“It has been an honor and a pleasure to make a small contribution to the premier organization providing risk management and business practices for Structural Engineers.”
Giving Back
SSFM consistently seeks ways to give back – to the communities we serve and to the professions we practice. Corey Matsuoka, SSFM Executive Vice President and Manager of the firm’s Engineering Group, has recently completed a term as the Chair of the American Council of Engineering Companies, Council of Structural Engineers (CASE https://www.acec.org/case/ ). Corey’s final message to his professional colleagues reflects on his experience with CASE.
Leave the World a Bit Better
Corey M. Matsuoka, P.E., LEED-AP, PMP
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.”
This poem is often mistakenly attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Many of the words were derived from an essay written by Bessie A. Stanley of Lincoln, Kansas. No matter who wrote it, what is your definition of success? For me, I like to think of these words whenever beginning a new endeavor. Whenever I near the end, I try to reflect on how I did.
In my years on the Executive Committee of CASE, I definitely laughed often and much. I have been blessed by meeting some exceptional people who know how to have fun. As CASE started to coordinate with the other disciplines within ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies), the laughter only got better. Whoever said engineers are boring has never met this group. We have pictures with animal print bathrobes at a pool bar on the top of a DC Hotel to prove it. This doesn’t mean we ignored what needed to be done. It just means you can be wearing animal print bathrobes while you’re doing it. Find the fun in whatever you do; it will make everything better.
Through my STRUCTURE editorials and my contributions to CASE, I hope I have won the respect of my predecessors and the structural engineering community. I know of no more intelligent group of professionals.
While laughter and respect are important, what is most important is asking, did I leave CASE a bit better than when I got there? The poem suggests that one way this could be accomplished is with a garden patch, a perfect metaphor for what we are doing at NCSEA, SEI, and CASE. In the past, the three organizations acted independently, sometimes even in competition. A few years ago, leadership met to determine how we could work together. We now share our initiatives and discuss how we can assist in meeting those objectives.
Our garden is a shared vision for the future of structural engineering. Determining what part each organization will play in achieving that vision, with each new initiative a seed that planted in our garden. The initiatives will be meticulously cultivated until they blossom, within one or more of the organizations. Given all of the amazing accomplishments by structural engineers, it is exciting to think how much farther the industry will go with these three organizations working in concert. I genuinely believe we are building something special!
Reflecting on, my two-year term as CASE Chair, it has been an honor and a pleasure to make a small contribution to the premier organization providing risk management and business practices for Structural Engineers. They say the biggest smile is always on the face of the Past-Chair. In my case, that is true. Not because I am happy my term is over, but because I have learned to appreciate beauty and to find the best in others. I smile because of the lifelong friends I have made along the way, the garden patch we’ve planted, and the members of CASE we have helped to breathe a little easier.■
Read more:
Why Did They Leave? https://www.structuremag.org/?p=13329
The Business of Structural Engineering https://www.structuremag.org/?p=13038
Determining the Indeterminate Determining the Indeterminate https://www.structuremag.org/?p=11819
Giving Back to Our Profession
SSFM consistently seeks ways to give back – to the communities we serve and to the professions we practice. Corey Matsuoka, SSFM Executive Vice President and Manager of the firm’s Engineering Group, has recently completed a term as the Chair of the American Council of Engineering Companies, Council of Structural Engineers (CASE https://www.acec.org/case/ ). Corey’s final message to his professional colleagues reflects on his experience with CASE.
More / Less
Leave the World a Bit Better
Corey M. Matsuoka, P.E., LEED-AP, PMP
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.”
This poem is often mistakenly attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Many of the words were derived from an essay written by Bessie A. Stanley of Lincoln, Kansas. No matter who wrote it, what is your definition of success? For me, I like to think of these words whenever beginning a new endeavor. Whenever I near the end, I try to reflect on how I did.
In my years on the Executive Committee of CASE, I definitely laughed often and much. I have been blessed by meeting some exceptional people who know how to have fun. As CASE started to coordinate with the other disciplines within ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies), the laughter only got better. Whoever said engineers are boring has never met this group. We have pictures with animal print bathrobes at a pool bar on the top of a DC Hotel to prove it. This doesn’t mean we ignored what needed to be done. It just means you can be wearing animal print bathrobes while you’re doing it. Find the fun in whatever you do; it will make everything better.
Through my STRUCTURE editorials and my contributions to CASE, I hope I have won the respect of my predecessors and the structural engineering community. I know of no more intelligent group of professionals.
While laughter and respect are important, what is most important is asking, did I leave CASE a bit better than when I got there? The poem suggests that one way this could be accomplished is with a garden patch, a perfect metaphor for what we are doing at NCSEA, SEI, and CASE. In the past, the three organizations acted independently, sometimes even in competition. A few years ago, leadership met to determine how we could work together. We now share our initiatives and discuss how we can assist in meeting those objectives.
Our garden is a shared vision for the future of structural engineering. Determining what part each organization will play in achieving that vision, with each new initiative a seed that planted in our garden. The initiatives will be meticulously cultivated until they blossom, within one or more of the organizations. Given all of the amazing accomplishments by structural engineers, it is exciting to think how much farther the industry will go with these three organizations working in concert. I genuinely believe we are building something special!
Reflecting on, my two-year term as CASE Chair, it has been an honor and a pleasure to make a small contribution to the premier organization providing risk management and business practices for Structural Engineers. They say the biggest smile is always on the face of the Past-Chair. In my case, that is true. Not because I am happy my term is over, but because I have learned to appreciate beauty and to find the best in others. I smile because of the lifelong friends I have made along the way, the garden patch we’ve planted, and the members of CASE we have helped to breathe a little easier.■