Engineers

Last night we had the opportunity of attending the San Joaquin Engineer Council's Annual Banquet. It was held at UOP, where they had everything nicely set up for the dinner. Before we even entered the building people were going out of their way to congratulate Pat and me. Everyone was so kind, speaking so highly of him, praising not only his engineering abilities but also who he is.

The dinner was delicious, the company was great, and the evening a success.

I have attended one of these meetings before. It was years ago, probably in the late 90's. During the banquet they award high school students and college engineering majors with scholarships. We have the opportunity of hearing from them; their hopes, dreams and what brought them to this particular field of study. It is inspiring.

They also award the Distinguished Service Award, which usually goes to a teacher related to engineering.

Last, but not least, they award the Engineer of the Year Award. Pat gave a wonderful talk regarding engineering. He gave counsel to the students, and to the engineers. The counsel I enjoyed best (since it had to do with life, and not engineering) was actually given by Mitt Romney in the late 90's; prior to the Olympics, or him being governor, or his run for the presidency. Pat has been talking to me about this article (BYU Magazine) for the past few weeks, and felt impressed to share these words at the banquet:

"There’s an element of unpredictability, of uncertainty, of lottery, if you will, in the world that has been created for us. If you judge your life’s success by the world’s standards, you may be elated or you may be gravely disappointed.

"That, of course, is the secret to predictably successful living: the choice of standards by which you will judge your life’s success. If you judge by the world’s standards, you may well be disappointed, for too many factors for such success are random or out of your control. But there are other standards of success, where chance is not at play.

"What will you live for? "

He spoke eloquently, and to the point, which I love. But what I was most grateful for was the words of love, and support given to him. He was stunned by it, and once again, humbled. 

I am so grateful for engineers, especially those with high standards. Not just in standards of life, but in their profession. They make a difference in this world. After all, wasn't it an engineer(s) that made so much of what we have in this life possible? Mostly, I am grateful for their giving spirits. Most engineers are not flamboyant people; they just want to do good, and they do.

If you'd like to read the article written about Pat it can be found here:

http://www.sjec-ca.org/assets/pdf/2013-PR-Patrick-Dell-PE-GE_Engineer-of-the-Year.pdf 

(Though they did make one error; he did not complete his graduate studies... he chose to spend time with our family instead. He almost got his Master's, but he didn't, back then they weren't as important.)