SAN DIEGO SECTION Quarterly Report

December 2016

Corporate Annual Meeting September 16-17, 2016 This year’s PECG Corporate Annual Meeting was held in Palm Springs. Two San Diego Section Members received Corporate PECG awards including Fred Abdipour (Member of the Year Award) and Cristina Nuñez (Outreach Award). The Annual Dinner and New Corporate Officer Installation was held on Saturday night with Outgoing Corporate President and San Diego Section Member Robert Lumahan was sworn in as Corporate President. The weekend was full of meetings, presentations, and networking. San Diego Section Board Members attended the two day event.

San Diego Section PECG Leaders

Cristina Nuñez, Mehrdad Maher, Azar Habibafshar, Dianne

Vermeulen, Oscar Cortes

Presented by San Diego Section Officers 2016-2017 Section Director Azar Habibafshar Section President Oscar Cortes President Elect Diane Vermeulen VP Supervisory Abu-Bakr Al-Jafri VP Rank & File Frank Contreraz VP At Large Joseph Tang Secretary Cynthia Hoffman-Paz Treasurer Cristina Nunez

Fred Abdipour Member of the Year Award

Cristina Nuñez Outreach Award

Kicking off the New Year! Officers Meeting August 31, 2016 The new San Diego Section Board met to plan out the years’ events

San Diego Section Leaders

Wellness Center Donation September 7, 2016 PECG donated $500 to the District 11 Wellness Center which helps promote a healthy lifestyle for Employees.

San Diego Section Leaders

DAC Fish Fry September 8, 2016 PECG donated $100 and many PECG members participated day of event and on the DAC committee,

Thank You to the servers!

San Diego Section Leaders

Employee Committee Padre Game Thank You Event September 8, 2016

Caltrans District 11 Employee’s Committee coordinated a fun filled Star Wars themed evening watching the San Diego Padres take on the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. Many PECG members attended the event in support of the Employee Committee Event. Frank Contreraz, PECG member and Employee Committee member coordinated the event. PECG Delegates Lunch September 14, 2016 PECG members from the Regional Water Quality Control Board, Park and Recreation, Department of State Architects and Cal-OSHA were invited to a meeting that was held on Wednesday Sept. 14, 2016 at Sufi Restaurant. Stewart Migdal member at Cal-OSHA, Sara Mearon from Waterboards, Victor Garcia from Department of State Architects

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and Adrian Cortez from Caltrans construction’s office were attended and accepted to be delegate for their organization. As a delegate they will be liaison between PECG and members of their organization, sponsor events and meetings at their respective organization. Roy Flores and San Diego Section Officers Azar Habibafshar, Diane Vermeulen, Abu-Bakr Al-Jafri, Cristina Nunez, Joseph Tang and Frank Contreraz were attended the meeting. It was suggested that PECG prepares a welcome package for new members.

San Diego Section Leaders & Delegates

D-11 Ice Cream Social September 22, 2016 PECG in collaboration with the D-11 Employees’ Committee donated the Ice Cream for the End of Summer Ice Cream Social to freshen up District 11 Employees’ afternoon.

Our Promise Campaign On September 28, 2016 PECG San Diego sponsored 200 beverages for the United Way Our Promise Campaign event. Caltrans hosted local charities to raise awareness for the United Way Campaign. Section Officers manned a table and provided a drink to each attendee.

Jalil Farahmand, Cristina Nuñez, Azar Habibafshar, Frank Contreraz, Dianne Vermeulen, and Sam Amen.

Committee Selection Meeting October 12, 2016 PECG hosted a luncheon for Section Members interested in joining a committee.

San Diego Section Leaders & Committee Members

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WTS Luncheon October 13, 2016 PECG San Diego Section leaders and member attended a Women in Transportation Seminars (WTS) Luncheon where presenters discussed the California Road Charge Program. Speakers included Carrie Pourvahidi, Road Charge Program Manager for the California Department of Transportation, and Jim Madaffer, current president of WTS San Diego Chapter

Lauren Farrel, DianeVermeulen, Roya Yazdanifard, Azar

Habibafshar, Cristina Nuñez, and Eleanor Gonzalez

WTS Meet Elected Officials October 20, 2016 PECG San Diego Section leaders mingled with local transportation leaders and elected officials at WTS “Meet Your Elected Officials” in San Diego.

TMC 20 Years Celebration October 20, 2016 PECG San Diego Section donated $100 to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the TMC.

Diversity Disability Awareness Day at Caltrans November 1, 2016 PECG San Diego participated in Caltrans’ Diversity Day. Section Officers felt it was important to be a part of this event given the fact we are such a diverse group. Section Officers spoke with members and learned a little more about our member’s backgrounds and cultures.

Oscar Cortes, Azar Habibafshar, Cristina Nuñez,

Mehrdad Maher

Azar Habibafshar, Brian Maienschein (Assembly

Candidate), Patti Boekamp (Principle Program Manager at T.Y. LIN ITERNATIONAL)

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D-11 Employee Health Challenge November 17, 2016 PECG San Diego Section donated water for employees who participated in the health challenge.

Azar Habibafshar & Diane Vermeulen

North American Infrastructure Leadership Forum (NALF) October 24-27, 2016 PECG San Diego Section President Oscar Cortes participated in NALF Strategic Projects 8th North American Infrastructure Leadership Forum in Denver, Colorado with a presentation about the Baja California Railroad Binational Project. The North American Infrastructure Leadership Forum presented the top 50 infrastructure projects required for bringing the world back to growth and job-producing competitiveness.

Tijuana Innovadora 2016

November 3-10, 2016 PECG San Diego Section President Oscar Cortes participated in Tijuana Innovadora, a formal ceremony attended by political and military officials and binational guests from business chambers, civic organizations and educational institutions. Tijuana Innovadora is a formal event where strengths of the Tijuana-San Diego region are explored.

Haitian Refugees Donations PECG San Diego Section Members including Melba Fuller-Fabien, Susie Ochoa, and Cynthia Hoffman-Paz donated clothes and food goods for Haitian Refugees in collaboration with the San Diego/Tijuana Binational Region Humanitarian Haitian Crisis Effort.

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Political Events

September 24, 2016 Assemblywoman Dr. Shirley Weber at the opening of our East County Democratic

campaign office

October 16, 2016 Fundraiser for Marine Colonel Doug Applegate

who narrowly lost his Congressional race to Daryl Issa.

October 19, 2016 Susan Davis Fundraiser

October 20, 2016 Scott Peters Fundraiser

October 22, 2016 The La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club

honored Senator Marty Block for his years of service. Former campaign manager and

Chief of Staff San Diego Community College Trustee Richard Grosch roasted

the Senator.

Josan at San Diego Naturalization ceremony registering new citizens to vote

Democratic.

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Recruiting a New Member Do you know of someone who is not yet a PECG member? Would you like to receive $50 from PECG? Well, all you have to do is sign up that person as a new PECG member and you'll receive $50 from PECG! Membership applications can be downloaded from the PECG website at http://www.pecg.org/Benefits/Application.pdf and can be submitted to PECG either by faxing them to (916) 446-0489 or mailing them to:

PECG 455 Capitol Mall, Suite 501

Sacramento, CA 95814 Member Involvement If you are interested in volunteering on the Political Committee, Science & Engineering Fair Committee, Scholarship Committee, Retirement Committee, Health and Safety Committee, Student Mentoring/Outreach Committee, Membership Committee, CHEERS Committee or Events Committee, please contact Section Director, Azar Habibafshar at: Phone: (619) 688-6653 Email: azar_habibafshar@dot.ca.gov If you have any comments or suggestions to improve the San Diego Section please call any officer or use the Suggestion Box found at the San Diego Section website.

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