguished
leaders whose deaths occurred during the period under
review. Dr. Joseph Weil, already at retirement age,
was the first Regional Director elected by the membership.
Dr. Weil added a spark of enthusiasm to the early
years of the Region and served in several positions
on the Region 3 Committee following his term of Directorship.
Dr. Larry Wilson served as Director with distinction
and then went on to serve as an officer of the Institute.
The Regional Activities Board has given his name to
two special awards in recognition of his work in transnational
and student activities. Dr. Joseph Biedenbach served
as chairman of the Region 3 Educational Activities
Committee for a period of thirteen years. His energetic
commitment to this task made the Region a leader in
the delivery of both technical and leadership education
to its members. The Region 3 award for Outstanding
Engineering Educator has been named for him.
OVERVIEW
Upon
the merger of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
(AIEE) and the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) on
January 1, 1963, Region 3 in the Southeastern U.S. became
one of the ten Regions of the new transnational society.
The Regions were established for administration of the
local membership units. In Region 3 there were approximately
13,000 members in 33 Sections, 16 Subsections, and 30
Student Branches.
Like its predecessor societies IEEE was structured
so as to best serve the needs of its members. Although
addressing only a portion of these needs, regional
activities are directed toward developing and maintaining,
through sound administrative practices, an organization
of geographically defined member units committed to
the advancement of electrical and electronics engineering.
These units afford on a local basis a common forum
for the members to meet and exchange views on technical,
educational, professional or other areas of interest.
To facilitate this process the regional orgainization
serves a group of Councils, Sections, Subsections,
and Student Branches to assist them in carrying out
this charter. The Region Director, as a member of
the Board of Directors, is responsible for the management
of these functions within a Region.
For most of Region 3's 13,000 members in 1963 IEEE
consisted of the local Section, Subsection, or Student
Branch, one or more publications from "Headquarters",
and an occasional technical conference. Local officers
were elected by the local membership and, to learn
the ropes and gain experience, traditionally progressed
from one office to another until reaching the position
of Chairman. These volunteer leaders, even at that
time, were the backbone and strength of the organization.
This history will show how this strength and the dedication
of such volunteers has been utilized to vastly increase
and improve the delivery of IEEE services to the members
of Region 3 over the past thirty years.
As had been the practice under AIEE and IRE, the local
units looked almost exclusively to the IEEE Headquarters
staff for assistance and guidance with any organizational
or membership problems. The Regional Director served
as a member of the Board of Directors and was available
to assist the local units as necessary, to present
awards,and to encourage the Sections and Student Branches
with regular visits where possible.
The Regional Committee, consisting of the Regional
Director and the Section Chairmen, met once a year
to review the state of the Region, and in alternate
years, to nominate candidates for Regional Director.
There was no Region staff, no Region treasury, and
no operating guidelines other than the IEEE Bylaws
and Policy and Procedures Manual. At the outset Region
3 was no different from the other IEEE Regions in
these characteristics.
Contrast this with the situation thirty years later
when the Region 3 Director has a Regional staff of
15 plus 9 Area or Council Chairmen, an annual budget
approaching $100,000, and numbers of detailed operating
manuals and guides for the various aspects of operations.
Of course, the growth of the organizational structure,
the expenditures, and the documentation are not a
measure of success. These are merely the tools used
in maximizing the delivery of IEEE services to the
individual members of Region 3, whether the 13,000
of 1963, or the approximately 33,000 today.
The constant progress toward that goal, in many small
steps, is recorded in this history. Hundreds of volunteers
from Region Director to the officers in Sections,
Subsections, and Student Branches, committee members
at all levels, Student Counselors, and others have
made their contributions.
Region 3 began , as did most of the Regions, with
only the Region Director ( and perhaps a Secretary
or Secretary-Treasurer) serving at the regional level.
The Director's efforts were primarily devoted to assisting
the geographical units with organizational problems,
facilitating communications between these units and
IEEE Headquarters, and motivating and encouraging
local officers in their responsibilities. This pattern
continued for several years.
By 1970 it became clear that the sheer number of geographical
units involved coupled with the diverse interests
of the membership demanded an organization at the
regional level that could better serve the needs of
the members in the region. This led to the establishment
of six Area Chairmen responsible for portions of the
Region and several Committees responsible for certain
specialized activities. None of this relieved the
Director from his ultimate responsibility but was
of great assistance to him and proved to be a valuable
service to the local units and their members.
The Area concept originated in Region 3 as a means
of improving the communication and management/administrative
missions of the Region. Of the original six Areas
some were single state and some multi-state. Boundary
adjustments have been made from time to time to accommodate
the formation of five state Councils, each of which
constitutes a single Area. The use of Areas prior
to and in conjunction with the formation of Councils
appears to have been a significant benefit to the
Region over the years.
Two other elements of IEEE activity which have especially
characterized Region 3 had their genesis during the
early years -- 1) the prominence given to Student
Activities, and 2) the employment of an annual technical
conference/student conference and prize paper contest/Regional
Committee meeting to bring together all the diverse
interests and activities of the Region at one place
at one time each year. In fact, these two elements
to a large extent define the character of Region 3.
The expansion of the Regional staff in 1970 included,
in addition to the six Area Chairmen, committees responsible
for Student Activities, Membership Development, Awards,
Conferences, and a Nominating Committee.
As the need for them arose committees were later established
for Professional Activities, Educational Activities,
Strategic Planning, and Public Relations. Ad hoc committees
have been employed from time to time for certain tasks,
but from the early 1970's until the present time,
these nine committees, and, especially, their chairmen
have been the strength of Region 3's operations.
The establishment of Councils in five of the states
served by Region 3 has significantly improved the
services rendered to members in those states. Unlike
the Area, which is a top-down structure imposed on
the Sections for administrative purposes, the Council
is a creation of its constituent Sections and over
which they have control.
In 1977 the Sections in Florida formed Region 3's
first Council. By 1981 Councils also had been formed
in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and
Virginia. North and South Carolina had previously
organized an "Affiliation of Sections" for much the
same purpose, making the transition an easy one for
them. Under the Council umbrella the Sections were
able to cooperate in educational programs, Section
officer workshops, Student Activities, and especially,
Professional Activities. In fact, the ability to present
a state-wide interface to governmental agencies and
other professional organizations was one of the prime
motivations for the state-wide Councils.
The chronology of Region 3's history falls naturally
into four periods of time approximating the four decades
in which it has existed, the sixties, seventies, eighties,and
nineties, and this document is organized accordingly.
The chapter headings, IN THE BEGINNING, BUILDING THE
FOUNDATION, EXPANDING THE SERVICES, and INTO THE FUTURE
are generally descriptive of the activities during
those periods.
In each of these periods except the first activities
represented by the nine committees named above moved
in parallel toward the maturity that exists today.
As this history of Region 3 proceeds through these
periods events are generally described in a context
related to these activities.
Prior to 1970 the Region Directors were occupied in
finding their way through largely uncharted waters
and insuring that the local units were operating in
accordance with appropriate Bylaws and policies and
were providing for the needs of their members. This
was the beginning. (CHAPTER I)
With the expansion of the Regional staff and its responsibilities
it became possible to enlarge the scope of the Region's
services to the membership at the time, and, also,
to build a foundation for the future. (CHAPTER II)
In the 1980's a broad range of new services was available
to the members of Region 3 and actively promoted at
the Regional level. Professional activities had mushroomed
and were actively promoted at the Region, Council/Area,
and Section level; four Region 3 awards were being
made annually to highly qualified recipients; new
Educational programs were being made available using
satellite technology and a video tape library; student
conferences each year vied for "best ever" status
and a "hardware contest" became a highly acclaimed
feature of the annual student conference. Across the
board services to the members were expanding. (CHAPTER
III)
By 1990 the regional organization was poised to accommodate
whatever the membership's needs were perceived to
include. The management of the Region was becoming
more sophisticated. With annual budgets in the $100,000
range fiscal accountability was an imperative. E-mail
and facsimile were replacing paper as the medium of
choice for correspondence between organizations and
individuals. In 1993, as an experiment, a Region Executive
Committee meeting was held by video with the members
at six locations in six cities. Consideration is being
given to the use of laptop computers by the Executive
Committee in a true "paperless" environment. Into
the future is a reality. (CHAPTER IV)
During the thirty year period the Region 3 membership
grew from 13,217 to 32,829, a gain of approximately
150%. By contrast the total growth in Regions 1-6
was just under 70%. Student membership in Region 3
ran well ahead of the other U.S. regions throughout
the period, increasing from 2,951 to a peak of 6,280
in 1984. It then declined, as did student membership
throughout the U.S., to 4,389 at the end of 1993.
This represented a net gain for the period of almost
50% in Region 3 , whereas the Region 1-6 membership
was relatively flat with a growth over thirty years
of less than 1%.
As the membership of the Region grew many Sections
benefitted from transitory shifts in the geographical
distribution of engineering employment which automatically
brought members into the Sections. Also, the large
number of electrical engineering programs in colleges
and universities in Region 3 increased the student
population available for recruitment. However, this
does not fully account for the substantially higher
rate of growth in Region 3 compared with other U.S.Regions.
It seems reasonable to assume that the aggressive
membership development efforts to enlist and retain
members and the active support of the Student Branches
by their parent Sections and by the leadership in
the Region had a salutary effect on these results.
As this record closes the Region 3 leadership under
its current Director is demonstrating a vision for
the future. Work is underway on a Strategic Plan which
will chart the way into the 21st century, setting
forth a set of long range goals, objectives, and strategy
by which Region 3 will direct its efforts to improve
IEEE's service to its members and to the profession.
I. IN THE BEGINNING 1963-1969
Region
3 of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE), consisting of all or portions of the ten Southeastern
states plus small areas of Arkansas, Indiana, and Illinois,
and the Island of Jamaica (Jamaica joined Region 3 in
1985), came into existence January 1, 1963, at the time
IEEE was created by the merger of the American Institute
of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) and the Institute of
Radio Engineers (IRE).
Initially, the field units (Sections, Subsections,
Student Branches) followed the practices and traditions
of their predecessors under a new constitution, and
quickly learned to live and operate under the new
environment. Both of the former societies were member
oriented, but awth slightly different emphases. AIEE,
in general, delivered its member services through
strong local Sections and national or regional technical
conferences sponsored by technical committees at the
national level. IRE, on the other hand, while local
Sections were organized, delivered its services mainly
through its technical Groups, which represented the
various technical disciplines. In the new organization
the Section became the primary focus of local interaction
between members, while the Groups (later designated
"Societies") provided the primary technical services.
Student Branches of both predecessor societies existed
in many colleges, with both separate and joint Branches,
depending on the extent of interest. These also were
merged where necessary.
In 1962 there were approximately 15,000 memberships
in AIEE and IRE in the area of what is now Region
3. The term "memberships" is used as many individuals
were members of both societies. This fact and the
increasing overlap in fields of interest were among
the compelling arguments for the merger. There were
24 AIEE Sections and 15 IRE Sections existing at that
time as well as 32 AIEE, IRE, and joint Student Branches.
At the end of the first year following the merger,
1963, total membership in IEEE was 13,217 in 33 Sections,
16 Subsections, and 30 Student Branches. Complete
membership details are included in Appendix A.
The year 1963 was a time of reorganization throughout
the Region. At the local level this required anything
from a change in name of the Section, acquisition
of new members from the other society, and adoption
of new Section bylaws, to a combination of these actions
plus the complete merger of two local units and the
blending of what may have been two entirely different
methods of operating at the local level. It is to
the lasting credit of all the local leadership then
in place that the transition was relatively smooth.
On the college and university campus the changes were
much easier. Little more than a name change and a
broadening in the fields of interest were required.
Approximately one third of the Student Branches were
already operating as joint Branches prior to the merger.
At the Regional level the change was not so dramatic.
John W. Davis, who had served on the merger committee
and had been actively involved in planning the merger,
was appointed to serve as Regional Director for the
initial year until the membership could nominate and
elect its Director under the new Constitution. Director
Davis spent much of his time visiting the local Sections
and assisting them in reorganizing and operating in
the new environment. His only formal helper was Ben
V. Martin whom he asked to serve as awards chairman.
Ben Martin had served as a Vice President of AIEE.
Both of these men recognized the need for continuity
in the awards process during the transition and sought
to ensure that pending awards for deserving members
of Region 3 would not be lost in the process of change.
The Student Branches, particularly in the AIEE, had
a history of prize paper preparation and competition,
with the winner in each Branch invited to participate
in the District competition. The Branch Counselors
were especially concerned that this tradition be continued.
During a Region meeting at Richmond in 1963 Dr. Charles
Weaver of Auburn University was elected Region 3 Student
Activities Chairman by the Counselors. This was their
practice at the time and was continued for several
years until the occupant of this office was made an
appointee of the Regional Director.
Also in 1963, the Florida West Coast Section offered
to host the first Region 3 Technical Conference in
May, 1964, at Clearwater, FL. In the course of their
planning the conference Steering Committee decided
to invite student participation and appointed a Student
Activities Chairman to coordinate this activity. This
decision was made without any discussion with the
Counselors, who had planned to hold the 1964 meeting
at the University of Miami. The invitation included
an offer to provide, at conference expense, the housing
costs plus two meals for up to 100 students. Needless
to say, the offer was accepted. This early instance
of Region 3 support for student activities is mentioned
here to underscore the priority attached to this aspect
of Region 3 operations at the very start - a priority
that still exists after thirty years and of which
Region 3 can be quite proud.
In the course of planning this first student conference
and paper contest Dr. Weaver discovered there was
no consensus among the Counselors regarding the contest
rules, such as number of papers to be orally presented,
format of written paper, and weight to be given to
oral and written elements. Philip Morgan, of Christian
Brothers College, was asked to prepare the rules to
be used, based primarily on the practices followed
by the old AIEE Districts 4 and 13. Agreements were
reached, and the practices established have generally
been followed since that time. Morgan, who was especially
active in Region 3 student affairs dring those early
years became the first Director appointed Student
Activity Chairman in 1970.
The new IEEE Bylaws provided for the election of the
Regional Director by the Region membership following
nomination by the Region 3 Committee, which at that
time consisted of the Director and the Section Chairmen
of all Region 3 Sections. This was accomplished under
the leadership of Director Davis, and on Jan 1, 1964,
Dr. Joseph Weil, of Florida, became the first elected
Director of Region 3 for the two year period, 1964-1965.
The Regional Director becomes a member of the IEEE
Board of Directors and, additionally, is responsible
for all matters involving Region 3.
Under Director Weil's leadership the local units began
to feel more comfortable in their new role and organization.
Local Bylaws were prepared and submitted for approval,
and Section and Subsection officers began to function
much as they had in the past. There were few written
guidelines, and in the absence of much direction from
above, their effectiveness varied widely with the
quality of leadership. Like John Davis before him,
Director Weil spent much of his time assisting these
local units in their activities and their relations
with IEEE Headquarters.
The first Region 3 Technical Conference at Clearwater
was a success and set a pattern for those which followed.
The three principal elements - (1) technical conference,
(2) Region Committee meeting, and (3) Student Conference
with Prize Paper competition - were all a part of
this first conference. Fifty-seven professional papers
were presented. There is no record of exhibits or
of the financial results, but the student support
promised was delivered, ensuring a successful Student
Conference.
In 1965 the Region 3 Committee met in Raleigh, NC,
in conjunction with the North Carolina Symposium.
This technical conference with exhibits had been a
part of AIEE activity in the state for a number of
years, and the Region was invited to participate.
At the Region 3 Committee meeting nominations were
made from the floor for Regional Director. In the
ensuing election by the membership later that year
Dr. Rufus Fellers, of South Carolina, was elected
to serve for the 1966-67 term.
The 1965 Student Prize Paper contest and the student
conference were held at Coral Gables, FL, at the University
of Miami. No policy had yet been established to combine
the student conference with the regional technical
conference.
Moderate growth of less than 800 members had occurred
during 1964-1965. Region 3 was the only U.S. Region
to experience any growth during this period. One new
Section was established, and the five Subsections
in North Carolina were elevated to Section status,
giving the Region a total of 38 Sections at the end
of 1965. The five new Sections in North Carolina had
functioned well over the years in joint activities,
such as the annual Symposium and support of student
activities. Not wishing to give up that advantage,
after studying their needs and resources, they petitioned
to establish an "Affiliation of Sections" through
which they could voluntarily carry out joint activities.
This was a new type of organization for IEEE, but,
with help from Dr. Fellers, permission was granted
and the Affiliation of North Carolina Sections was
established during 1966.
The desirability of scheduling the annual Region 3
Committee meeting jointly with the technical and student
conferences was evident. The locations for such meetings
were being selected from invitations of the local
Sections. All planning was in the hands of the host
Section and Student Branch, and all financial risk
was theirs. Partial travel reimbursement was provided
by IEEE Headquarters for members of the Region 3 Committee
and for the Counselor, Student Branch Chairman, and
Branch Prize Paper winner. The Student Activities
Committee provided additional support for the student
conference from a special fund solicited from the
Sections for this purpose. This had been a longstanding
AIEE practice and was continued for several years
under Region 3. The Region had no funds of its own.
In this environment the meetings for 1966 and 1967
were scheduled for Atlanta, GA, and Jackson, MS, respectively,
at the invitation of the Atlanta and Mississippi Sections.
The Atlanta Section was enjoying significant corporate
support from the major engineering employers in the
area, including Georgia Power, Southern Bell, Lockheed,
and Georgia Tech. R.S. Duggan, who later served as
Regional Director and Vice President of the Regional
Activities Board was instrumental in bringing the
conference to Atlanta. A Lockheed Vice President served
as Conference Chairman. By the end of the first day
of the meeting it was apparent that registrations
were falling far short of estimates, and a financial
disaster could be in the making. Word went out to
the local employers (especially Lockheed), and, suddenly
large numbers of local registrants began arriving,
salvaging the remainder of the meeting and its financial
integrity. This detail is included here, not because
it is of major historical importance, but as an illustration
of the ever present application of Murphy's Law in
the holding of regional conferences and the ingenuity
of Region 3 members in solving the problems that arise.
The 1967 conference in Jackson, MS, is historically
noteworthy due to actions taken in the Region 3 Committee
meeting. IEEE Bylaws included a provision that the
Regional Committee could nominate and submit to the
membership for vote a single candidate, rather than
two or more, only upon a UNANIMOUS vote by the Committee.
In the early years of IEEE few representatives of
industry, as opposed to academia, were widely known
to local members throughout the Region. In view of
these facts certain Atlanta telephone company employees
began to suggest to their coordinates around the Region
the desirability of choosing Mr. R.G. Elliott, corporate
Vice President - Engineering, as the next Region 3
Director. This was not done at Elliott's request,
or even, in the early stages, with his knowledge.
However, the political winds reached out to enough
Section chairmen or their representatives to invoke
a unanimous nomination. Although the individual members
of the Region were deprived of a choice on the ballot,
the Region and its members were well served by this
Director as he began to put into place concepts and
policies for managing the Region which have stood
the test of time.
A short time later the Bylaws were amended to require
that two or more candidates be nominated for submission
to the membership for a vote. Bob Elliott always referred
to this as the "Elliott Amendment".
Like his predecessors Director Elliott began his term
of service with only a Secretary-Treasurer to assist
him. He quickly realized that he could not, by himself,
give adequate attention to the needs of nearly forty
Sections. He discussed some ideas for better managing
the affairs of the Region with Dr. James Mulligan,
Vice President, Regional Affairs (later the Regional
Activities Board) who was sympathetic to some of these
suggestions and agreed to come to Atlanta for a meeting
and further discussion. Elliott assembled a group
of people, all of whom had extensive experience in
Section activity, to address the question "what do
you as Section officers and your members need from
a regional organization and how can we best go about
providing it?" Out of this discussion came the idea
of an "Area Chairman" with responsibility for a group
of adjacent Sections. He would serve, not as another
level of bureaucracy, but as a spokesman, a representative,
an expediter, a motivator, or what have you, for the
Regional Director, to bring about improvement in the
delivery of services to the membership.
Dr. Mulligan suggested a trial of this concept for
a single Area to determine how it might work. Recognizing
that there would be some travel costs involved he
agreed that Headquarters would pick up these costs
for the first year. R.S. Duggan, who had recently
served as Atlanta Section Chairman, was tapped for
the job. The Sections and Subsections in Georgia and
South Carolina would constitute the trial Area. Thus
was born an organizational concept that has been critical
to the development and expansion of a management plan
for the delivery of member services to the members
of Region 3.
The 1968 Regional Conference, including technical
program, Student Conference, and Region 3 Committee
meeting was held in New Orleans in April. Except for
student activities this was almost a washout. A widespread
telephone strike had begun just prior to the meeting.
Many IEEE members, who otherwise would have been present,
found themselves maintaining central offices, operating
switchboards, or performing other essential services
for their employer. Many of the Local Arrangements
Committee members were involved, as were members of
the Region 3 Committee and some speakers and session
chairmen. The New Orleans Section took a financial
beating as a result.
The IEEE Bylaws, at that time, authorized Regional
Committee members to attend two meetings of the committee
each year. Because of the low attendance at New Orleans
arrangements were made for a second meeting of the
committee at Cocoa Beach, FL, coincident with a technical
conference hosted by the local Section. At this meeting
there was opportunity to report on the trial of the
Area concept and discuss with all Section representatives
how this might benefit them. Two other actions were
taken at this meeting. The Region 3 Committee adopted
a proposal for a Region 3 Award for "Outstanding Engineer"
in the Region, to be selected by an Awards Committee
from nominations made by the Sections. Also, the first
Region 3 budget was adopted, based upon limited funds
now being disbursed by IEEE Headquarters, primarily
for travel within the Region.
The idea of a single, annual meeting for both professional
and student members and the business needs of the
Regional Committee had not yet solidified. Few Sections
were eager to take on the responsibility of planning
and financing a large conference. Also, it was necessary
that the Student Prize Paper Contest be held in the
late Spring, leaving less flexibility in scheduling.
Due to these factors separate conferences were again
held in 1969. The student conference and Prize Paper
Contest were held in Raleigh, NC,in the spring, while
a technical conference was held in the fall at Huntsville,
AL. The Region 3 Committee met at each location.
Parenthetically, it may be of interest here to touch
on the matter of travel expense to attend authorized
meetings. The subject will arise not infrequently
in the course of this story, and knowledge of the
policies in place during the early days of IEEE will
be useful.Bylaws provided for the partial reimbursement
of the necessary expense of travel on authorized IEEE
business. Within the Region such authorized business
was limited to members of the Region 3 Committee attending
no more than two committee meetings each year, and,
for students, attendance by the Counselor, the Student
Branch Chairman, and the Student Prize Paper winner,
if any, from each Branch to the Student Conference
and Prize Paper Contest each year.
The amount of the partial reimbursement was computed,
in the late 1960's at 17 1/2 cents per mile, one way,
from the home location to the point of the meeting,
total. No hotel, no per diem, and the one way distance
was not the distance travelled but the straight line
measurement determined on an appropriate map by IEEE
Headquarters. Over the years many IEEE members have
been fortunate to have their expense to professional
meetings reimbursed by their employers. Those who
have not, in those days, travelled at considerable
personal expense.
Now, back to our story. Throughout Director Elliott's
term of office, Dr. Mulligan had taken a keen interest
in not only the Area concept and its trial, but other
opportunities to strengthen the regional organization.
He held several more meetings in Atlanta with a representative
group of people to discuss these ideas. One immediate
result was the establishment of a new committee of
the Regional Activities Board, initially designated
the Policy and Planning Committee. This committee
absorbed the activities of the ad hoc Atlanta group,
which, in effect, moved the forum for these discussions
from Region 3 to the Institute level and broadened
the input. As might be expected, the committee was
heavily populated by members from Region 3. Two early
actions of the Policy and Planning Committee were
of immediate benefit to Region 3. A typical structure
for a Regional Committee was proposed, and a Section
Management Guide was developed and distributed for
trial use. A measure of the success of the two years
of discussions is the Regional organization put into
place by Elliott's successor, Seymour Cambias Jr.,
immediately upon taking office. Cambias was elected
Director of Region 3 in the Fall of 1969, and having
had a part in much of the planning, was able to quickly
assemble a Regional staff and take off running.
II. BUILDING THE FOUNDATION 1970-1979
Acting
upon the recommendations of the Policy and Planning
Committee of RAB, Director Cambias established six Areas
and six committees to assist him in the management of
the Region. The Areas initially represented a compromise
between geographical areas of common interest, travel
distances, and numbers of Sections. Only two were coterminous
with the borders of a single state.
The initial committees were Awards, Career Guidance,
Meetings, Membership, Student Activities, and Newsletter.
Initially IEEE referred to the Membership Committee
as "Membership and Transfers". This was later changed
to "Membership Development". For simplicity, throughout
this document the committee will be referred to simply
as "Membership". Except for Membership and Student
Activities there were few guidelines, and the committees
were asked to develop their own agenda and objectives.
Plans were already in place for the 1970 student meeting
and Prize Paper Contest at the University of Florida
in Gainesville, in late April. A meeting of the Region
3 Committee, now enlarged to include the Area and
committee chairmen, was therefore scheduled for the
same location.
The Region 3 officers: Director, Vice Chairman, Secretary-Treasurer,
and Past Region 3 Director, met during the afternoon
of the first day of a two day meeting with the Area
and Committee Chairmen. At this meeting the duties
of the Area Chairmen were defined for the first time.
The Section Chairmen joined this group for dinner,
after which each Area Chairman met with his own Section
Chairmen, following a scripted agenda developed during
the afternoon. The formal meeting of the Region 3
Committee took place on the morning of the second
day, and included reports of the discussions of the
previous night.
This expansion of the Region 3 organization was received
with enthusiasm by all the participants. There seemed
to be general agreement that the Area concept and
the specialized committees would be of benefit to
the Sections and, through them, the general membership.
Communications channels, upward and downward, would
be improved, and the Director would be better able
to represent his constituents.
It is important to note that although the evolving
organization gave the appearance of a top-down decision
making process, its purpose was to enhance the value
of the IEEE to the individual members and to assist
the Section organization in that process. To that
end every effort was made to obtain feedback and suggestions
on every proposal. The various meetings at Panama
City were particularly effective in that process.
At the Gainesville meeting the Region 3 Committee
had its first opportunity to demonstrate it commitment
to student support. Due to financial constraints the
1970 Institute budget had eliminated the travel allowance
for the Student Branch Chairman to the Student Conference.
Travel for the Counselor and Prize Paper winner were
left intact. The student community was considerably
upset. Director Cambius had already agreed to cover
the shortfall at Gainesville from his very limited
Region 3 fund, but Philip Morgan, Chairman of the
Student Activities Committee, persuaded the Region
3 Committee to bring pressure to bear at the Institute
level to reverse this decision.The Committee agreed
that the Student Branch Chairmen were key players
among the IEEE members of the future and should be
afforded this conference experience. Enough pressure
was brought to bear that the SBC travel allowance
was reinstated in the 1971 budget.
Also out of this meeting came an agreement to form
a Region Executive Committee, consisting of the Region
3 Officers, the Area Chairmen, and the Region 3 Committee
Chairmen. The first meeting of the Committee was held
in July of 1970 in New Orleans. By this time the Awards
Committee had developed a plan for selecting the recipient
of the Outstanding Engineer Award and had solicited
nominations from the Sections. It was proposed that
the initial award be made at the 1971 Regional Conference
in Charlottesville, VA. The Meetings Committee was
still groping for its mission since none had been
assigned. The Section Management Guide mentioned earlier
was made available at this meeting for distribution
by the Area Chairmen. This was the first written instruction
for operating the local Section, and the Region 3
Area Chairmen were selected to be the bearers of such
good tidings. This guide and its subsequent revisions
became the centerpiece of early Section management
training.
Also during this period the RAB Policy and Planning
Committee suggested a trial of a Regional Newsletter
and provided $3000 to cover the estimated cost of
two issues. The idea was to provide news and information
of Region 3, the purpose of the Areas, the Region
Awards Program, etc. directly to each member, information
which might not reach him any other way. The initial
issue of the REGION REASONATOR consisted of eight
pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches, offset printed. Over
twelve thousand copies were mailed in September at
a cost of $1272 for printing and mailing.
In September the full Region 3 Committee met for the
second time that year at Panama City, FL, concurrently
with a technical conference on Engineering in the
Ocean Environment. The format of the meeting was similar
to that at Gainesville with ample time for the Area
Chairmen to hold discussions with their Section Chairmen.
The financial report at this time showed a small balance
after funding travel for two Region 3 Committee meetings
and one separate Executive Committee meeting. This
was the last year, however, that two Region 3 Committee
meetings were held.
The Region Executive Committee met in Atlanta in February,
1971, primarily to review plans for the Regional Conference
and Region 3 Committee meeting scheduled for April
in Charlottesville, VA. It was reported at this meeting
that the second issue of the REGION REASONATOR had
been mailed. Total costs for printing and mailing
approximately 15,000 copies was $1405. Students were
included in this mailing, although their copies were
shipped in bulk to each Student Branch . The general
consensus was that the newsletter was a good product
and served a good purpose but, since there was no
source of funding for future issues, no plans would
be made to continue publication. The Newsletter Committee
would direct its effort to assisting the Sections
in publishing Newsletters for their members. It was
reported that ten Sections were publishing newsletters
at that time.
The Membership Committee during 1971 was working with
the Sections and Areas to establish effective Membership
Committees in every Section. A goal of 10% increase
in membership was established for the Region. The
Institute Membership Committee had instituted a new
program for following up at the local level those
members who were in dues arrears. Region 3 was aggressively
participating in this program with considerable success.
By the end of the year membership growth for the Region
was well under the 10% goal although a number of Sections
had achieved this level of growth locally.
The Region 3 meeting at Charlottesville in April,
1971, could be considered the first full blown Region
3 Conference, including all the elements that now
are expected to be part of a "SoutheastCon". The local
committee billed the meeting as the "9th Annual IEEE
Region 3 Convention". This was, in fact, the ninth
year of Region 3 operation, but this nomenclature
took liberties with other facts. This is in no way
to disparage the efforts put forth in prior years
by local committees to host the meetings, but some
of these were "regional" only because the Region 3
Committee was meeting there at the time. At Charlottesville
there was a Technical Conference, the Student Prize
Paper Contest, a Student Conference, the Region 3
Committee and Executive Committee meetings, a workshop
for Section officers, and an Awards Banquet highlighted
by the presentation of.the first Region 3 Outstanding
Engineer Award. Total registration was 320. Twenty-four
of the thirty-nine Sections and twenty Student Branches
were represented.
The Awards Committee received twelve nominations for
the Outstanding Engineer Award. Of these, the committee
felt that the top two nominees were so nearly equal
that both should receive the award. The recipients
were William R. Brownlee of the Alabama Section and
Dr. John E. Pippin of the Atlanta Section. This is
the only instance of dual awards for this honor in
Region 3 history.
The Nominations Committee presented the names of two
nominees for Regional Director from a field of twenty
names which were considered. In the ensuing election
the members of Region 3 chose Grover F. Dausmann of
the Huntsville Section as Director for the years 1972-73.
Financial results from the conference showed a surplus
of $932 which was just over 10% of gross receipts.
Region 3 received one half of this amount in recognition
of a $1000 advance provided to the local committee.
This was based on an ad hoc agreement made at the
time of the advance since there were no standing policies
or procedures in place at the time. The results were
gratifying in view of the then current downturn in
the economy, especially in the aerospace and defense
industries.
Financial reimbursement from IEEE Headquarters for
1971 totalled $8000. Most of this was disbursed for
travel to the Region 3 Committee meeting, Executive
Committee meetings, and the Student Conference. For
the first time, although not the last, the travel
expense for students exceeded that for other members.
This is not necessarily bad, but as will be seen,
student travel expense has been a cause for concern
over the years.
Large scale reductions in the aerospace and defense
industries and the associated engineering unemployment
were becoming a major concern for IEEE and other professional
organizations at this time. IEEE Headquarters was
taking the initiative in such areas as employment
seminars, "skills banks" and other programs that might
benefit its members. Grover Dausmann, who would be
elected the next Regional Director, was serving as
Region 3 representative in these activities.
Invitations had been accepted for Region 3 Conferences
in Knoxville, TN, in 1972, and in Louisville, KY,
in 1973. The Meetings Committee had been working with
the local committees on the format and the requirements
for these conferences. The Student Activities Committee
was also coordinating its plans with the local Student
Branch. There was still a lack of written material
which could be placed in the hands of the local sponsors,
saying "this is what you must do for a Region 3 Conference".
By the end of 1971 the framework for the organizational
structure that would serve Region 3 for the next twenty
years was essentially in place. The Area concept had
proved its case. The Section leaders were pleased
with the additional attention and help they were receiving,
and the Director had six additional hands to carry
out his responsibilities. The initial committees were
hampered by lack of guidelines and, sometimes, unsure
of their jurisdiction, but were getting the job done
in their respective fields.
The recessionary economy, with the accompanying unemployment,
had a dramatic impact upon IEEE during the next two
years and served as a catalyst for major changes in
the society and its organizational structure. This
did not occur immediately, but there was much unrest
among the members. Questions were being raised such
as "why doesn't IEEE do something?" about such serious
issues as members who were unemployed or facing unemployment,
portable pensions, retraining in new fields, advocacy
of government programs to relieve these problems,
and a host of economic, societal, and political issues.
While IEEE could do and was already gearing up to
do something for its unemployed members, there were
legal questions as to how far it could go under its
charter as a technical and educational society and
its classification under Section 501(c)3 of the tax
codes. There was also the question of whether a majority
of the membership really wanted a substantial amount
of IEEE resources allocated to these "professional"
activities. And, to top this off, the Institute was
facing a deficit budget for 1972, even with stand
still assumptions.
Under these conditions Director Dausmann took office.
The Region 3 Committee Chairmen were beginning to
get their feet on the ground, develop guidelines for
their operations, and acquire some expertise in their
fields. These were all retained by the new Director.
However, five of the six Area Chairmen were new.
In Region 3 there were pockets of severe unemployment,
such as at Huntsville, Canaveral, and Orlando, but,
in general, the region was not suffering as much as
some other areas of the country, and the clamor for
action was not as strong. Director Dausmann, himself,
although a past Chairman of the Huntsville Section,
had very strong reservations about the wisdom of IEEE
broadening its field from that of a preeminent technical
society to a combination of technical and professional
interests with a possible dilution of the technical.
He was also concerned about a possible dues increase
to pay for the expanded services during a period of
recession.
A membership survey at this time, while not conclusive,
seemed to indicate substantial support for changes,
and for an accompanying dues increase sufficient to
continue existing services at their present level
and provide some funding for the new services. It
did not indicate an overwhelming support for change,
however.Much of the Region 3 Executive Committee discussion
during 1972 was focused on these matters. Dausmann,
notwithstanding his personal convictions, made every
effort to develop a representative Region 3 position
on the controversy, working through the Area Chairmen
and directly with the Section leadership. The survey
results did show Region 3 to be more conservative
in its view toward change than the other U.S. Regions.
The end result of all the meetings, discussions, surveys,
and studies was a constitutional amendment submitted
to the membership late in the year which would forever
change the character of the Institute by broadening
its purposes to include "professional" activities,
along with the traditional technical and educational.
The amendment received a favorable vote, although
considerably less than a mandate.
In this climate of change the routine activity of
Region 3 was continuing. Much of the first Executive
Committee meeting in February, 1972, was devoted to
discussion of the possible changes in direction for
IEEE, and there was no consensus on the wisdom of
some of the proposals. Planning appeared to be proceeding
well for the 1972 Regional Conference in Knoxville.
The conference in Knoxville was the first to officially
use the terminology "SoutheastCon", the term by which
these annual conferences have been referred to since
that time. The conference followed closely the pattern
which had been set at Charlottesville the year before.
At the Regional Committee meeting the Membership Committee
reported on a new program to retain more student members
upon graduation. One of the major factors that contribute
to these graduates falling through the cracks is the
difficulty of obtaining address information. The proposed
actions outlined to the Region 3 Committee would not
completely solve this problem , but would alleviate
it. The Sections and Student Branches were asked to
cooperate in carrying out the program. A comprehensive
Section leadership workshop was held but was poorly
attended with less than half the Sections represented.
The Meetings Committee presented proposed guidelines
for the conduct of future Southeastcons. While not
a complete "how to" manual, this was the first printed
instructions offered the local committees.
Dr. Rufus Fellers, former Director of Region 3 received
the Outstanding Engineer Award for 1972. A list of
all Regional Awards recipients is included in Appendix
C.
Students were housed in University of Tennessee dormitories,
reducing the costs considerably. Twenty-one student
papers were presented, the largest number ever in
a Region 3 contest. With such a large number it was
necessary to hold a "finals" competition. The top
five were selected by the judges for a second presentation
before selection of the first, second, and third place
winners.
During 1972 the Institute Student Activities Committee
organized the Student Policy and Planning Committee
with student representatives from each Region. The
purpose of the SPPC was to provide a channel for direct
student input at the Institute level. In Region 3
the student was also given a major role in the planning
of the Regional Student Conference. William T Hurley,
of the University of Louisville, was the first Region
3 representative.
During 1972 the four Subsections of the South Carolina
Section were upgraded to Section status. Following
the example of their colleagues in North Carolina
they preserved the benefits of their former joint
operations by simultaneously forming an Affiliation
of South Carolina Sections.
IEEE began the year 1973 governed by the newly amended
Constitution and with a small dues increase. In addition
to the general dues increase for all members, members
of Regions 1-6 were assessed an additional amount
to fund professional activities within the U.S. The
United States Activities Board (USAB) was formed to
oversee these activities. The prevailing economic
climate and the desire within IEEE to "get something
done" imposed new demands for their time on the Regional
Directors, all of whom were members of USAB. Although
Region 3 was slow to get involved in many of the new
initiatives, simply because there still was not a
groundswell of demand by the membership, Director
Dausmann found himself devoting much more time to
Board level activity than to the affairs of the Region.
The maturity of the Regional staff (Area and Committee
Chairmen and the other officers) which had been developed
over the past three years began to pay off.
In 1973 the RAB Member Services Committee conducted
a Section Leadership workshop during INTERCON at its
New York meeting. This was the first attempt to provide
this service at the Institute level.All Region 3 Sections
were urged to have any of their members who would
be attending INTERCON arrange their schedule to attend
this activity. Also, rooms were set aside for each
Region during one afternoon for an informal Region
Committee meeting. Relatively few Region 3 members
showed up for either of these activities.
The 1973 Regional Conference was held at Louisville,
KY, in April. The Region 3 Committee members were
asked by the Director to express themselves on local
needs in the new areas of interest, and, again, little
enthusiasm was indicated. A proposal by the Awards
Committee for a Regional award for Outstanding Service
to the IEEE was approved with the first award to be
made at SoutheastCon in 1974. The Region 3 Committee
approved the report of the Nominating Committee for
the two candidates for Regional Director. In the membership
election later that year W.L. Sullivan, of Atlanta
was elected Regional Director for 1974-1975.
A complete turnover took place in the Regional staff
at the start of the new term of office. Six new Area
Chairmen and five new Region Committee Chairmen took
office. A new Committee, Professional Activities,
was established to implement some of the new non-technical
activities.
The responsibility and status of the Area Chairmen
were enhanced with the initiation of Area workshops
for Section officers. Travel and incidental expense
for these was included in the Region 3 .udget, and
by reducing the travel requirements it was possible
to bring several officers from each Section to the
workshops. During 1975 120 officers from 40 of the
42 Sections attended one of these workshops. Recognizing
the value of the leadership training, the Regional
Activities Board provided $3000 for the cost of travel.
There was slowly growing (very slowly in most locations)
interest in non-technical or professional activities.
In fact, in some Sections there was still opposition
to the new IEEE programs. There were still diverse
views on this at the Board level also, and Director
Sullivan attempted to reflect the general viewpoint
of the regional membership in these discussions. Although
professional support was low key within the Region,
those Sections which desired to get involved were
fully supported in their efforts.
As an example, the first local project in the Region,
and one of the first in IEEE, to be funded from the
Regional Assessment (USAB funds) was originated by
the Canaveral Section. This was a study of the potential
for a solar energy project in the Cape area which
would be supported by State of Florida and Federal
funds, utilizing unemployed and underemployed engineers
who were already in the area. IEEE funds of less than
$100 were used for printing, postage, and publication
of the finished document for presentation to State
government. A modification of the proposal was eventually
adopted.
Another example of what even a small Section can accomplish
with determined leadership was provided during this
period by the Central Savannah River Section with
only 70 members. Using $500 seed money, advanced by
the Region, for texts, materials, and instructors,
they successfully conducted a two day course on the
1975 National Electrical Code. In attendance were
6 members, 3 students, and 52 non-members. A community
need was served and the Section obtained a $1700 surplus.
SoutheastCon was held in Orlando in 1974 and in Charlotte
in 1975. Both meetings were successful, although there
was great concern prior to the Orlando meeting about
the impact a current gasoline shortage might have
on attendance. This concern was unfounded as the conference
was attended by 445 professional members and 145 students.
The program included 180 professional papers, there
were 47 exhibitors, and a small surplus was generated,
figures comparing favorably with most SoutheastCons
conducted 20 years later.
At the awards banquet at Orlando Mr. George Pierce,
of the New Orleans Section, was presented the first
award for Outstanding Service to IEEE. As the affairs
of the Region became more complex and began to involve
many more individuals, documented guidelines were
needed to provide continuity from one administration
to the next. Up to this point each Director was essentially
on his own as to how he would manage the affairs of
the Region. It was fortunate that the three most recent
Directors had all served in various capacities at
the regional level prior to assuming office, and were
prepared to carry on in much the same manner as their
predecessors. To correct this deficiency the Region
3 Executive Committee proposed a set of operating
guidelines.
Roy Harris, who had recently served as Area 2 Chairman
and would later serve as Region 3 Director, was asked
to head a small group to develop such guidelines.
These original Operating Guidelines were adopted by
the Executive Committee in October, 1974, and, although
not binding on any future administration, carried
an implicit understanding that they would be used
by the Regional Director and other officers from year
to year to provide efficiency and continuity. This
may have been one of the most significant actions
taken by the Region 3 Committee during these early
years. These guidelines were later expanded and adopted
by the membership as the Region 3 Bylaws.
Student support was further expanded during Director
Sullivan's term of office. The special fund for student
support contributed by the Sections was merged with
the other Region funds. In 1975 all student travel
expense was included in the Region budget. Student
travel, which had been computed under a different
formula, would henceforth be computed as for other
members, except that each Student Branch would be
allowed to combine the amounts due its three authorized
travellers in such a way as to maximize the number
of students able to attend. This policy has been more
or less followed since that time.
Dr. Larry K. Wilson, of Nashville, TN, who had served
as Chairman of Area 5 for the past two years was elected
Region 3 Director for the 1976-1977 term. Again there
was a turnover in Area and committee chairmen, and
one new committee, Educational Activities, was established.
The financial status of the Region was much improved
due to substantially greater rebates from Headquarters.
For 1976 the Region 3 rebate, based on a budget submitted,
was $15,800 plus $9,500 in USAB funds to be used for
professionaL activities.
SoutheastCon '76 was held at Clemson University. The
Technical Conference, the Student Conference, and
the Region 3 Committee meeting were exceptionally
well attended. At the Awards Banquet Robert S. Duggan
was presented the Outstanding Engineer Award and Ben
V. Martin the Award for Outstanding Service. An unusual
aspect of Mr. Martin's award was that this occurred
on the fiftieth anniversary of his service as Chairman
of the Student Branch at Clemson. The Student Branch
presented Mr. Martin with a plaque commemorating this
event.
Thirty-one Student Branches out of fifty-four were
represented at the Student Conference and Prize Paper
Contest. An improved formula for student travel reimbursement
was partially responsible. Also, the Region for the
first time supplemented the Life Member Fund monetary
prizes for prize paper winners by $175, bringing the
totals to $300 (1st), $200 (2nd), and $75 (3rd) for
the three winners.
Plans were announced by the new Educational Activities
Committee for a five day microprocessor design course
to be held in Atlanta later in the year. This was
a joint effort with the Educational Activities Board,
with Headquarters providing the materials, instructors,
and publicity, and some financial help. It was later
announced that twenty-eight students attended, not
quite enough to cover the costs. This humble beginning
in sponsoring technical education at the Regional
level was to grow in the years to come.
Section management workshops were becoming more popular
in the Areas as the value of this training was demonstrated.
Areas 1 and 2 (Virginia and North Carolina) experimented
with a joint workshop which was very successful as
travel distances were still held to a minimum and
broader discussions were possible. Area 4(Florida)
held a combined Section management and Professional
Activities workshop. Professional Activities finally
seemed to be catching on within Region 3. A National
PAC workshop held in Washington, DC, was attended
by four representatives from the Region. Information
received on various PAC programs and personal contacts
made at this conference helped stimulate additional
activity in Region 3. Among the active programs reported
by the end of 1976 were: Middle Tennessee, participating
in the Tennessee Joint Engineering Action Group in
supporting various legislative initiatives; Canaveral,
generating support for recent legislation to extend
coverage of the Service Contract Act to professionals;
Huntsville, continuing operation of the Huntsville
Employment Assistance Office; and the Florida Area
( soon to become the Florida Council), representation
on the Florida Council of Engineering Societies.
A new major technical conference and exhibition, similar
to ELECTRO and WESCON was being discussed at this
time by representatives of Regions 3,4,and 5. To be
called MIDCON, it would alternate between Chicago,
Dallas, and Atlanta and be professionally managed.
While these discussions continued for more than a
year, the leadership of Region 3 seemed to feel that
SoutheastCon was meeting the needs of its members,
including students, in a way that MIDCON would not,
and withdrew from further consideration of this joint
effort. In retrospect, this appears to have been a
wise decision, as SoutheastCon continues to be the
glue that holds it all together in Region 3. Even
the major conference SOUTHCON established several
years later has not provided the benefits to the rank
and file membership that have accrued from SoutheastCon.
SoutheastCon '77 was held in Williamsburg, VA. One
notable addition at this conference was a full day
Professional Activities Workshop. USAB funds were
available for travel support for attendees, and every
Section was encouraged to send a representative, even
if they had not yet appointed a PAC Chairman. Attendance
was less than expected, but the first Region 3 PAC
Workshop was well organized and included several participants
from USAB and the Headquarters staff. This could be
considered the real beginning of a concerted effort
at the Regional level to bring Professional Activities
services to Region 3 members.
The Regional Student Representative on the RAB Student
Policy and Planning Committee was added to the Region
3 Committee and Executive Committee. The Executive
Committee also authorized the preparation of initial
Bylaws for the Region, to be based on the Regional
Guidelines. In the Fall election, Mr. R.H. Harris,
of North Carolina, who was currently serving as Region
3 Vice Chairman, was elected Director for the 1978-1979
term.
SoutheastCon was held in Atlanta in 1978 and Roanoke,
VA, in 1979. By this time competition for future conferences
was beginning to build, as more Sections began to
recognize the benefits arising from this activity.
The existing guidelines allowed selection of conference
sites only three years ahead. At each Region 3 Committee
meeting there were usually two or more Sections competing
for the third year out. The format of activities was
much the same each year, but each new local committee
seemed to come up with attractive innovations to increase
the value of the conference to Region 3 members. This
was particularly true of the Student Conference.
Several significant actions took place during Director
Harris' term of office: the initial Region 3 Bylaws
were adopted; planning for SOUTHCON, a major convention
and exhibit, co-sponsored by IEEE and the Electronic
Representatives Association (ERA), was initiated;
and the first student conference on professionalism
was held.
The initial Region 3 Bylaws, based largely upon the
Operating Guide then in use, were approved by the
Region 3 Committee at its April, 1978, meeting in
Atlanta. The initial Bylaws included provision for
the nomination of either one or two candidates for
Regional Director and two or three candidates for
Vice Chairman. The intent of this was to permit the
uncontested election of a Director who had previously
served as Vice Chairman as a result of a contested
election. This was not made explicit in the initial
wording, but was consistent with provisions of the
IEEE Bylaws. Region 3 Bylaws were later amended to
include this and other requirements which must be
met for an uncontested election.
This nominations and elections procedure has provided
the Region membership with outstanding leadership
at the top levels of its management structure. The
Area structure provided broader recognition of outstanding
leadership at the Section level. The Area and Council
leadership roles opened additional avenues of service
for capable members who were willing to work. The
Regional committees offered additional opportunities
for service at the Regional level. Truly, an extensive
talent pool was being discovered and developed for
volunteer service to the IEEE. The elections process
put into place in 1978, along with the philosophy
of selecting candidates who have put in their time
in a variety of voluntary assignments and done well
at it, insures the members of Region 3 that their
top leadership will be the best of the best.
One small glitch that appeared in 1979, was a change
in the elections schedule by IEEE which required that
the names of Regional nominees be received at Headquarters
by March 1 of the year of the election. This had previously
been required at a later date. With the Region 3 Committee
not meeting until late April each year this new schedule
forced the Region Executive Committee to decide either
to separate the Region 3 Committee from SoutheastCon
or use a mail ballot to the committee members. This
decision was not made lightly. The Executive Committee
felt that with all the screening that was done by
the Nominating Committee, and the care with which
the candidates were selected, a mail ballot would
not be objectionable to the Region 3 Committee. This
feeling was strengthened by the fact that during the
ten years of nominating by committee there had never
been a proposal from the floor at the Region 3 Committee
meeting. As a result the mail ballot was instituted
and is still being used.
During this period a major new technical conference
and exhibit was being planned for the Southeast. Similar
to the long established ELECTRO and WESCON and in
view of the recently successful MIDCON, there was
reason to believe that a such a major electronics
show and conference, called SOUTHCON, would be successful
if rotated between Atlanta and Orlando. Dr. Joseph
Pettit, president of Georgia Tech, was largely responsible
for initiating the activity to bring this conference
about. As with MIDCON,SOUTHCON was to be jointly sponsored
by IEEE and the Electronic Representatives Association
(ERA) with members of the local units in the Southeast
constituting the Board of Directors.Financial responsibility
and participation in any surplus was apportioned to
the Atlanta and Orlando Sections of IEEE, Region 3,
and three Chapters of ERA. The show would be professionally
managed by the Electronic Conventions, Inc.(ECI).
The first show was scheduled for January, 1981, in
Atlanta. Director Harris played a major role in obtaining
IEEE approval of the concept and the implementing
Bylaws and served on the initial Board of Directors.
IEEE had made provision in the organizational structure
for an entity between the Region and the Sections
called a " Council". Unlike the "Area", the Council
was a formally constituted body, voluntarily agreed
to by its constituent Sections, with a Chairman elected
by its membership under governing Bylaws. During 1978
and 1979 the Florida Sections were busily engaged
in organizing such a Council. By 1979 the Sections
in Tennessee were also circulating proposed Bylaws
for such an organization, and North and South Carolina
were converting Affiliations to Councils. The Region
Bylaws were amended again to provide that in Areas
where Councils had been duly organized, the elected
Chairman would replace the Area Chairman on the Region
3 Executive Committee.
Except for North and South Carolina, where the transition
from Affiliation to Council was mostly a matter of
nomenclature, the formation of Councils was not an
easy task. Many Sections saw this as giving up a bit
of their sovereignty for uncertain benefits. In addition,
no new funding was in the picture to support the costs
of Council operation. State-wide cooperation in professional
activities was the most obvious advantage initially,
but over time there proved to be many others.
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.
Professional Activities were finally catching on in
most of the Sections of Region 3. Area Chairmen were
encouraging this and where Councils were formed PAC
Committees were active at the Council level. RAB and
USAB had recently developed the new orientation program,
"Professional Awareness Among Students" (later referred
to as "S-PAC"), designed to introduce the student
to the professional, as opposed to technical, side
of his career. The first trial run of this program
was organized in Region 3 and conducted in a student
conference held at Vanderbilt University in Nashville
in March, 1979.
SoutheastCon '79 at Roanoke, VA, was one of the most
successful overall during the decade. Registrations
totaled 764, including professional members, students,
and spouses. There were a record 408 students present.
There was an outstanding technical program, 28 exhibits,
and excellent industry support reported. A surplus
of over $8000 was generated which was divided equally
between the Virginia Mountain Section and Region 3.
In 1978 Dr. Joseph Biedenbach, of the University of
South Carolina, began his long tenure as Chairman
of the Region 3 Educational Activities Committee.
Having been active on the Educational Activities Board
Dr. Biedenbach demonstrated his expertise in and enthusiasm
for continuing education to the benefit of the members
in Region 3 for the next 13 years.
At the end of the decade the Region 3 Committee and
Executive Committee were smoothly functioning management
teams. Constitutional Bylaws were in place to govern
the operations. Region committees had established
their agenda and , in most cases, had written guidelines
under which to operate. Section management workshops
were providing valuable leadership training at the
Section level. Appointed Area Chairmen and elected
Council Chairmen all had come up through the ranks
of Section activity. Region Committee Chairmen had
experience in the fields for which they were responsible
and has demonstrated their willingness to work. If
the Region could be considered successful at this
point it was the dedication of these volunteers throughout
the Region at every level that had made it so.
After a slow start Professional Activities now had
a prominent place in the Region. Student Activity
was continuing to be of high priority, with a student
sitting on the Regional executive Committee. SoutheastCon
continued to serve as the vehicle which could tie
together all the disparate elements of Regional activity.
Membership growth, which had been slow in the early
years was beginning to accelerate, increasing from
14,482 in 1969 to 20,344 at the end of 1979. Thirty-eight
Sections had increased to forty-two, one Affiliation
to three Affiliations or Councils, and thirty-seven
Student Branches to fifty-six. Either somebody was
doing something right or the Region was mighty lucky.
III. EXPANDING THE SERVICES 1980-1989
As
IEEE moved into the new decade the Regional organization
seemed well positioned to deliver the services which
its members were expecting and for which they were paying
their dues. There had been several dues increases since
the 1963 merger, both in the general membership dues
and the regional assessment which supported professional
activities, although the aggregate increase was less
than the rate of inflation. This was true for students
as well as higher grade members. Since value received
versus cost is a primary consideration for joining an
organization, an analysis of membership levels during
these sixteen years, both in Region 3 and in U.S.Regions
1-6, is interesting. The table below illustrates a startling
contrast in the membership growth between Region 3 and
Regions 1-6 combined.
Region 3
Regions 1-6
Membership Total
Total
Members 1979 20,344
166,885
1963 13,217
140,411
+7,127 (53.9%)
+26,474 (18.9%)
Students 1979 3,791
23,827
1963 2,951
25,956
+840 (28.4%)
-3,129 (-12.0%)
Above 1979 16,553
143,058
Student 1963 10,266
114,455
+6,287 (61.2%)
28,603 (25.0%)
MEMBERSHIP
GROWTH 1963-1979
The factors influencing growth in student membership
differ from those which influence growth in the higher
levels. For this reason it is necessary to make a
distinction in the growth rates for the two grades
of members.It can be seen that the percentage growth
in total members was significantly higher in Region
3 than that for the U.S. as a whole. Actually, only
Region 5 had a rate of growth approaching Region 3.
For students, Region 3 was the only U.S.Region with
a positive rate of growth during the period.In all
of the other Regions the growth in higher grades was
offset by a loss in student membership.
Regional differences in membership growth for higher
grade members can be attributed largely to demographics
and the economics of the period under study. There
is considerable movement of the engineering community,
and the membership figures each month in every Section
reflect the net effect of gains and losses. Region
3 has undoubtedly benefitted from such movement. A
look at the growth patterns of Sections such as Atlanta,
Eastern North Carolina, and several of the Florida
Sections illustrates this. However, aggressive membership
development in many Region 3 Sections also contributed
to these results.
Student membership is more fluid and varies along
with the level of engineering enrollment. Region 3
is blessed with a large number of colleges and universities
with engineering programs. It seems unlikely that
this variable alone could account for the Region 3
student membership increase of 28% during a period
in which the other five Regions were each contributing
to an overall loss of 12% of the total student membership.
One can safely postulate that the dedication and energy
of the Student Branch Counselors, the favorable attitude
of Department Heads, and the active support of local
Sections, aided and abetted by the continuing policy
of student activity promotion at the Regional level
were somehow more effective than elsewhere. The comparison
of quantitative results attests to the success of
Region 3 in membership development for all grades
of membership.
In the fall of 1979 David McLaren was elected Director
of Region 3 for the years 1980-1981. At the same time
K. Reed Thompson was elected Vice Chairman of Region
3 in the first contested election for this office.
Both these men had served in a number of appointive
and elective offices at various levels within Region
3.
In 1980 the Affiliation of Sections in South Carolina
assumed Council status. As such, under the Bylaws
the Sections involved became a separate Area, Area
7, leaving only the two remaining Sections, Atlanta
and Savannah, in Area 3. Also in 1980, both Virginia
and Tennessee were pursuing Council status, reaching
agreements among the Sections involved and preparing
By-laws. A major consideration in the planning for
Councils and for early years of operation was the
question of financing. Obviously, for effectiveness
some level of financing was necessary. With no outside
support available initially, the only recourse was
to turn to the constituent Sections for voluntary
or prescribed contributions to the Council treasury.
This did not come easily as most Sections were already
strapped financially to meet their own needs.
Two distinct advantages of the state Council over
either a multi-state or single-state Area were becoming
obvious. The most obvious is that the Council is of
bottom-up design, organized by and controlled by its
constituent Sections, whereas the Area is imposed
upon the Sections from above, even though it is intended
for their benefit. The second advantage is that the
Council is an entity which can participate in inter-society
professional activity, especially at the State level.
This was becoming more important with the increased
emphasis on professional activity within IEEE.
By 1981 five state-wide Councils were active in Region
3: Virginia (Area 1), North Carolina (Area 2), South
Carolina (Area 7), Florida (Area 4), and Tennessee
(Area 5). In subsequent years the Sections in most
of the remaining states considered Council formation
but concluded that there were not sufficient advantages
for them.
SoutheastCon '80 was held in Nashville at the Opryland
Hotel with the now more or less standard agenda of
Region 3 Committee meeting, high quality technical
program, Section leadership workshop, and a PAC workshop.
The Student Conference and Prize Paper Contest was
supported by three local Student Branches of the Nashville
Section, and included a solar car contest, which was
becoming a fixture on the student program. Unfortunately,
this was the first SoutheastCon since 1968 to run
a deficit. A series of problems beset the conference
early on, including unexpected delays in printing
the initial call for papers and mailing delays for
the initial call as well as subsequent notices.
This resulted in lower than anticipated attendance.
Some expenses were higher than anticipated. Altogether
these factors resulted in a deficit of approximately
$6,000 which was shared equally by the Region and
the Nashville Section. In addition, the Region Executive
Committee agreed to advance the Section the full amount
of their portion of the loss in order that all bills
might be paid. This experience underscored the need
for an improved conference manual specifically designed
for SoutheastCon to aid the local committees, some
of which were putting together a large conference
for the first time.
At the 1980 Awards Banquet R.S. Duggan Jr.,of the
Atlanta Section, received the Outstanding Service
award. thereby becoming the first member of Region
3 to have received both the engineering and service
awards. Such achievement has been repeated only once
since that time, by J.C. Wiltse, also of the Atlanta
Section, in 1989.
With the Regional structure now firmly established
and the Area and Council organizations functioning
well more attention could be given to improving the
delivery of services to the membership. Two areas
to which special attention would be directed during
this period were Educational Activities and Professional
Activities. In the field of Educational Activities,
much interest was being shown by local Sections in
continuing education, but there was a real need for
course material and instructors, especially in the
smaller Sections. Dr. Joe Biedenbach, Chairman of
the Educational Activities Committee proposed the
establishment of a continuing education center for
Region 3 at the University of South Carolina, at no
cost to the Region, for developing and conducting
short courses. This generous offer was accepted.
Soon thereafter the Educational Activities Board announced
a new satellite program to deliver technical short
courses throughout the nation. Dr. Biedenbach, as
a member of the Board, had a primary role in this
development. The initial program would originate in
the Region 3 educational center at the University
of South Carolina as a trial of the concept.
Professional Activities were also building a head
of steam with strong leadership from Ron Wojtasinski,
Chairman of the Region 3 Professional Activities Committee.
PAC workshops were held by the North Carolina Council
and Florida Councils in 1980, and at SoutheastCon
'80. The State Intersociety Legislative Advisory (SILA)
activity, which had not been fully supported throughout
Region 3 was made a responsibility of PAC for better
coordination with other professional matters. A By-law
change was made in 1981 to strengthen the work of
the PAC Committee. The word "operations" was inserted
into the title of the committee to make it clear that
their function was more than policy making or advisory.
The new Professional Activities Operation Committee
would be responsible for planning, organizing, implementing,
and monitoring professional activities within the
Region. Generally, from this point on what had been
called "PAC" would now be called PACE for Professional
Activities Council for Engineers. In October, 1981,
the Region 3 PAOC distributed its first PACE Newsletter
to all PACE chairmen in the Region. This newsletter
was made possible under USAB funding and was used
as a means of keeping the membership informed on PACE
activities.
Another area which had been given little attention
in the past was that of Public Relations. A few of
the larger Sections were able to publicize their activities
locally, but there was general recognition that more
effort and better methods were needed to tell the
public the story of the engineering profession generally.
and of the IEEE in particular. Region 3 was fortunate
that, at this time, Mr. R.H.Tanner, a former president
of the Institute, moved his residence to South Florida
and was willing to serve the IEEE in any way he could
be useful. After having served as Director of Region
7 (Canada), Vice President of RAB, and President he
accepted the office of Chairman of the Region 3 Public
Relations Committee and worked tirelessly for eight
years encouraging the various entities of Region 3
to aggressively promote Public Information about IEEE
and the electrical engineering profession.
In January, 1981, the first SOUTHCON was held in Atlanta.
This was deemed a huge success with over 10,000 attendees
visiting the 500 booths. A surplus of $34,000 was
generated with Region 3 receiving $1700 as its first
share from this new conference.
SoutheastCon '81 was held in Huntsville, AL with the
usual technical program, student program, and exhibits.
The number and quality of papers presented was outstanding,
and there were more exhibitors and of higher quality
than at any previous conference. However, the local
arrangements committee was concerned about what they
perceived to be a considerably lower attendance than
expected. At the Region 3 Committee meeting the point
was made that although the student registration was
very good, there were few professional registrants
other than those presenting papers. This was disappointing
to the exhibitors as well as having an impact on the
financial health of the conference.
Although nearly three months separated the two events,
competition from SOUTHCON was blamed for the reduced
attendance. After considerable discussion at the Region
3 committee meeting, the Long Range Planning Committee
was asked to study the question of conflict between
the two conferences and bring back a report and recommendation
at a later date.
Although the attendance was lower than had been anticipated
it was not significantly out of line with prior SoutheastCons.
Also, when the financial results were complete, the
conference showed a surplus of approximately $1,000.
At the Region 3 Committee meeting K.Reed Thompson
was nominated as the single candidate for Director,
1982-1983, under the new By-law provision permitting
this if the candidate had been previously elected
Vice Chairman in a contested election. He thus became
the first Region 3 Director elected without opposition
since Bob Elliott in 1967. R.S. Duggan was elected
Vice Chairman 1982-1983.
When the Ft. Walton Section bid on the 1982 SoutheastCon
in 1979, the Region Executive Committee had some doubt
about the wisdom of accepting the invitation. Ft.
Walton was one of the smaller Sections in the Region,
with about 150 members and no student Branch in its
territory. Few of its members had any experience in
organizing a large conference. There was little industry
in the area from which to draw support or exhibits,
meeting space was marginal, and transportation was
minimal. Nevertheless, the invitation was accepted.
During the planning and organizing phase, the University
of Florida Student Branch offered to serve as host
for the Student Conference, the Panama City and Pensacola
Sections offered support, the Florida Council provided
counsel and financial assistance, and the Region Executive
Committee made its advisory functions available. The
result of all this was an unusually successful conference,
with a strong technical program for the 250 professional
attendees, twenty-two exhibitors, and over 500 student
participants. For the latter, the University of Florida
Student Branch deserves much of the credit.In spite
of the early concerns the conference generated a surplus
of nearly $6,000.
The overall success of the 1982 conference is a classic
example of what a dedicated group of volunteers, in
even a very small Section, can accomplish in IEEE.
It is also a tribute to the vision, determination,
and professional ability of Section Chairman Carolyn
Schauble, who believed it could be done and who later
served as General Chairman of the Conference.
In October,1981, the Region 3 Executive Committee
received the report of the Long Range Planning Committee
regarding the perceived conflict between SoutheastCon
and SOUTHCON. In effect, the report stated that it
was too early to determine with any certainty that
a conflict did, in fact, exist. The conferences served
different objectives and, to a great extent, different
audiences. SoutheastCon was peculiarly related to
the Region 3 IEEE structure and its members, both
professional and student, whereas SOUTHCON had a wide
appeal to a much broader audience within the profession.There
was reason to think that the two conferences could
co-exist. The report recommended that every effort
be made to strengthen SoutheastCon and to separate
the dates to the extent possible. The Executive Committee
accepted the report and directed that the actions
recommended be implemented so far as possible by all
those entities involved with future SoutheastCons.
SOUTHCON 1982, in Orlando, was held in three separate
locations due to construction delays in a new convention
facility.Despite this set-back, the more than 500
booths available were sold out and over 12,000 attendees
were shuttled back and forth between venues. Only
a small surplus was generated by this conference.
The basic organizational structure of the Region continued
to change in order to better serve the needs of the
membership. A new Section was established in Central
Georgia in 1982.. The Panama City Section and Tallahassee
Subsection merged to form a new Tallahassee Area Section
in 1983.. Additional Student Branches were established
as were numerous Society Chapters in existing Sections
and Branches. An additional Area was established,
Area 8, for the three Sections in Kentucky which had
been left somewhat out on a limb with the formation
of the Tennessee Council.
The five Councils in the Region were growing stronger
and becoming of greater service to their constituent
Sections. Financing continued to be a problem, but
the Region was now in position to help through the
needy Section funds available from Headquarters. Virginia's
biennial VACON was generating some surplus for them.
North Carolina, with some established income from
the annual Symposium, was seeking to increase advertising
revenue from the NORTH CAROLINA BULLETIN and from
other conference activity. South Carolina also was
working to increase revenue from their paper, THE
CORONA.
Florida's financial needs are intensified by the travel
distances for statewide meetings, and anticipated
income from SOUTHCON '82 was less than expected, but
with some help from the Region they were working to
become financially independent.The Gainesville Section,
which at the time the Council was organized had elected
not to join, had recently become a member, and this
was expected to add strength. Tennessee, with funds
from the Region had established a quarterly newsletter
and was getting involved in state political activity
through the Tennessee Joint Engineering Action Group.
Interest and support of Professional Activities continued
to broaden. Evidence of this is the fact that of a
total of 17 USAB awards in 1982, eight were to Region
3 recipients, including the highest award for Professionalism
presented to Larry Dwon of the Eastern North Carolina
Section. Thirteen Region 3 members attended a national
PACE conference and five members an IEEE Careers Conference.
The PAOC and the Student Activities Committee jointly
conducted SPAC's at six universities during 1982 and
1983. In every instance the interest in IEEE generated
by these conferences resulted in a substantial increase
in Branch membership.
Under the leadership of Vernon Powers the Region 3
awards program was maturing. A third major Region
3 award, the "Outstanding Engineering Educator Award"
was introduced with the first recipient to be recognized
in 1984. Also, the "Exemplary Section Award" was created
to recognize those Sections that achieve administrative
excellence significantly above the ordinary. In addition,
the Awards and Recognition Committee introduced the
first Operations Guide for the awards process to add
formality and continuity to the nomination and evaluation
of candidates. Dr. George P. Rodrigue, of the Atlanta
Section was the first recipient in 1984 of the Outstanding
Engineering Educator Award. Two Sections, Alabama
and Orlando, were the first to be recognized as Exemplary
Sections, in 1983.
In the educational field the major development during
these years was the IEEE satellite program for delivering
short courses to groups of members at various sites
throughout the nation. The first program originated
in November, 1982, at the Region 3 educational center
established earlier by Joe Biedenbach, Chairman of
the Region 3 Educational Activities Committee, at
the University of South Carolina. A second program
was originated at the same location in early December
and, partially due to the good reports of the first,
was an overwhelming success. Approximately 2500 engineers
at 96 sites participated. Members of the Columbia
Section served as a studio audience, adding a distinctly
Region 3 flavor to the program. In Region 3 there
were 140 participants at 7 sites. More courses were
in the planning stage with four already scheduled
for 1983.
The high regard within IEEE for Region 3 Student Activities
was further demonstrated by the receipt of three Bendix
Awards for student projects in 1981-82 and by three
"Outstanding Counselor" awards in 1982 and two in
1983, out of the ten awarded by IEEE each year. Of
greater significance, perhaps, was the adoption of
the Region 3 rules for the Student Paper Contest as
part of a student paper manual being prepared by the
Institute Student Activities Committee for use throughout
the institute.
In preparation for recognition of the IEEE Centennial
in 1984 all units of the Institute were asked to develop
plans, programs, and activities in support of the
celebration. Director Thompson and the Executive Committee
had emphasized this, and there was much planning activity
underway throughout the Region. One special item developed
at the Regional level was the "Region 3 Centennial
Compendium", a publication documenting the organizational
growth, the persons who had served, conferences held,
and awards received. The personal memoirs of most
of the directors who had served since the formation
of Region 3 were included as was a one hundred year
historical events chronology of electrical engineering
in the geographical area served by Region 3. Vice
Chairman Duggan was responsible for the compilation
and production of this document, which provided a
foundation for this present history.
SOUTHCON '83 in Atlanta was attended by more than
12,000 registrants even though the third day of the
show was impacted by a snow and ice storm which brought
Atlanta traffic to a standstill. The trend for SOUTHCON
at this point seemed to indicate that it was still
being nurtured, and, while it was successfully delivering
valuable service to vendors and buyers in the Region,
it had not yet matured into a consistently successful
financial operation. Neither was it clear that it
was performing a significant service to the general
IEEE membership of the Region.
SoutheastCon '83 at Orlando also had mixed results.
Professional registration was lower than anticipated,
but as in the two previous years there were almost
500 students present. The high cost of student travel
which had been lurking in the shadows when the last
several budgets were prepared came to the forefront
as a result of this conference. The combination of
the large numbers of students and less than adequate
control of travel expense resulted in substantial
overexpenditures. Expenditures for the Student Conference
(primarily travel) by the Region, not including that
expended by the Conference Committee, amounted to
approximately $25,000. This was about 46% of the total
1983 disbursements for the Region.
All of this, together with a shortfall from conferences,
resulted in a total deficit for the year of approximately
$5,000. Region 3 entered 1984 solvent, but barely
so. As a result tighter controls were put on all expenditures,
and a new formula for student travel was put in place
which limited the total reimbursement to any one school
and gave priority to those schools which had one or
more papers being presented.
In the Fall 1983 elections Bob Duggan, incumbent Vice
Chairman, defeated a petition candidate in an unplanned
contested election for 1984-1985 Director, and G.F.Abbott
was elected Vice-Chairman, in a contested election
which made him eligible as a single candidate for
Director in 1986-1987.
In 1984 IEEE celebrated its 100th birthday, and organizational
units and individuals throughout Region 3 took part
in many of the activities. The Region 3 Centennial
Compendium mentioned earlier was distributed as a
historical record of the Region's past. Local meetings,
programs, or activities took place in Sections and
Councils. For example, the South Carolina Council
hosted a reception for legislators during the legislative
session, geared to the centennial celebration. In
Louisville Southeastcon '84 used the theme "A Century
of Electrical Progress" and provided a historical
exhibit in addition to the technical exhibit.
A number of representatives from Region 3 attended
the Sections Congress held in Boston. Director Duggan
had established a goal of 15 sites receiving a satellite
broadcast of the Centennial Convocation in Philadelphia.
Region 3 did better than this with 25 sites (out of
a total of 125), with at least one site in each Region
3 state. There were an estimated 675 viewers at the
25 sites, making this by far the largest satellite
audience in Region 3 at that date. A beautiful bronze
commemorative Centennial Medal for outstanding service
to IEEE was awarded to individuals throughout the
Institute, and Region 3 received its share of these.
1984 was an exciting year.
Region 3 continued its participation in the satellite
short course program. For the four programs in 1984
Region 3 employed a total of forty two sites ranging
from 8 to 14 per program. Many Sections were finding
it difficult to obtain down link facilities at a convenient
location. The Educational Activities Board reported
that the program was breaking even, but was not the
money maker that they had hoped it would be. Video
tapes of the programs were being made available for
use by local Sections, and some Region 3 Sections
were beginning to make use of this part of the program.
The South Carolina Council was looking at the possibility
of making use of the South Carolina ETV network to
distribute the programs statewide, either live or
from video tape. Continuing education was alive and
well.
With the maturing of the awards program at the Regional
level, Councils and Sections were developing or expanding
awards programs of their own. The Florida Council
had duplicated the Region 3 awards at the Council
level, using the same format for recommendations.
This simplified the nominating process for a Section
by allowing a single nomination to serve either purpose.
More Sections were applying for recognition as "Exemplary
Sections". Since this is a self nominating award,
with recognition based on documented performance,
successful nomination requires a self evaluation that
convinces the Section leaders that, in fact, they
have been performing well above the norm, and then
documenting that fact to the satisfaction of the Awards
and Recognition Committee. Four Sections were recognized
for this achievement in 1984 and nine in 1985.
To ensure the continuity of the Awards program the
Bylaws were amended in 1984 to make reference to the
Awards and Recognition Manual as being an appendix
to the Bylaws.
Southeastcons '84 and "85 were held in Louisville
and Raleigh, respectively, with the high quality programs
for both professionals and students that the members
had now come to expect. Although efforts had been
made over the years to develop an operations guide
uniquely tailored to SoutheastCon, such a guide still
did not exist. The meetings committee proposed that
an outside consultant be engaged to produce such a
guide, at a cost of only $1,000. The Region 3 Executive
Committee gave approval, and such a guide was produced
in time to be used for the 1985 conference.
SOUTHCONS '84 and '85 were held in Orlando and Atlanta,
respectively, with attendance still increasing, reaching
16,479 in 1985.
In 1984 the Long Range Planning Committee was again
asked to review the question of conflict between SOUTHCON
and SoutheastCon with particular attention to the
possibility or desirability of merging the two conferences.
Again, after study, the answer was the same. There
really was no significant conflict. As for merger,
no advantage could be seen from this. As the earlier
report had made clear, the two conferences were distinctly
different in purpose and objective. The student involvement
alone was sufficient argument against this step.
The LRP Committee also examined the current leadership
training activity and reported that in its opinion
a very good job was being done in this area. Most
leadership training was by this time being conducted
on a Council or Area level, which seemed to be the
most efficient and effective manner. John Miller,
who had led in the establishment of the Tri-Cities
Section in Tennessee and was currently Professional
Activities Chairman for the Region, had developed
considerable material for use in leadership training
and had volunteered his services to organize and/or
conduct leadership training along with PACE workshops
wherever he could be used. His work was highly praised
by those who had taken advantage of his volunteer
efforts. The only suggestion the LRP Committee offered
was that this activity be formally assigned to the
Educational Activities Committee for supervision.
PACE activities continued to expand with more Sections
getting involved. Strong leadership at the Region
and Council levels was a factor as was the availability
of funding for these activities from USAB. At the
National PACE Conference in 1984 16 Region 3 Sections
were represented by 22 attendees, each of whom returned
fired up to take new initiatives in his organization.
The 1985 National PACE Conference was held at Seabrook
Island, SC, making it possible for even more Region
3 people to participate. An interesting initiative
reported by the Virginia Council was a cooperative
arrangement with the Northern Virginia Section (Region
2) to form the IEEE Virginia Activities Committee
for joint legislative effort in the State. Mr. K.P.Lau
of Charlotte was chosen an IEEE Congressional Fellow
for 1984-85.
IEEE Bylaws were amended in 1984 to permit, but not
require, the elective office of a Director-Elect for
a Region. Such officer would succeed to the office
of Director without further vote by the members.Adoption
of this provision was considered by the Region 3 Executive
Committee during 1985 as an alternative to the elected
Vice Chairman who may succeed to the Directorship
without a contested vote. The latter had been in effect
in Region 3 for the last three elections and seemed
to be working. It has the advantage of permitting,
but not requiring, the succession of the Vice Chairman.
It was the decision of the Executive Committee to
continue the current arrangement on the basis of "if
it ain't broke, don't fix it.
All leadership in IEEE is voluntary. In most instances
there is more than an adequate supply. Sometimes in
smaller Sections, problems arise in obtaining the
necessary officers with the will and dedication necessary
to carry out their responsibilities. The required
reports may not be made, and the Section may for a
time be considered "delinquent". Several Region Sections
found themselves in this condition during the period
covered by this history. An example is the Jacksonville
Section. In one year this Section lost its entire
officer cadre, mostly due to transfer out of the Section
area. No members were willing or able to step forward
to keep the machinery going. After two or three years
of inactivity, with the help of the Florida Council,
the Section was able to get on its feet again.
The opposite of this is the situation in which the
Section finds it can more effectively serve its members
in two locations rather than one. It can then either
establish a Subsection in a new location or can actually
divide itself into two Sections provided there are
enough active members to support the two. The Canaveral
Section successfully did the latter in 1984, with
its new offspring becoming the South Brevard/Indian
River Section, bringing the total number of Sections
in the Region to 45.
In 1983 the Jamaica Section had indicated its desire
to be assigned to Region 3 rather than to Region 9.
Both Regions agreed to the change, but obtaining IEEE
Board of Directors approval and accomplishing all
the necessary paper work took time, and it was not
until the end of 1985, and with much effort on the
part of Director Duggan, that the transfer was actually
consummated. In view of the impending transfer and
to welcome the Jamaicans into Region 3, the Region
3 Executive Committee held its meeting in November,
1985, in Jamaica. This meeting served a dual purpose
of getting acquainted with the leaders of the Jamaica
Section and providing a learning session for them.
In addition to the regular business of the Committee,
several presentations were made for purposes of orientation
by Director Duggan, representatives of RAB and others.
G.F.Abbott and Charles Alexander were elected by the
membership to serve as Director and Vice Chairman
of Region 3 for the 1986-1987 term.
The new administration entered 1986 in an improved
financial position, but with a continuing need for
tight fiscal controls. A small surplus had been generated
in both 1984 and 1985; however, there was still no
significant reserve. The Jamaica Section became a
textbook example of how a small Section, in the doldrums,
can, with determination and leadership and a little
help and guidance from the Regional or Council level
be turned around. In early 1986 membership was at
low ebb, and minimum requirements for meetings had
not been met in 1985, resulting in withholding of
funds. New officers had been elected and were scheduled
to attend a Section Officers Workshop with the Florida
Council in June if travel expense could be funded.
Funds for this and other necessary Section expenses
was made available from the Region 3 "needy Section"
account until the Section could get on its feet. The
training session in Florida, help from the Region,
and the local enthusiasm all had an immediate impact.
By the end of the year the Section reported, in addition
to regular meetings, a video conference, a technical
seminar, and a training course for its members. It
soon became one of the fastest growing Sections (proportionally)
in the Region, and took steps to organize a student
branch. At about this same time the Jacksonville Section
which had, effectively, been out of business for some
time was able to elect a slate of officers and begin
operations again.
More members of Region 3 were asked to serve on boards
and committees at the Institute level. In 1986 five
of twenty-three positions on RAB were filled by members
of Region 3 as were many offices on other boards.
In 1987 Bob Duggan, senior Past Director would be
elected Vice President of Regional Activities, and
the current Director, George Abbott, would later serve
as Executive Vice-President.
In 1985 R.W. Russell II, of the Richmond Section,
was awarded the RAB Innovation Award for a special
project conceived and carried out by the Richmond
Section and Virginia Council. At the national Boy
Scouts of America Jubilee, held in Richmond, the Section
provided a booth, equipped and staffed by over 100
volunteers during the course of the event, at which
the scouts received an introduction to the field of
electrical engineering.
Although some short courses by satellite were still
being offered, a trend toward video tape was beginning.
The high cost of production and marginal offsetting
revenue was a factor as was the logistical problem
of establishing down links in most locations. The
Regional Education Committee was doing all it could
to stimulate continuing education using whatever means
were available and was looking at the production of
video courses within the Region. Most successful satellite
programs still active were cooperative ventures with
industry or colleges. The Atlanta Section had an arrangement
with Lockheed- Georgia to share the costs. The Paducah
Sub-section had an agreement with Martin-Marietta
and the Paducah Junior College for at least one program.
On July 1, 1986, the newly elected Vice-Chairman of
Region 3, C.K. Alexander resigned his position due
to his move out of the Region 3 area. Vernon B. Powers,
who had been the unsuccessful candidate for this office
in the last election and was now serving as Secretary,
was appointed Vice Chairman by Director Abbott for
the remainder of the term.
Region 3 had not consistently published a Newsletter
since the two trial issues which were sent to all
members in the Region in the early seventies. In the
past couple of years efforts had been made to produce
a newsletter for distribution primarily to Section
officers to keep them up to date. The new Vice Chairman
made this a priority, establishing a definite schedule
and distribution list to Section and Sub-section officers
and committee chairman, and members of the regional
committees. One issue was mailed during the last half
of 1986 and quarterly thereafter. Branch chairmen
and counsellors were later added to the distribution.
It was finally recognized that production of a quality
newsletter is a full time job for a volunteer, not
an "additional duty". It was only when a full time
editor was enlisted to take on this job that the Region
3 Newsletter reached the stature that it has today.
Although the newsletter continued to be produced and
published as a responsibility of the Vice Chairman
through 1987, effort was being made to identify a
person who was willing and able to undertake this
imposing task.
SoutheastCon '86 in Richmond was pronounced a success,
financially and from the viewpoint of students. There
were the usual reservations about the number of participants
in the technical program sessions. Excellent cost
containment, especially in the area of printing and
publishing and for social functions, without reducing
quality of either resulted in a surplus of over $7000
to be shared by the Richmond Section and Region 3.
Notwithstanding the success of most SoutheastCons,
such as that described above, it was recognized that
there was still not sufficient continuity and consistency
in the planning process for these conferences and
that the host Section for each conference was still
being left largely to its own resources. A SoutheastCon
Board of Directors was proposed, to include the General
Chairmen of the three most recent conferences and
the two succeeding conferences, the Meetings Committee
Chairman, and the Region Vice Chairman, who would
chair the BOD.The Board would oversee the planning
process for future meetings and guide and monitor
the local committees. A Bylaw change was made to incorporate
such an entity into the Region 3 structure.
SoutheastCon '87 was held in Tampa, hosted by the
Florida West Coast Section. The leadership workshop
during this conference included Chapter officers and
was attended by 50 representatives of various units
throughout the Region. This was by far the largest
workshop of this type held up to that time. The SoutheastCon
BOD made its first report at the Regional Committee
meeting. The Board committed to produce a conference
manual specifically for use by SoutheastCon planners.
Recognizing that this conference is the single most
important activity which affects the entire membership,
both professional and student, it also recommended
certain actions to make the conference even more valuable
to Region 3 members. Noting the declining interest
in the professional program it suggested narrowing
the broad horizontal program, targeting it to the
interests of local industry, increased peer review
to ensure the highest standards and appropriateness
of papers, and developing a marketing strategy for
each hosting location that would target local interest
for both the program and the exhibits. It once again
reaffirmed a commitment to incorporating the student
activities into the overall conference plans, yet
allowing the student community to plan and conduct
its portion of the conference separately.
Somewhat as an aside, it is worth noting here, that
for many years the student program had included a
hardware contest for the Branches to design and build
a device which would then compete during the conference.
Design criteria differed each year. Originally, this
was called a solar car contest, then a "seeker" car,
then finally just a "device contest". The Region 3
Student Activities Committee reported during this
period that the Region 3 Device Contest had become
a very serious project in the Electrical Engineering
Departments of several schools and was being assigned
as a Senior Project at some.
In 1987 the RAB Innovation Award again came to Region
3. Dr.R.T.Nash, of Vanderbilt University and Vice-Chairman
of the Tennessee Council, was the recipient of this
award for developing a model study of the quality
of engineering education related to the industrial
needs of the State of Tennessee.
During this period professional activities continued
to expand, aided by the availability of special funding
from USAB. Several S-PACS were held each year, A PACE
Newsletter was published to keep all units of Region
3 aware of what was happening in the field of professional
activities, a PACE workshop was held at SoutheastCon,
every state was active in SILA (State Intersociety
Legislative Activity), and work was progressing on
a COMPMAIL+ network for all PACE representatives.
At the 1986 national PACE conference in Phoenix there
were 20 Region 3 attendees representing 15 Sections
and 5 Councils in seven of the nine Region 3 states.
Tight financial controls during 1986 again produced
a surplus for the Region and an addition to the reserve
fund. In anticipation of reduced income during 1987
and the healthy reserve after three good years a deficit
budget was planned for 1987 rather than reduce the
level of services to the members. This allowed some
travel reimbursement for attendance at the Sections
Congress for Sections not having sufficient funds
of their own. However, not only did the income shortfall
occur, but expenses mushroomed, resulting in the largest
annual deficit ever incurred by Region 3, with an
accompanying wipe out of the reserve. Because the
Vice Chairman had been appointed rather than elected
by the membership a contested election was held for
both Director and Vice Chairman in 1987. As a result,
Vernon B. Powers, the incumbent Vice Chairman was
elected Director, and D. W. Jackson was elected Vice
Chairman for 1988-1989.
Restoration of the financial integrity of the Region
was the first order of business for the new administration.
Reed Thompson, Regional Director 1982-1983, was appointed
Secretary /Treasurer, and charged with overseeing
this task. IEEE Headquarters agreed to provide the
entire annual rebate as early in the year as possible
to provide the Region with operating funds. Both the
Florida West Coast Section and the Florida Council
offered to loan surplus funds to the Region should
this be necessary, but the action was not required.
The Region 3 Executive Committee meeting normally
held in January was canceled.
A Region Finance Committee was created consisting
of the Treasurer, the Director, and the Vice Chairman.
The committee was responsible for preparing the Region
budget prior to Executive Committee review, providing
feedback on expenditures to committee chairmen and
special project chairmen, and exercising financial
risk management for the Director.
In January, an audit of the Region books by the new
administration brought to light two major problems
contributing to the financial debacle. With Executive
Committee approval, the Student Activities budget
was more than doubled after the original budget was
prepared. Also, there was no financial reporting of
PACE activity in 1987, and many PACE activities which
should have been funded by USAB were absorbed by the
Region general fund. Prompt action was taken to fix
these problems. A travel policy was defined for students
which regained control of student expenditures while
emphasizing Region support rather than 100% funding,
and which placed responsibility on the Student Branches
to make the best use of the funds available. A unique
"Student Travel Voucher" was designed to replace the
standard member travel voucher. Both the policy statement
and the voucher were included in the Region Operations
Manual and in next revision of the Region Bylaws.
The problem with PACE financial reporting was corrected
by placing more stringent controls on USAB allocations
by the Region Finance Committee.
The Finance Committee, under Chairman Reed Thompson's
guidance, eliminated the written Annual Geographic
Unit Financial Report and replaced it with a PC based
computer program which greatly simplified financial
reporting. This work was funded and completed in 1989
as a Region 3/RAB Special Project and was made available
to all RAB entities. All Region 3 Section and Area/Council
Chairmen received the program on diskette, thereby
standardizing financial reporting within the Region.
This program (revised) is still used by RAB and its
entities today.
Region 3 Councils either cost shared or totally absorbed
travel expense to Region 3 Excom and Committee meetings
during 1988, contributing to reduced meeting expense
and the turn around of Region 3's financial position
by the end of the year. This policy was continued
through 1989.
Under these conditions the new Region 3 Executive
Committee held its first face to face meeting in April
during SoutheastCon '88 at Knoxville. One or two of
the members continued in the same position as previously,
a few incumbents took on a new assignment, but the
majority of the committee found themselves serving
at the Regional level for the first time.
One new position had been added, that of Newsletter
Editor. This would no longer be just an additional
duty for the Vice Chairman. Ms. Deborah H. Powers,
who had served as Chairperson of the Florida Council,
took on this job which had languished for want of
full time responsibility. This was the beginning of
a regularly published, quality publication to serve
the entire Region 3 leadership. Printed on 8 1/2 x
11 heavy stock, 20 pages, including pictures, the
Region 3 Newsletter was mailed to all officers and
committee chairmen in all units within the Region,
about 500 copies. It was soon recognized as one of
the premier publications of its kind within the Institute.
Previous Directors and many committee chairman had
established annual goals and objectives which they
hoped to accomplish. All too often these were stated
in such broad or general terms that evaluation of
the outcomes was difficult. Director Powers set forth
immediately a list of goals and objectives for the
Region and for each area of responsibility at the
Regional level that was specific and measurable. A
new era of management by objectives had begun and
would continue on into the future.
SoutheastCon '88 in Knoxville was a successful conference
although attendance was less than expected. Student
attendance was down substantially from the last few
conferences due to the limitations placed on support
for student travel. It was not down sufficiently to
detract from its value or its intended purposes to
support the student work within the Region. The student
attendance at Knoxville could probably be viewed as
a more realistic match between the results to be achieved
and what the Region could afford.
The North Carolina Council had been discussing with
members of the Electronic Representatives Association
(ERA) for some time the possible joint sponsorship
of the North Carolina Symposium and Exhibition (NCSE)
with professional management similar to that for SOUTHCON.
The Council's NCSE was not held in 1987 in anticipation
of the start of this new arrangement in 1988. The
first joint NCSE-ELTECH was held in the Spring of
1988 in Charlotte and was very successful from both
attendance and financial perspectives. Planning was
going forward for the 1989 conference in Raleigh.
Following another successful conference in 1989 a
new contract was negotiated with ERA to continue the
joint arrangement an additional two years.
There were also rumblings at this time about the management
of SOUTHCON under Electronic Conventions Management,
Inc. The IEEE objectives for the convention and exhibition
were not always the same as those of partner ERA.
The division of surplus among the IEEE entities involved
was also questioned. Attendance seemed to have peaked,
and along with this, the income from what amounted
to a substantial investment of manpower. While the
immediate questions of management were resolved, the
broader questions of value to the membership continued
and would result eventually in the withdrawal of the
Atlanta Section as a partner and SOUTHCON becoming
an all Florida activity, with Regional support.
Two long service members of the Region 3 Executive
Committee gave up their positions at the end of 1988.
Bob Tanner, Public Relations Committee Chairman, and
Charles Rodgers, Chairman of Area 6, who had held
their respective offices since 1980 asked to be allowed
to step down. Tanner had worked untiringly to create
an awareness of the importance of public relations
and public information to the engineering profession
and to stimulate and assist all entities within the
Region to establish a viable PR program. Rogers, responsible
for a large geographic Area covering three States,
and without a mandate from the subordinate Sections,
had performed a valuable service to the members of
his Area and to the five Regional Directors under
whom he had served. Both men were praised for their
long service and were presented certificates of appreciation
at SoutheastCon '89.
By the end of 1988 the stringent controls and financial
austerity imposed early in the year were seen to produce
real dividends. The total expenditures of under $40,000
(down from $80,000 in 1987) along with increased income
from conferences and other sources resulted in a surplus
for the year of almost $60,000. Much of the success
on the income side was due to the ability of Director
Powers to obtain Headquarters funding for a number
of special projects so that they might go forward
without cost to the Region. Also SOUTHCON income was
greater than expected. On the expense side, control
of travel expense was the primary factor.
In his year end report Treasurer Thompson stated "We
will enter 1989 with sufficient resources to vigorously
pursue the needed activities to support our member
needs". The 1989 budget was planned accordingly, even
to include a slight deficit, if necessary. By any
standard this was a remarkable one year turn around.
Two former Region 3 Directors, Bob Duggan and George
Abbott, were candidates for Executive Vice President
of the Institute for the year 1989. George Abbott
was the successful candidate and joined the list of
other members from Region 3 who had served the IEEE
at the highest level.
During 1988 and 1989 there was a significant increase
in the use of Special Projects to accomplish many
of the Regional objectives. Most of these projects
required financial support beyond the resources of
the committee or entity charged with the project.
A formal proposal was required outlining the project,
its proposed result, its cost, and its date of completion.
Approval by the Director authorized the expenditure.
For some projects partial or full funding was available
from RAB or USAB if the project was expected to result
in a product that had usefulness beyond the Region.
Internal assistance in funding was also provided by
some Region 3 Sections, Councils, and Society Chapters.
This method of operation speeded up much of the volunteer
effort and also established financial accountability
for the use of IEEE resources.
In early 1989 there were 25 special projects in progress
by nine different committees of the Region. These
included a Regional Awards and Recognition Manual,
a Regional Operations Manual, a Leadership Training
video, a Student Conference Guide, an Educational
Products Lending Library, and others. At the local
level the East Tennessee Section was producing a Section
Yearbook primarily with their own funds, but supplemented
by the Region. The Tennessee Council was working on
a Sample Section Profile with PACE funding. This is
an indication of the massive volunteer effort that
was underway to develop additional resource material
to enhance the Institute services to members of Region
3.
Student membership after peaking at over 6200 in 1984
had lost some ground or remained relatively flat for
the last several years. To assist the Counselors and
the Branches with their work the Region Student Activities
Committee had under development a Region 3 SAC Operations
Manual, a Region 3 Regional Student Representative
Manual, and a Region 3 Student Conference Manual.
These three documents would provide greater continuity
in the student activities in the years ahead.
Membership development committees over the years have
faced the problem of students not retaining their
membership upon graduation.This results in a significant
loss of potential members. A major impediment to continuity
of membership is the difficulty of determining the
former students' permanent addresses after they leave
college.
To deal with this problem the Region 3 SAC developed
a special project which it proposed to test for the
first time at the 1989 Student Conference. An attractive
custom designed portfolio style binder was given to
each senior student attending the conference in exchange
for his expected permanent mailing address following
graduation. This was complemented by another Special
Project under the Region 3 Membership Development
Committee. Under this project the MDC received the
graduate's permanent address from SAC, determined
his Section, then contacted the Section Chairman and
asked him to contact the recent graduate personally.
This was all good theory, but insufficient data was
collected to determine the project's effectiveness.
Another special project initiated and carried out
by the Region 3 Student Activities Committee was the
development of an information card describing the
IEEE and the history of its symbol. The card would
be used as the carrier for the student membership
pin given to all new student members. The card was
adopted by the transnational SAC for use throughout
the Institute. A brochure encouraging student membership
for networking purposes developed by the Region 3
Membership Development Committee was also adopted
for use throughout IEEE and distributed to all Student
Branches.
The RAB Larry K. Wilson Regional Student Activities
Award for 1989 was presented to Manuel I.Rodrigues,
of the Florida West Coast Section, for his outstanding
performance as Chairman of the Region 3 Student Conference
at Tampa in 1987 and for other meritorious leadership.
SoutheastCon '89 in Columbia was an outstanding success.
The local committee under Dr. Joe Biedenbach's aggressive
leadership introduced a marketing strategy of selling
the value of the conference to local industry management
and obtaining both financial support and widespread
participation of engineering employees. Local companies
contributed as much as $10,000 to be listed as "sponsors".
Many high quality exhibits were also obtained. The
technical program was especially tailored to local
interests with more papers from industry than in the
past. Total attendance was almost 1000, a high for
SoutheastCon. A surplus of approximately $9,000 was
generated to be shared by the Columbia Section, the
Region, and the local Student Branch. The Corporate
Sponsor feature of this conference was followed by
subsequent SoutheastCon committees with equal success.
Another management initiative taken by Director Powers
was an audit program for the Sections with an objective
of auditing all Sections over a five year period.
The auditors were appointed by the Director from Council
or Area level. The first candidate for the program
was the Miami Section which was experiencing some
post conference financial problems from a major conference
they had sponsored. The audit identified a number
of discrepancies and a Conference/Section deficit
of $8,000. The Section was helped in regaining solvency
by use of the Region "Needy Section Fund". The audits
were continued into 1989 but were discontinued in
1990.
In 1989 the Ft. Walton Beach Section and the Pensacola
Sections were merged to form a new Northwest Florida
Section based in Pensacola.
A total of 23 special projects were completed during
1988 and 1989. Several operations manuals were among
the end products. The most significant of these was
a comprehensive Region 3 Operations Manual. The Regional
Activities Board made copies available to other Regions
as a model. An improved Awards and Recognition Manual,
including RAB awards, was produced in 1988 and modified
in 1989 to include USAB awards. A Leadership Training
Manual, and the Student Conference Guide added to
the library of "How-to" manuals now available for
the many volunteers working at all levels of the Region
3 structure.
Truly this decade had been one of "Expanding the Services"
for the members of Region 3. Membership itself had
undergone considerable expansion as 13,113 members
were added during the years 1980-1989. This represents
a 64% growth or an average of 6.4% per year, well
above any other U.S. Region. The chart on the next
page illustrates the relative growth of Region 3 and
the total IEEE membership.
Growth of student members was almost as great, increasing
by 58%, although the student membership topped out
in 1984, and there was an actual loss of student members
during three of the last five years.
Membership dues increased substantially during the
period, so it may be inferred that the increased services
available and the method of delivery by the "activist
" leadership of Region 3 had a salutary effect on
the cost/benefit relationship for an increasing number
of members.
The number of Sections in the Region increased from
42 to 45 as four new Sections were added and one was
lost due to merger. Student Branches increased from
56 to 78 as efforts were made to meet the needs of
electrical engineering students in more and more schools.
Another facet of growth that basically represents
increased service to the membership is the growth
in numbers of Society Chapters during the period.
Chapter formation is a product of a sufficient concentration
of a particular Society's members in a local Section
and the initiative of the Section leadership in taking
the necessary steps to organize the Chapter. The number
of Chapters in Region 3 grew from 59 to 80 in the
ten year period. Chapter meetings are not as consistent
from year to year as are Section meetings, but, in
general, the meeting activity of the Chapters increased
by roughly 25% during this time.
In the 1989 elections D. W. Jackson, the incumbent
Vice Chairman, was elected without opposition to serve
as Region 3 Director, and J. Cullen Wright, who was
serving as Secretary, was elected in a competitive
election to serve as Vice Chairman for the 1990-1991
term.
IV. INTO THE FUTURE 1990-1993
Upon
assuming office Director Jackson stated that his two
primary goals would be improving service to the members
and giving greater recognition for individual and group
accomplishments. The first of these had been at the
forefront of the Region organization's whole purpose
for existing from the outset, but with each new administration
new opportunities were being discovered and new initiatives
taken toward further improvement. Recently completed
revisions of the Awards and Recognition Manual, which
included RAB and EAB awards, provided the foundation
for the second goal.
The new director also set forth a number of specific
and measurable objectives for all committees and entities.
Completion of all projects currently in the pipeline
was to be given priority along with the identification
of new initiatives. Volunteers at all levels, profiting
from the leadership training which had been provided,
and equipped with a number of new manuals now available,
seemed poised to move their organizations to new levels
of accomplishment.
A significant Bylaw change made during 1989 gave the
Region Vice Chairman responsibility for supervising
the internal affairs of the Region, including oversight
of all Region committees and the Councils and Areas.
In effect, the Vice Chairman became the Director's
"Executive Assistant", relieving him of much of the
routine business and freeing him to attend to the
ever growing responsibilities at the Board of Directors
level. This not only proved to be a good management
arrangement but provided more in-depth experience
for the Vice Chairman for his presumed subsequent
elevation to the Director's job.
The 1989 financial results produced a modest surplus
although the budget had assumed a small deficit. This
resulted primarily from a number of funded projects
not having used their budgeted funds. With these unspent
funds now in reserve a deficit budget was felt to
be prudent for 1990 in order to complete these projects
without additional new funding, leaving 1990 funds
available for new projects or other needs. However,
Director Jackson made clear his intention to return
to a balanced budget by 1991.
SoutheastCon '90 in New Orleans built on the experience
of the previous year at Columbia by enlisting four
substantial corporate sponsors to defray much of the
cost. These and other companies also provided exhibits,
and six companies participated in a Jobs Fair. Attendance
of both students and professionals was higher than
usual and a small surplus was generated. The highlight
of the year for many Region 3 members was the Sections
Congress held in Toronto. For months the Sections
were encouraged to plan for the attendance of at least
one representative. Travel expense subsidies were
provided by RAB for Sections which did not have the
resources to support their representative. Twenty-three
Sections in Region 3 were so identified. A total of
60 members from Region 3 attended the Congress with
a number of them having a part on the program.
PACE activity continued to accelerate in Region 3.
Several Region 3 people were actively involved in
IEEE-USA. Dave McLaren was serving as chairman of
the Employment Assistance Committee and Adeeb Hamzey
as chairman of the Career Development Committee. Regional
PACE projects underway representing considerable diversity
included S-PACS, employment assistance seminars, Careers
Phase II workshops, seminars on professional engineering
registration, establishing liaison with local industries,
legislative advisory committees, and others.
The usual Fall Executive Committee meeting was omitted
in 1990 in the interest of economy.This and other
stringent expense controls, under-runs on some active
projects, and better then expected return from SOUTHCON
transformed an anticipated deficit for the year into
a surplus of over $10,000. The cash reserve at the
end of 1990 stood at $92,775.
The declining trend of membership growth which began
in the late 1980's continued, with a further decline
in 1990, although Region 3 still reported the best
performance among the U.S. Regions. The total growth
in Region 3 was affected by a loss of student members
for the first time in several years. The adverse employment
situation seemed to be the primary factor in the loss
of professional members. Director Jackson called on
the Membership Development Committee to emphasize
personal networking opportunities and IEEE's technical
and professional educational programs in their membership
promotion.
In January, 1991, J. Cullen Wright, the elected Vice
Chairman of Region 3 announced his resignation for
personal reasons. He acted at this time to take himself
out of consideration for the 1992-93 Regional Director
office and to permit the appointment of a Vice Chairman
who would have a full year of experience prior to
a possible election to Director. David A. Conner,
who had served as Chairman of Area 6 and was one of
the unsuccessful candidates for Vice Chairman in the
previous election was appointed Vice Chairman for
the balance of the term.
The IEEE's own use of available technology which began
with the satellite short courses a few years earlier
was accelerating. E-Mail was rapidly becoming the
preferred method of communicating between individuals
and entities. Some Sections and Councils had established
E-Mail capability as had some members of the Region
3 Executive Committee. Sixteen Student Branches, including
the Branches hosting SoutheastCon '91 and '92 were
using E-Mail as was the Region Student Activity Chairman.
This greatly aided the preparations for the future
student conferences.
In April, 1990, two experiments using video conferencing
were conducted by the Alabama Section with the cooperation
of the University of Alabama System and South Central
Bell. In the first, the Communications Society Chapter
conducted two meetings connecting three sites in two
different Sections. The objective was to determine
if membership attendance and involvement in Chapter
meetings can be increased using video conferencing.
In the other, three Student Branches in different
cities conducted a joint meeting in which they discussed
recent experiences at SoutheastCon '91 and the hardware
contest plans for SoutheastCon '92.
The Education Committee's Video library was now up
and running, and reservation forms for the three initial
courses were distributed at SoutheastCon '91. It was
expected at that time that ten video courses would
be available by the end of 1991. The video library
promised to be an effective tool for use by the individual
Sections in their educational programs.
The student Portfolio Project, initiated in 1989,
was continued for the third year during the Student
Conference at SoutheastCon '91. Nearly 200 portfolios
were distributed to students from 34 different Sections
in exchange for their permanent mailing addresses
following graduation. The addresses were then given
to the Membership Development Committee for follow-up
and for referral to Headquarters. The effect of this
effort to increase the retention of student graduates
was still inconclusive.
SoutheastCon '91 felt the effects of a declining economic
climate in lower than expected attendance and an inability
to attract corporate sponsors and exhibitors. This
was unfortunate since the services provided attendees
were in keeping with the high standards set by previous
conferences. In addition to the professional program
several tutorials and workshops and a Jobs Fair were
available, a Leadership Workshop for Section officers,
and the full program of student activities were held.Under
these circumstances a deficit of $5700 was experienced
which was shared by the Hampton Roads Section, Old
Dominion University, and Region 3.
Director Jackson was appointed to head an IEEE adhoc
committee for the promotion of National Engineers
Week, in which a number of technical and professional
societies and corporations participate. Historically,
most local IEEE Sections have been involved in their
communities. Looking ahead, Dan announced that in
1993 IEEE would be the lead Society in the arrangements,
and asked that Region 3 entities begin then to involve
themselves in these annual events to a greater extent
than in the past. At the Region level the Public Information
Committee was charged with developing programs and
assisting all units in carrying out this activity
to increase public awareness of the importance of
engineering to society.
At the 1991 Region 3 Committee meeting the Outstanding
Engineering Educator Award was renamed the Joseph
M. Biedenbach Outstanding Engineering Educator Award
in honor of Dr. Biedenbach, who, until his untimely
death in 1990, had served as Region 3 Educational
Committee Chairman for a period of thirteen years.
Region conference issues, including the extent of
Region level involvement, financial risks, and how
to best serve the needs of members in the Region,
occupied considerable time of the Region leadership
during 1991. An adhoc committee of past Directors
was asked to examine the charter of the Region 3 conference
Committee to determine if it was adequate to provide
"operational oversight" to SoutheastCon. As a result
of this review it was determined that the present
charter was adequate for the desired level of oversight,
but that representation of members with technical
society conference experience should be included on
the committee.
Related but separate considerations took place regarding
SOUTHCON. The Atlanta Section and its associated ERA
Chapters had decided to withdraw from further participation
due to declining interest of the Atlanta show. On
the other hand, the Florida Council and the ERA Sunshine
Chapter desired to continue, with the possibility
of shows in alternating years at Florida locations
other than Orlando. Another adhoc committee was appointed
to develop a specific proposal for a restructured
SOUTHCON, and the Region representatives on the SOUTHCON
Board were instructed to aggressively represent the
interest of Region 3 in the development of any revisions.
In North Carolina similar revisions were taking place
in the Council's long established annual Symposium
and Exhibition which originated in the Piedmont Subsection,
IRE, in the middle 1950's. Following the merger of
IRE and AIEE in 1963, this became a statewide activity
and rotated among several locations in the northern
part of the State. This has been a very successful
conference which serves to bind the Council elements
together much as SoutheastCon does for Region 3.It
has also provided financial resources for funding
the North Carolina Bulletin, published by the N.C.
Council, and for other Council needs.
In 1987 the N.C. Council reached an agreement with
the Piedmont Chapter of the Electronic Representatives
Association to combine NCSE with an ERA sponsored
professionally managed exhibition which would be called
NCSE-ELTECH. It was hoped that this would result in
a larger symposium and show that would better serve
the members and also be more profitable. As was the
case with SOUTHCON it was found that the objectives
of IEEE and ERA were not always compatible, and, after
four year of the joint NCSE-ELTECH, it was decided
the IEEE membership would be better served by dissolving
this arrangement and returning to the original concept
of NCSE in 1992. As a result, a successful NCSE was
held in Greensboro in 1992, although the attendance
was below expectations.
In addition to the Leadership Training Workshop at
SoutheastCon '91, three other Workshops were held
during 1991 at locations where several Sections could
readily assemble. A total of 61 Section and Chapter
officers were provided training in these Region sponsored
sessions.It was now well established that the formal
leadership training of Section and Chapter officers
was an essential ingredient for developing volunteer
leadership at the grassroots level.
In the Fall elections of 1991 David A. Conner was
elected Director and Deborah M. Powers Vice Chairman
for the years 1992-1993.
In these first two years of the new decade Region
3 encountered new problems and new opportunities.
Significant issues were being dealt with that would
affect the future of the membership. New technology
was being exploited to make Regional activities more
efficient. Policies and procedures were available
covering all aspects of the Regional management plan,
and the supporting documentation was being continually
updated. The levels of the annual budgets for the
Region and for each SoutheastCon were now such that
there was no margin for error. The "seat of the pants"
operations of 25-30 years earlier were truly things
of the past.
Best of all, looking "into the future", many new volunteers
were becoming involved at all levels, Region, Council
and Area, Section and Chapter. When the new Region
3 Executive Committee assembled for its first meeting
in early 1992 under Director Conner, each of the officers
was new to his position, but all had prior Executive
Committee experience in other assignments. Seven of
the nine Council chairmen were new. Most of the committee
chairmen were in new assignments although several
had served previously in other EXCOM positions. All,
of course, were dedicated volunteers, representing
many years of IEEE experience.
Under these circumstances the new leadership took
off running. Goals and objectives were established
for all officers and committees. The Vice Chairman
was given full responsibility for supervising the
internal affairs. Emphasis was placed on completing
assigned tasks on schedule. Director Conner indicated
that establishing and maintaining the financial integrity
of the Region would be a major objective for all.
Aided by a healthy distribution of surplus from SOUTHCON,
Region 3 completed 1991 $6,816 under budget without
any reduction in services to members, . Reserves stood
at almost $100,000 or about one year's operating expense.
Approximately one half of these reserve funds were
invested in the IEEE's Investment account.
For the first time since 1976 and only the third time
since the merger of AIEE and IRE the 1991 total membership
in the Region registered a net loss. This reflected
a small gain in higher grades offset by a significant
loss of students. Although this trend was consistent
throughout the U.S. Regions the Membership Development
Committee was asked to take aggressive steps to remedy
the situation.
Substantial revisions were made in the Region Operations
Manual and the Region Awards and Recognition Manual
during 1991 with publication dates in early 1992.
Both documents were made more comprehensive and helpful
and have since become, in all likelihood, the two
most useful guides in the administration of Region
3. They have also served as models for other Regions.
The Awards and Recognition Manual was once again revised
to add the Exemplary Student Branch Award and USAB
awards, and to better define the evaluation procedures
for selecting winners from the nominations for each
award. The need for standardization of procedures
is evident in the report of the ARC Chairman regarding
the 1992 awards. Received by the committee were 7
nominees for Outstanding Engineer, 6 for Outstanding
Engineering Educator, 6 for Outstanding Service, and
nine for Exemplary Sections. For this there were 330
pages of documentation.
SoutheastCon '92, in Birmingham, may have been one
of the best planned and managed ever. Large numbers
of dedicated volunteers were enlisted early in the
process. Corporate support for the volunteers as well
as for the conference was insured. Nine corporate
sponsors were secured with contributions totalling
$50,000. For the technical program, emphasis was placed
on quality rather than quantity, and the majority
of papers accepted were full length (refereed) papers.
Local attendance was encouraged by emphasis on program
content useful to local companies.
High priority was given to the student conference.
The usual paper contest, hardware and software contests,
a dinner dance, and tours were conducted. To improve
the viewing of the hardware contest large screen video
was provided.
Approximately 300 professional and 312 student members
were registered prior to the start of the conference.
Outstanding management of the entire process, excellent
expense control, and the unusual level of corporate
support resulted in a superior conference experience
for all attendees and a surplus of nearly $26,000.
The Strategic Planning Committee since its inception
had consisted of the Past Regional Directors who were
able and willing to serve. Its tasks were usually
assigned by the Director. In recent years this committee
began to develop an agenda of its own in keeping with
the Director's goals and objectives. During the 1988-1990
period the committee was involved in or responsible
for several of the special projects conceived and
carried out during that period.
In 1992 eight Past Directors were serving on this
committee under the leadership of Chairman Dan Jackson.Among
the assigned or self generated tasks during that period
were preparation of Bylaw revisions, counselling the
Region 3 SOUTHCON representatives on new agreements
for the restructured SOUTHCON, review of the new SOUTHCON
Bylaws, consideration of a Region 3 Director-Elect
office as an alternative to the elected Vice-Chairman,
inauguration of a project to document the history
of Region 3, and beginning the preparation of a long
range strategic plan for the Region. To utilize the
experience of the SPC Committee members more widely
Vice Chairman Deborah Powers assigned each member
as a mentor to one of the standing committees to provide
advice and guidance as required.
The volume of business being transacted at the Region
3 Executive Committee meetings had increased dramatically
in recent years. Committees were more active, Councils
were involved in many more activities, conference
activities were more complex. Much time was taken
up at the meetings simply reporting on these activities.
Some matters required action by the committee. Many
did not. There was little separation in the order
of business between the two. Hence a new meeting strategy
was put into place.
The new meeting format actually evolved over the course
of several meetings. Basically, it involved separating
those matters requiring action from those which were
primarily informative, and, for the action items,
allowing time for reaching agreements prior to bringing
the matter to a vote. Following the necessary housekeeping
remarks and reports by the executive officers, any
old business action items were disposed of. Members
of the committee who proposed to offer motions for
consideration were then recognized to describe such
motions and their purpose. The meeting then adjourned
for a period of caucus by committees or individuals
to discuss the relative interests and viewpoints on
each motion. Formal written motions were developed
during the caucus.The committee reconvened to consider
each motion and act upon it. Following this the full
reports of the committee and Area/Council chairmen
were received.
Later, the format was further refined by the use of
two separate meetings. The first was an informal Caucus
of the entire body with adequate time for discussion
of all matters needing consideration. The second,
formal meeting followed, after allowing time for the
framing of written motions. This worked well. The
caucus is allowed to proceed until all members are
satisfied with the results, then the formal meeting
of the EXCOM goes more smoothly and with greater efficiency
as priority is placed on matters requiring action
by the entire committee.
The Region 3 Committee meeting during SoutheastCon
'92 was well attended. Thirty-one Sections submitted
written reports which, for the most part, were up-beat,
and encouraging. Typical local activities reported
included strengthening relationship with the Student
Branches, participation in National Engineers Week,
increased participation in PACE, developing corporate
support, providing quality technical programs at Section
meetings, assisting with S-PACS and student paper
contests, etc. On the negative side were mentioned
low attendance at meetings,lack of volunteers, high
newsletter costs versus benefit, and the effect of
the current economy on membership. Most Sections appeared
to be financially healthy. This seems to represent
a good cross section of the attitude of the volunteer
leadership at the local level at that time.
Periodically, over the years, one or more Sections
were in a delinquent status due to failure to submit
to IEEE Headquarters their annual financial and activity
reports or to conduct the required minimum number
of meetings. During 1992-93 there were four delinquent
Sections in Region 3. In each case the respective
Council leaders were working with the Sections to
bring them back on line. This help would not have
been available in the absence of the Council/Area
organizational structure.
Perhaps the best example is the Gainesville Section
which had not been able to obtain officers for some
time and was completely out of business, leaving some
400 plus members without a local organization. The
Florida Council, with additional help from the Florida
West Coast Section, was able to restore the Section
to vitality. The Florida West Coast Section voluntarily
produced and mailed newsletters and meeting notices
to the membership until the Section could get on its
feet.
The Strategic Planning Committee, the Conference Committee,
and the Florida Council all participated in a restructuring
of SOUTHCON to recognize the withdrawal of the Atlanta
Section. New Bylaws were drafted and agreements reached
for shows in Orlando in even numbered years and elsewhere
in Florida in odd numbered years. Financial ownerships
were adjusted to 25% Region 3, 25% Florida Council,
and 50% ERA. The Region would continue to have 2 representatives
on the SOUTHCON Board of Directors. The 1993 show
had already been scheduled for Ft. Lauderdale under
ERA sponsorship during a period of uncertainty about
IEEE's future participation. Thus there would be no
financial impact on the Region or the Florida Council
from this show.
On January 23, 1993, new ground was broken in the
use of electro-technology for carrying out IEEE's
own business. With the cooperation of BellSouth Telecommunications,
Inc., Region 3 was allowed to use BellSouth's corporate
teleconferencing system to conduct its January Executive
Committee meeting. This would be IEEE's first experience
(and experiment) with the use of full video and audio
connections for a multiple-site meeting. Members of
the EXCOM and a number of guests would gather at six
BellSouth corporate sites in six cities for a four
hour meeting.
The disciplined decorum for such a meeting is severe.
Director Conner went to great lengths in preparation
for the meeting. The agenda included strict timing
for each item. All handouts were distributed in advance.
Each site was under control of a coordinator/moderator
to recognize speakers, announce votes, and distribute
information items at the site. There were detailed
instructions regarding the protocol for speaking which
gave each person at each site equal opportunity but
recognized the severity of time constraints. A BellSouth
representative who was also a member of IEEE was in
place at each site for assistance.
There were varied reactions to the effectiveness of
the video conference as an alternative. Some participants
felt that debate might be stifled by the strict decorum,
The "one on one"interaction normally encountered at
these meetings was missing. There was a "TV intimidation
factor" that reduced participation in debate, although
it was felt that this would be overcome with more
exposure to this medium. On the cost side, travel
and lodging expense was reduced to about one seventh
the average cost for an EXCOM meeting. The requirement
on participants' time away from home was one half
to a full day compared to two to two and a half days
for the usual meeting. The cost of the facilities
donated by BellSouth are not available, but are probably
considerably more than these savings. Later in the
year Director Conner and Treasurer David Green presented
a joint paper, "IEEE Business Meeting Experiment with
Video Teleconferencing", at the 1993 International
Professional Communication Conference.
The Regional Activities Board awarded Dr. Conner the
1993 RAB Inovation Award " for initiating and developing
the first multiple site video conferencing of an IEEE
Region Executive Committee meeting."
An archival video tape of the entire conference was
made and donated to the IEEE Center for the History
of Electrical Engineering. Looking into the future,
experience with video conferencing will improve its
effectiveness. Facilities costs will decrease. IEEE
will undoubtedly see more of this.
In early March Dave Conner was suddenly hospitalized
with an attack of acute pancreatitis and confined
there until mid-April. As a result, he was unable
to participate in SoutheastCon '93, scheduled for
the first week of April. In late March his condition
required several operations. This was followed by
a period of recuperation and by July Dave was able
to resume responsibilty for the Region. Many prayers
had been offered in his behalf, and the people of
Region 3 gave thanks and breathed a sigh of relief.
These circumstances could have posed some real problems
were it not for the way in which Region 3 affairs
were being managed. As Vice Chair of the Region, Deborah
Powers had been responsible for the internal operations
of the Region for nearly fifteen months. Also, Director
Conner had arranged for her to receive copies of all
communications relating to Region 3 from the IEEE
Service Center.In addition, Ms. Powers had served
on RAB as Chair of the RAB Awards and Recognition
Committee, thereby gaining insight and experience
in RAB operations.She was well equipped to carry on.
At SoutheastCon '93, in Charlotte, for the first time
in their 30 year history the EXCOM and Region 3 Committee
convened without the Director being present. Deborah
Powers just kept on doing what she had been doing
and ran both meetings using the agenda originally
developed by Dave Conner. During the conference she
presented awards and performed whatever formal duties
were expected from the Director. It was not until
late April that Dave had recovered enough to formally
put her in charge of the Region.
Although under IEEE Bylaws Deborah had no legal authority
as Director, she was able to attend the RAB meeting
and other Directors' forums during the Sections Congress
held in San Juan the first week of July. Dave had
formally requested that she be seated and given the
respect normally accorded the Director. Later in the
year Debora attended a USAB meeting along with Dave
, and during his temporary absence in the course of
the meeting, was even allowed to vote. In July Dave
again assumed the reigns of Region 3 and was able
to attend the Board of Directors meetings in August.
SoutheastCon '93, as other recent conferences, obtained
substantial corporate financial support. The entire
conference was managed efficiently and reported 259
professionals and 349 students from 39 Student Branches
registered by the first morning. In addition to the
usual elements, the Student program included a Small
Design Contest in which the students exhibited learned
skills to solve a problem without prior preparation.
No S-PAC was held, but an S-PAC information workshop
was held giving an opportunity for students to learn
more about the S-PAC program and its benefits.
At the Charlotte meeting the EXCOM approved the establishment
of a special, set-aside, "Conference Fund" from surplus
generated by Region Conferences, primarily SoutheastCon
and SOUTHCON, which would be used as seed money for
future conferences. Later in the year provision was
made to "cap" the fund at $50,000.
The Region 3 Committee approved a major overhaul of
the Region Bylaws, the first revision since 1989.
Included in the revisions were provisions for amending
the Bylaws by mail ballot, references to the Region
Operations Manual for additional details not covered
in the Bylaws, requirements to be met by Sections
desiring to bid on hosting SoutheastCon more than
three years in advance, and a multitude of changes
to clarify meaning and to provide consistency in language
usage .
Of major interest at the Region 3 Committee meeting
was the plan for funding attendance at the Sections
Congress to be held in San Juan in July, 1993. This
conference, held every third year, had proved to be
extremely valuable, especially for Section leaders.
It was estimated that average cost per attendee from
Region 3 would be $880. Every Section was encouraged
to send a delegate. The Regional Activities Board
provided a travel subsidy of $8,415 which was half
the estimated air fare for the 44 Sections in Region
3. The Region Finance Committee developed an algorithm
to fairly distribute this subsidy and the additional
Region funds required while bounding the maximum exposure
for the Region. Under the formula most Sections, in
addition to the RAB subsidy, would receive a fixed
amount of about half the balance with the remainder
coming from the Section or other local sources. Those
Sections which could demonstrate that their resources
were not adequate would receive additional Region
funds as required. Provisions were made for partial
funding for the Area/Council Chairmen and the 1993
candidates for Director and Vice Chairmen. Maximum
exposure for the Region was estimated to be $25,275.
As it turned out, due to lower attendance than expected,
only about $15,000 was required.
SOUTHCON '93 in Ft. Lauderdale was a success. Exhibitors
were enthusiastic about the 6800 participants. There
was good rapport between ERA and IEEE. A new five
year contract which encouraged booth sales was signed
with the show management. The 1994 show was already
scheduled for Orlando, and plans were now in place
for returning to Ft. Lauderdale in 1995 with full
participation of both IEEE and ERA.
With student membership continuing to drop, and with
50 % of the graduating students allowing their membership
to lapse, it was clear that more attention must be
given to student activities in the Region. The annual
Student Conference was still the focal point of student
activity, but much more was needed. The decline in
the number of S-PACS held each year must be turned
around. Sections were asked to strengthen the interaction
with their related Student Branches. The concept of
Branch Mentor was developed to assist the Branches
in developing effective programs with the cooperation
of the Branch Counselor, to give graduating students
a Section contact, and to provide information to the
students about IEEE services and activities.
A new program, Student Professional Awareness Ventures
(S-PAVe), was introduced by the Professional Activities
Committee in a workshop during the Student Conference
at Charlotte. S-PAVe is designed to allow Student
Branches to develop their own ideas for successful
professional (i.e., non-technical) awareness activities.
Student Branches are encouraged to develop proposals
and submit them to Headquarters where they will be
evaluated and funding decisions made. The new Exemplary
Student Branch Award, introduced in 1992 was already
stimulating interest in improving Student Branch operations,
with four awards made in 1992 and seven in 1993.
The Professional Activities Operations Committee,
along with the Public Information Committee, placed
much emphasis on National Engineers Week to stimulate
and encourage all Sections in the Region to be involved
in this important event. Further cooperation between
these committees took place at the PACE workshop during
SoutheastCon '93 in a joint training session. The
PAOC also was cooperating with the Student Activities
Committee in the introduction of the new S-PAVe program
for students. Engineering unemployment continued to
be the number one concern for PACE at this time. A
new initiative was a project to generate a guide listing
the employers of engineers in Region 3 with the name
of the person to contact in each company.
The Special Review Committee, established to audit
the operations of each of the Region Committees, completed
its review of the Awards and Recognition Committee
in 1992 and the Student Activities Committee and Professional
Activities Operations Committee in 1993. The committee
also supported the Strategic Planning Committee in
formalizing a standing committee review procedure.
This procedure was incorporated in the April, 1994,
Revision C of the Region 3 Operations Manual. The
review process disclosed a serious administrative
problem in several of the committees which made thorough
review of the committee's effectiveness difficult.
The administrative deficiency was in the area of committee
records which were not being archived and passed on
from one administration to the next. This appeared
to be a pervasive condition throughout the Region
3 organization which has existed to some extent even
at the Directorate level. In the process of producing
this history it was found that there was no established
plan for passing archival information on to successive
administrations .
This history, as its title indicates, is a record
of events taking place in Region 3 of IEEE, particularly
the actions of its leaders and of the many committees
and organizational units which serve the individual
members. For that reason little mention has been made
of the contributions made by the Directors and other
Region 3 members who have performed significant service
at the transnational level of the Institute. Such
service also benefits Region 3 and its members, but
it is generally outside the scope of this document.
It is considered appropriate, however, to mention
the substantial impact that Director Conner had on
the financial affairs of IEEE at the BOD level, since
this ultimately affects every dues paying member of
the Institute.
First, Conner "led the charge" to increase the Institute's
Finance Committee to include one Regional and one
Divisional Director, and then served as the first
Regional Director so appointed. This was followed
by (a) initiating a Budget Development and Liaison
Committee that brought together leaders of all entity
Boards for involvement in the budget process (as opposed
to previous involvement of only Headquarters staff
and certain officers); (b)instituting a RAB reserve
account; (c) initiating an EAB allotment and an EAB
reserve account; (d) changing the structure of allotments;
(e) Instituting a new, easier to read and understand,
reporting format for the General Fund budget, (f)
attempting, without success, to have the Institute's
budgeting managed on a cost center basis rather than
an Institute-wide basis; and (f) demanding the release
to members of the Board of Directors full information
on the compensation packages for the General Manager
and Staff Executives. Prior to this the members of
the Board, although fiduciaries of the IEEE, were
not provided such information. All of this may seem
far removed from the problems of the Chairman of a
small Section who is concerned about the low attendance
at his monthly meetings and, perhaps, a continuing
loss of members. These are, however, matters that
affect the financial integrity and the efficiency
of the entire Institute, which affect the bottom line,
and, ultimately, the level of dues which the individual
member must pay. And Dave Conner accomplished these
things and others during a two year term in which
he was hospitalized and recuperating for six months
of his second year.
In the Fall 1993 elections Deborah M. Powers was elected
Director and James H. Beall was elected Vice Chairman
for the 1994-1995 term of office. Ms. Powers thus
became the first of her gender to hold the office
of Director in Region 3. This was also a historic
first for IEEE in that a husband and wife, Vernon
Powers (1988-89) and Deborah Powers both were elected
to the office of Regional Director.
The Region 3 Executive Committee met in early December
with Director Conner again presiding. There was reason
to look back with considerable pride on the accomplishments
of the past two years. The membership appeared to
have been well served by the many projects and programs
made available. The financial situation was the best
ever with a substantial surplus having been generated
in 1993 due to increased conference income and lower
than expected expense. Membership was still declining,
however, with a loss of higher grade members as well
as students. In the course of the meeting the Chairman's
gavel was turned over to Ms. Powers for a second meeting
looking ahead and planning for the new year.
This final chapter of Region 3's thirty year history,
for purposes of identification, has been called "Into
the Future". The accomplishments of these four years
were made possible by the dedicated service of those
who had a part "in the beginning"(Chapter I),those
who "built the foundation" (Chapter II), and those
who took part in "expanding the services" (Chapter
III). The approximately 150 people who have served
in positions of responsibility at the Region level
during these periods are listed in Appendix B.
Many times that number have served just as faithfully
in leadership positions in the Councils and Sections
and Chapters and the Student Branches and as members
of the multitude of committees involved. It is the
high standards of professionalism demonstrated by
this volunteer leadership that makes the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers the great
organization that it is.
The history of Region 3 obviously does not end with
1993. Only this record does. Even as this record closes
work is underway on a Strategic Plan which will chart
the direction of Region 3 into the 21st century, a
set of long range goals, objectives , and strategy
by which Region 3 will direct its efforts to improve
IEEE's service to its members and to the profession.
