Our next section meeting for 2004 will be Thursday, April 22nd at the Hess building. Mark French, will make a presentation entitled “Decisions for a Secure Retirement.” Mark has over thirty years experience in the Financial Services, and currently is a Financial Advisor (CFM) with Merrill Lynch. With the economy at the forefront of many peoples’ minds, I am sure this will be a very interesting presentation for everyone as it targets real-life concerns.

The Houston Section will be manning booths at the Southwest Electrical Exposition (SWEE) on April 6-7 at the George R Brown Convention Center and the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) on May 3-6 at the Reliant Center. We have had several members volunteer to help us man these booths and promote IEEE. These conferences are great ways to meet other engineers and network. We still have open slots and we certainly can use more volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, please give Paul J Donner 713-945-7771 or John Lucey a call at 713-945-5923 or send an e-mail to pj.donner@CenterPointEnergy.com or john.lucey@CenterPointEnergy.com.

I will be attending the Region 5 Technical and Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on April 2-4. I have always found this conference to be a very enjoyable experience and I expect this year to be no different. This meeting is a great opportunity to learn and to network with other colleagues. I am looking forward to meeting as many colleagues from other Sections as possible as well as Region 5 Committee leaders. Be sure to read next month’s Pocket Scope. It will include a report on the R5 Conference.

Our Annual IEEE Houston Section Scholarship Golf Tournament has been a success. For 2004, with help from our corporate sponsors and volunteers, we are able to award five (5) $1000 scholarships this year. The deadline for submitting an application form and all supporting data is July 3, 2004. Scholarship will be announced by August 31, 2004 and winner(s) will be honored at one of the Houston Section meetings. Make sure to visit the IEEE Houston Section website for more details.