March/April 2024 - 10

DFI leadership at the 2024 Winter Planning Meeting
At the end of all this brainstorming, we created three task
forces and I thank all those that agreed to serve on each to
further our goals:
* Industry Awareness and Engagement
* Conference Vision and Planning
* Corporate Member Growth
These three topics are being molded into DFI's new strategic
plan; what I'm titling Connecting and Constructing the
Future, but don't hold me to that.
Before brainstorming, DFI's Board of Trustees and the DFI
Educational Trust Board of Trustees met separately and
together to conduct regular business and also to inform each
other on the work each is doing and identify ways in which
the two boards can better collaborate to guide our
organization and provide optimal value to our members.
During the DFI board meeting, four committee project fund
proposals were approved following recommendation by the
review committee. Though the total funding exceeded DFI's
budget the trustees felt the benefits of the deliverables to be
produced from these four projects far outweighed the
financial resources needed.
Other hot topics discussed by DFI trustees included
reviews of our awards policies, succession planning for the
trustees, member benefits, our new website, possible
collaboration with other industry organizations and various
components related to our technical committees. In fact, we
are excited to announce the formation and approval of DFI's
new Student Engagement Committee, which will help us
10 * DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAR/APR 2024
navigate projects like the University Ambassador Program,
student activities at events and more. We are also excited that
DFI trustees approved another committee titled Foundation
Reuse. The committee consists of members of the former task
group on this topic previously under DFI's Subsurface
Characterization for Deep Foundations Committee, but others
are welcome to join in.
The Trust's board used its meeting time to focus on plans
for achieving aspirational fundraising goals, improving fundraising
events logistic strategies, establishing opportunities
to engage more internationally, and hearing reports from its
Scholarship, Nominating and Financial committees.
Listening to and being a part of these thoughtful
conversations, and planning action steps for a successful
future, reinvigorates me for the start of this new year. We as
an organization have plenty to look forward to from our usual
event lineup and member benefits that include event
sponsorship, publication access, and strengthening new and
established relationships with the wonderful and hardworking
people in our industry. For our corporate members,
we are excited to share that you also now have access to our
online student resume database to assist you in your hiring
processes. Initiatives like these are why DFI continues to be
propelled forward as a preeminent member-based
organization in the industry.
Thank you to all the board members, committee chairs
and staff who made the 2024 WPM so successful. I hope
everyone is having a good start to their year and I look forward
to all that 2024 holds in store for us.
March/April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2024
