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| CONTACT INFORMATION |
| Physical and Mailing Address |
| SEAOI |
| 134 North Lasalle Street, Suite 1910 |
| Chicago, IL 60602 |
| P 312.726.4165 |
| F 312.726.4166 |
| E office@seaoi.org |
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Executive Director |
| Elizabeth O'Connor |
| E eoconnor@seaoi.org |
| 312.726.4165 ext 301 |
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Executive Assistant |
| Donna Childs |
| E office@seaoi.org |
| 312.726.4165 ext 200 |
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| SEAOI HISTORY |
| The Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI) was founded in 1965 by several practicing Structural Engineers including the following founders of the organization:
Frank Cooper, George Ellis, Nissim Eskenazi, Henry Miller, Ken Naslund, John Parmer, Frank Wells, the first President. |
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| Those founders and others envisioned an organization that exchanged information specifically of interest to
Structural Engineers practicing in the state of Illinois. They also wanted to reinforce their rights as defined in the Structural
Engineering Act. Early activities included expressing their opinions to local, county and state building authorities that Structural
Engineers were permitted to practice structural engineering and design, prepare and sign and seal drawings for construction of
virtually any type of building, structure or facility as long as it was within their established professional training, knowledge
and competence. They also saw the need to present lectures and conferences that provided useful information to practicing structural
engineers that was different from or supplemented the typical education that civil engineering course work provided at universities.
That information was provided in dinner meetings, and partial and day long conferences.
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| By-laws were prepared and voted on by the membership and passed. The Board of Directors of the Structural
Engineers Association of Illinois (Board), all directors voted in by the membership, had monthly meetings to promote the mission,
purposes and ideals (see the By-laws) of the organization and help support the Structural Engineering Practice Act which was
originally enacted in 1924 (not sure, needs to be verified), modified over years and most recently re-enacted in 1989. It is
scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2010.
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| Consistent with its longstanding commitment to continuing education after college to enhance the practice
of structural engineering, SEAOI also saw the specific need to help practicing structural engineers improve their knowledge and
also prepare for the Structural Engineering Examination. To that end, SEAOI began running the Structural Engineering Refresher
Course which is presented annually over several months.
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| Other opportunities for improving professional skills while also socializing with colleagues include
SEAOI’s monthly dinner meetings and the SEAOI Trade Show. Dinner meetings include presentations on topics of interest to
practicing structural engineers. The SEAOI Trade Show, usually held at a January breakfast meeting, offers engineers the
opportunity to meet with trade organizations and material manufacturers and representatives.
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| To foster and acknowledge excellence in Structural Engineering, SEAOI instituted an annual competition
in where firms are encouraged to submit as entries projects they believe are exemplary of the finest of structural engineering
practice. The Board selects a judging panel, representative of a diverse range of professionals interested in construction.
The jury selects winners in several categories. Winners are announced at the SEAOI Awards Banquet in June each year.
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| On a legislative level, SEAOI saw the need to have an awareness of local, regional, and State of Illinois
legislation related to the practice of structural engineering. In 1993, the Board recommended the establishment of an
independent organization to keep track of and support appropriate legislation that would advance the practice of structural
engineering and promote the safety of the public in Illinois. Since that time, the Structural Engineers Political Action
Committee (SEPAC) has monitored legislative developments, addressed issues of interest to the design profession, and partnered
with affiliated organizations to support legislation that advances the design profession and addresses public safety.
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