The board of the ASME Auxiliary held its annual meeting on Nov. 13, during the ASME Congress at the Sheraton Hotel in Seattle. While the weather outside was a bit dreary, the atmosphere inside was vibrant and invigorating with Auxiliary members working hard to provide as much funding as possible for engineering student scholarships and loans.

The Auxiliary Board voted unanimously to provide $5,000 toward the ASME scholarship to be awarded to an engineering student at Virginia Tech. For the board members, it was clearly a vote of much more than money. It was a gesture of compassion, solidarity and hope for those students and faculty who withstood the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech last spring.

In the same spirit, the Auxiliary members voted, in celebration of their upcoming 85th anniversary, to set as a goal the amount of $8,500 to be raised and contributed to a project in conjunction with Engineers Without Borders-USA. The campaign to raise these funds will begin in February when each Auxiliary member will receive a letter to explain in greater detail the goals and details of the Auxiliary anniversary project. A committee of ASME Auxiliary members will work with Engineers Without Borders-USA to select an appropriate project for sponsorship. The specific project will be approved by the Auxiliary Board members at their June 2008 meeting.

The highlight of the meeting in Seattle was the presentation of the Auxiliary Dedicated Service Award to Janet Watson. Janet currently serves on the Auxiliary Board as recording secretary and has served the ASME Auxiliary in many other capacities, providing exemplary service to the organization. It was a privilege to recognize Janet's loyal and competent service to the ASME Auxiliary. Without members like Janet, the good work of the Auxiliary would not be possible. Thank you, Janet, for your dedicated service.

— Kathy E. Smith
Auxiliary publicity chair
Visit the ASME Auxiliary Web site

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