Countdown to CECON 2024: We Are One Month Away

August 2024

T-minus one month and counting! School is officially back in session, and it is officially time to “Raise the Grade” at this year’s 2024 CECON in Frisco, TX from Wednesday, September 18 through Friday, September 20! We anticipate that this year’s conference will be heavily attended, meaning the time is NOW to register as an attendee and for a hotel room at the Frisco Embassy Suites and Convention Center. There are only a few rooms remaining within the negotiated room block for the conference.  Don’t procrastinate as we anticipate the room block will be spoken for in a matter of days.

The 2024 CECON Planning Committee has been making final arrangements for the conference programming, keynote speakers, panels, networking events, technical tours and breakout sessions to ensure your experience receives an “A+” at the conclusion of the three-day conference. Our exhibitor sub-committee has done a wonderful job in soliciting and confirming a full slate of representative companies that all look forward to engaging with you during your stay. For those interested, we will be offering an Exhibitor Bingo Game to encourage our registrants to engage with our important exhibitors throughout the 3 days together – there will be prizes awarded to those who fill out the bingo card in its entirety.

This year will introduce two new panels (in addition to the TxDOT panel) comprised of a Texas River Authority panel along with an Academia Panel. Given the recent flood control plan being finalized by the Texas Water Development Board, we will be hosting a panel of River Authority Directors to inquire about the impact of the TWDB plan along with other topics of interest to Texas-based Civil Engineers. In addition, the CECON planning committee has invited a few respected members of academia from around the state to participate in an Academia panel. We intend to pose questions to the panel regarding subjects related to student attraction and retention, the impact of artificial intelligence to the civil engineering curriculum and how we all can contribute to the field through STEM engagement and student mentorship.

The CECON Program is a comprehensive series of keynote sessions, breakout sessions and the aforementioned panel sessions wrapped around our central theme for the 2024 Conference, “Raising the Grade”. Registrants and hosts will hear this term incorporated often with respect to two primary issues:

• The forthcoming ASCE Infrastructure Report Card in 2025 will be an update on our state’s infrastructure. What measures are being taken within the public and private sector to “Raise the Grade” from our 2021 score of “C”?
• Civil Engineering candidates from undergraduate and graduate programs are being afforded employment opportunities based on unprecedented demand due to infrastructure spending. Are universities producing viable candidates who offer value soon after entering the workforce? Is the profession doing everything it can to attract and retain students within the field?

We invite our registrants to engage throughout our time together – perhaps like no other event offered by the Texas Section of ASCE, CECON provides abundant opportunities to network with your peer group through both the technical program and loads of networking functions. We truly have something for everybody… Mario Kart, Cornhole, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Karaoke, Baseball Batting Practice and Fielding! Your attendance is indeed meaningful, as it helps fund other initiatives for the Texas Section including Student Symposium, the Texas Infrastructure Report Card, Texas ASCE Legislative Drive-In, Leadership Development Weekend, Texas Civil Engineer magazine, and more…

We look forward to seeing you in the thriving city of Frisco, TX next month. On behalf of the Texas Section Leadership, Carlos Balderrama (CECON Co-Chair) and I, a heartfelt THANK YOU to our Conference Supporters (Sponsors and Exhibitors) as well as a special shout out to our CECON sub-committees. These volunteers have spent their personal time and countless hours dedicating themselves to delivering our registrants a valuable and FUN CECON experience. 

Onward to September!  Advance rate registration will expire Friday, September 6, at which time registration rates will increase leading up to the conference beginning on September 18. Reminder that hotel space at the negotiated room block for CECON 2024 is going fast… if you wish to stay at the conference hotel, be sure to register NOW! For those who miss out on the room block at the Embassy Suites, there will be nearby properties where you make a conference rate reservation. Additionally, the Planning Committee will be issuing an updated CECON Conference app for your smartphone at the turn of the month of September. Stay tuned for an email that will announce its availability with instructions on how to download the application. As always, to learn more about our programs, keynotes, panel sessions, networking events, technical tour, AND TO REGISTER, please visit our event website @ TexasCECON.org.

See you in Frisco!