I finished the nomination of a colleague for Fellow of NSPE today. And not a minute too soon! I printed it, went online and logged into my FedEx account, printed the shipping label, and requested a pick up at the conference hotel tomorrow. There are still things I would like to do to improve the nomination but there is only so much one person can do given all that has to be done.

This nomination is payback for my nomination. I was elected fellow last year due to the tremendous effort put forth by a colleague and friend. I offered to repay him by taking him to dinner and he said the better payback would be for me to do the next nomination. The Mississippi Engineering Society officially nominated the person but I worked up the package. I have learned several things in the process. First, this is a difficult thing to do when the nominee is not as “connected” (in the electronic sense) and the nominator. For my nomination the nominator and I went back and forth numerous times, often several times in a single day or night, clarifying information. Two, it always takes longer than you think it will take. Three, I think future nominations would benefit from a committee review. We all know the guy is good and is deserving of the honor, we merely need to make sure that the write-up reflects such.

I will propose to the state society president that we form a Council of Fellows who will be charged with nominating members for the status of Fellow and then sheparding the nomination as a committee. Naturally there will be one person tasked with being the primary scribe, but he or she will benefit greatly from input.