Coastal Branch
Neuse River Bridge
Eastern Branch
RBC Plaza
Northern Branch
Bunker Hill Bridge
Southern Branch
Bank of America Stadium
Western Branch
Linn Cove Viaduct
NC Section History

Western Branch

Welcome to the website for the Western Branch of the North Carolina Section of ASCE. We are a small, but active, branch serving 20 counties in Western North Carolina.

Unless otherwise noted, our monthly lunch meetings will be held at Pack's Tavern in downtown Asheville, begining around 11:45 AM. Pack's Tavern will offer a limited menu with around 10 items including sandwiches, salads, pastas and soup. We will collect $15 per person to cover the cost of lunch. Our monthly meetings provide excellent programs of local interest and a great opportunity to socialize with other civil engineers. We provide Professional Development Hour certificates for appropriate programs. Everyone is welcome to our meetings, even if you are not a member of ASCE.

April Meeting Scheduled for Thursday April 25th

Please note that our April meeting is scheduled for the forth Thursday of the month instead of the typical third Thursday. Our speaker will be Mr. Daryl Wurster with Wurster Engineering and Construction. Hope to see you there!

Thanks to MJ for a great presentation in March!

MJ Chen, PE, PhD, Assistant Project Manager with GAI Consultants will be presenting a project she worked on last year in the City of Daytona Beach, Florida. The project was to reduce total nitrogen in the effluent below the permitted limit of 3 mg/L using an external carbon source. GAI conducted a pilot study, designed the full scale facilities, and administrated the construction. Nutrient removal is becoming more important throughout the country, and this project is a good example of achieving low total nitrogen limits.

Welcome Incoming Leaders!

From left to right: Woody Kloesel - Representative, Will Gentry - President, Daniel McGough - President-Elect, Chris Otahal - Secretary/Treasurer, John Garner - Past President.

Western Branch Announcements

2013 Spring Technical Seminar

This year's ASCE NC Spring Technical Seminar will be held on Friday, April 26th, 2013 at the North Carolina State University McKimmon Center in Raleigh, NC. Attendees will be eligible for up to 6 PDH's. Six discipline tracks will be available: Geotechnical, Water Resources, Structural, Construction Materials, Engineering Management, and Transportation.

Members - $100.00
Non-members - $115.00
Life Members - $35.00
Students - $20.00

Lunch will be included. Please see our event website for more information and to register for the event.
There are still speaking opportunities available for those interested. Please contact Nikki Honeycutt ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) for additional details.

Western Branch Officers

Use the links below to contact any of our Western Branch officers with any comments or questions you may have.

President
Will Gentry | BLE
828.575.4224 | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

President-Elect
Daniel McGough | S&ME
828.687.9080 | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Past President
John Garner | Garner Engineering
828.337.5716 | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Secretary/Treasurer
Chris Otahal | Kloesel Engineering
828.255.0780 | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Engineers Without Borders Liason
Chris Gilbert | Altamont Environmental
828.281.3350 | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Branch Representatives

Jesse Jacobson | BLE
828.575.4224 | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Jill Heimburg | AMEC Environment & Infrastructure, Inc.
828.252.8130 | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Western Branch News

Local Engineering Organizations Reach Out to Middle School Students

As part of Engineer's Week, February 19th to 25th, a number of local engineering organizations visited area schools to promote the engineering profession. "Our goal is to put engineering and technology careers in front of young students" says John Garner, Western Branch President of the American Society of Civil Engineers. "Interacting with middle school students is always a lot of fun and their interest in what we do is amazing." Local engineers visited Enka, Erwin, Asheville, Cane Creek and Valley Springs Middle Schools during Engineer's Week. Student interacted with the engineering professionals from the community and participated in hands-on mini design projects. "To encourage students into the engineering field, it's important that not only math and science stressed at an early age", says Nathan Eplin, Past President of Western Carolina Chapter of Professional Engineers of North Carolina, "but emphasizing imagination and creative thinking to solve problems is a fun way to foster the next generation of engineers."

Engineer's Week celebrates the positive contributions engineers make to society and is a catalyst for outreach across the country to kids and adults alike. Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), it is among the oldest ofAmerica's professional outreach efforts. Thanks to the engineers from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), Professional Engineers of North Carolina (PENC) and Engineers Without Borders (EWB) for being involved in this important event.