Here is a list of events since last newsletter (March 2007) and scheduled events up to and including November: Please review and let me kno= w if I missed any

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President’s Mess= age

Welc= ome to our first electronic newsletter (AAAEA e-news). The newsletter is intended = to keep current members, sponsors and colleagues informed of what is happening with= in AAAEA and to update them on past events as well as the up and coming events, programs and networking. I believe that effective communication is vital for any organization to be successful. So this is as much your newsletter as it is ours and we invite you to help shape it by sending your comments and relevant information to the edit= or.

As we welcome in 2008, I would like to reflect on the successes achieved by AAAEA during the past year. Al= low me to ponder on some of the highlights of 2007 and events that AAAEA did for the first time.

1. = ; AAAEA established the Essay/Poster Contest for the first tim= e and awarded the winners (four groups of students) prizes totaling $300 duri= ng the e-week banquet. Please visit = our activity page to learn more.

2. = ; AAAEA participated in the IIT-Rice/Du Page E-Week Expo for t= he first time and our engineers delivered an excellent program to the next generation of engineers and architects.&nb= sp; We encourage you to bring your children to this year’s program= on February 23^rd. Ple= ase visit our activity page to see last year’s program and photos or for = more info on this year’s event.

3. = ; AAAEA held its Annual Social Dinner at = Drury Lane on March 31^st, 2007. The event concluded our= 10^th Anniversary celebration. Please visit our activity page to learn more.

4. = ; AAAEA conducted a SE - Basic Bridge Design workshop on April 7, 2007 for the first time. The workshop emphasis is on the Structural Engineer Exam Part I as it relates to bridge design using AASHTO Standard Specification for Highway Bridges. Plea= se visit our activity page to learn more.

5. = ; AAAEA held the Annual Golf Outing on June 16^th, 2007= for the first time. Please visit our activity page to see last year’s photos. We are planning our 2= ^nd Annual Golf Outing on June 22^nd, 2008. Please mark your calendar and visi= t our website for more info. <= /span>

6. = ; AAAEA held four picnics through-out the <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Chicago land area.

7. = ; AAAEA also participated in and sponsored the first Arab = Fest in Chicago on June 27-31, 2007.

8. = ; AAAEA conducted several educational seminars in addition to EIT= and ACT review courses. Please visit our activity page to learn more.

9. = ; AAAEA made great strides on National Outreach front. We visited the tri-states area on = January 20^th, 2007 and elected a steering committee to establish an association. We also conducte= d the Second National Conference in = Dearborn, Michigan on August 31-Septe= mber 1, 2007. Please visit our act= ivity page to learn more.

10. &nbs= p; AAAEA created the first student chapter at University of Illin= ois at Urbana-Champaign in February 2007. We also created a second chapter at IIT during the summer.

11. &nbs= p; AAAEA Semi-Annual Meeting is by far the most prestigious event = in the association calendar. It = is when we take a night out to celebrate the success of our association and recognize our members. This year Semi-Annual Meeting was held on November 2= ^nd, 2007 at the Drury Lane. We recognized the following indivi= duals:

a. = ; AAAEA Achievement Award: Presented to Dr. = Munir Nayfeh, Professor of Physics, UIUC

b. = ; AAAEA Award of Appreciation (Honoree): Mr. Hanie Miri, Past AAAEA Executive Board Member

c. = ; AAAEA Honorary Award: Dr. Usama Fayyad, Chief Data Officer / Executive Vice President of Research & Strategic Solutions, Yahoo! Inc.= and the Keynote Speaker

d. = ; Honorary & Lifetime Membership Award: Presented to Mr. Ayoub Talhami, P.E., AAAE= A Board of Trustees, Chairman of the By-Law Committee an= d an active member of several AAAEA committees.

Please visit our activity page to learn more.=

12. &nbs= p; AAAEA for the first time awarded four (4) scholarships this year totaling $8,000. Congratulati= on to Mr. Rajai Zuheir Alrousan, Mr. Rachid Amin= e, Ms. Ghadir Haikal, and Mr. Om= ar El Anwar.

13. &nbs= p; AAAEA participated in the Arab Heritage Month on November 13th,= 2007. The highlight of the event was whe= n the association received for the first time the Leadership Award from the mayor= of Chicago, the Commission on Human Relations, and the Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on Arab Affairs. It is an honor for me to accept this award on behalf of the association. To receive the leadership award is= an incredible honor for our organization and to be recognized by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations is truly remarkable.

14. &nbs= p; AAAEA also for the first time was recognized and presented a jo= int resolution on November 15th, by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District= of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC), I accepted a copy of the resolution on behalf of AAAEA from the MWRDGC Board of Commissioners, who passed a resolution recog= nizing the contributions of the Arab American community and November as the Arab Heritage Month in the City of Chicago. (See copy presented to AAAEA on our website)

15. &nbs= p; For all other activities during 2007, please see my article = 220;2007 IN REVIEW - AAAEA Activities in 2007” or v= isit our website. =

There will be a lot to look forward to in 2008, as our hard working committees are planning great progr= ams and events that you won’t want to miss! We have included in this newslette= r our calendar of events. I would like to highlight a few events and programs in addition to our fantastic networking events and our Scholarship program:

1. = ; Activity Committee –

a. = ; Family Bowling on January 20, 2008. See website for reservation. Hurry= , only two days left for reservation.

b. = ; AAAEA Annual Social Dinner on April 5, 2008. It will be held in Alha= mbra Restaurant. Please mark your Calendar for April 5, 2008.

c.         = ;   Picnics – First picnic is on June 29, 2008, Second picnic= is on July 27, 2008.

d.         = ;   Golf Outing in June, 2008.

e.         = ;   Semi-Annual Meeting on October 17^th, 2008.

2.         = ;   Education Committee –

a.         = ;   EIT Review Course and ACT

b.         = ;   Monthly seminars – Last Wednesday of every month.<= span style=3D'font-size:11.0pt;color:navy'>

c.         = ;   SE Bridge Workshop

d.         = ;   One full day – Spring 2008 Technical Conference.

Thank you for your support of = this great association and I look forward to a year of continued success and to = your valued participation in 2008! Best wishes to you and yours for a he= althy and happy 2008!

Regards,

Jamal Grainawi, P.E., S.E.