February 2024 Branch Meeting – Tour of Thurlow Dam

On Tuesday, February 13, 2024, the Montgomery Branch of ASCE conducted a tour of the Thurlow Dam and Hydroelectric Generating Plant in Tallassee, Alabama. The Thurlow Dam, owned and operated by Alabama Power Company, is one of the first hydroelectric dams built in the State of Alabama with construction completed in 1930 on the Tallapoosa River. The dam was named in honor of Oscar G. Thurlow, a chief engineer, vice president and director of Alabama Power Company. Here are some cool facts about Thurlow Dam. The dam is 1,846 feet long with a maximum height of 62 feet. The dam is made of over 150,000 cubic yards of concrete. It operates 3 hydraulic turbines that can discharge 1,706,000 gallons per minute per unit.

📷 Credits: Michael Hora


Montgomery Branch is hosting the ASCE Alabama Section Winter Meeting

Prepare to be amazed and delighted at the upcoming 2024 ASCE Alabama Section Winter Meeting, to be held inside the iconic Jordan-Hare Stadium in The Loveliest Village on The Plains! The Montgomery Branch and the Auburn University Student Chapter are excited to extend this invitation to all ASCE Alabama Section members. This event promises to be an unforgettable gathering, filled not only with valuable and insightful presentations but also filled with networking and recruiting opportunities.

Date: Thursday, March 14, 2024 (Pi Day!)

Time: 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Location: Tiger Walk Suites at The Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL

Click here to register today!


2024 ALABAMA CIVIL ENGINEER LEGISLATIVE DAY AT THE STATE HOUSE – RSVP TODAY!

The 7th Annual Alabama Civil Engineering Legislative Day Drive-In will be held on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at the Alabama Department of Archives & History and Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama. The Alabama Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Council of Engineer Companies (ACEC) of Alabama, the Alabama Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ALSITE) is teaming up to host the event!

For more information and to register for the event, click here.


2023 Outstanding Web Award for Small Sections and Branches

The Montgomery Branch of ASCE is excited to announce that the branch website was selected by the ASCE Leader Training Committee to be awarded the 2023 Outstanding Branch Website Award for Small Sections and Branches. The website was voted #1 out of 140 Small Sections and Branches. It is a great team effort by the leadership of the Montgomery Branch to produce such great content! This is the 5th time in 8 years that the branch website has been selected as the best.  The award will be official presented on Friday January 26 at the 2024 Regions 1, 2, 4, & 5 Multi Region Leadership Conference in Miami, Florida.


 2023 Auburn Student Chapter Panel Discussion

On November 3, 2023, the Montgomery Branch of ASCE conducted their 8th Annual Industry Leaders Q&A Panel Discussion with the Auburn University’s American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This event was attended by over 40 participants that included students, faculty, staff, and panelists. Region 5 Governor for the Alabama Section, Mr. Brad Williams, P.E. opened up the floor for students to ask questions and to moderate the panelists. The panel was composed by the following volunteers:

– Michael Collier, P.E. – Scott Bridge Company

– Billur Kazaz, Ph.D. – Geonsyntec Consultants

– Holly McCain, P.E. – Alabama Department of Transportation

– James Boyer, P.E. – Alabama Department of Transportation

– Davon Elder, P.E. – Barge Design

– Martin Clark, P.E. – Alabama Department of Transportation

The Q&A panel was very dynamic, insightful, and most importantly beneficial to the student members in attendance. Students were encouraged to ask questions in a safe space regarding professional recommendations, civil engineering courses, internship opportunities, professional licensure, interpersonal skills, and career paths. Students were very engaged with what the panel had to say.

A special thanks to Adam Holder, Dalton Chamblee, Veronica Ramirez, Taylor Janney, and Michael Hora for helping make the event a huge success!


2024 Annual Scholarship Information


2023 Scholarship Golf Tournament

On Thursday, September 14, 2023, the Montgomery Branch of ASCE hosted its Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament at the Arrowhead Country Club in Montgomery, AL. This event featured 25 teams and garnered support from 27 sponsors. We would like to recognize our sponsors for their contributions and the support from all the players, students, and volunteers who were responsible for making the Inaugural Ramsey Ashmore Memorial Golf Tournament an overwhelming success.

We would especially like to express our heartfelt appreciation towards the Ashmore family for honoring us with their presence and for allowing the Montgomery Branch of ASCE to dedicate this special event to the memory of our one of our Past Presidents, Ramsey Ashmore.

We are thrilled to announce that this tournament was able to raise over $8,000 for the annual scholarship fund. These scholarships will be provided by the Montgomery Branch to high school seniors in the River Region (Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes and Montgomery Counties) that are planning on enrolling in Civil Engineering.

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Montgomery Branch Awards over $5,000 in Scholarships to Local Students

On Tuesday, April 11, 2023, the Montgomery Branch of ASCE granted over $5,000 in Annual Scholarship Awards in recognition of three exceptional high school students from the River Region. These students not only demonstrated exceptional academic achievements but also a dedication to leadership and community service.

The special recognition took place during the Montgomery Branch’s April monthly meeting, where attendees had the pleasure of hearing from the Auburn University Student Chapter about their experience at the 2023 Gulf Coast Student Symposium. It was a well-attended event with members of the Branch, Board of Directors, Auburn University student chapter, proud parents, and special guests in attendance.

The three scholarship recipients were Mr. Preston Hicks, Mr. Dalton Donde, and Mr. Cole Barsukoff. All recipients will be pursuing Civil Engineering degrees in the upcoming Fall semester. Mr. Hicks plans to attend the University of Alabama, while Mr. Donde and Mr. Barsukoff will embark on their academic journey at Auburn University.

The Board of Directors of the Montgomery Branch would like to extend their sincere gratitude to our members, sponsors, and volunteers for making this event possible. It is our hope that by recognizing and supporting these young engineering prospects, we can continue to inspire and encourage the future generation to pursue the Civil Engineering profession.


Alabama Section of ASCE Releases Infrastructure Report Card

On Thursday, March 31, the Alabama Section of ASCE unveiled its 2022 Report Card for Alabama’s Infrastructure, the state’s first report card since 2015. The report assigned the state’s systems a cumulative grade of “C-”, which is on par with the national grade of “C-“ and the same grade the state received in its 2015 report. A “C-” grade means the state’s infrastructure is in mediocre condition and requires attention.

The report analyzes 12 categories of infrastructure pertinent to Alabama: aviation (C), bridges (C+), dams (Incomplete), drinking water (C-), energy (B), inland waterways (D), ports (B), rail (B), roads (C-), stormwater (D+), transit (C-) and wastewater (D). Alabama Report Card co-chair Joe Meads, P.E., presented the findings in the report to an in-person audience at the Alabama Department of Archives & History in Montgomery, AL. Alabama Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth and state Senator Clyde Chambliss, who is also an engineer and ASCE member, provided remarks about the state of infrastructure in Alabama.

For more information on the report card, visit https://www.alabama-asce.org/2022-infrastructure-report-card/.


FY2024 Calendar of Events for Montgomery Branch