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50th Anniversary

ACEC Virginia - 50 Years of Service

ACEC Virginia celebrated 50 years of services to the engineering community during 2017-18. What a accomplishment!

Established as the Consulting Engineers Council (CEC), we were part of a federation of associations serving the needs of consulting engineers. Each state maintained a great degree of independence, conducting service programs responsive to the needs of it’s members. National affiliation criteria required that a Member Organization have purpose consistent with the national Council and bylaws/activities that did not conflict with those of the national Council.

For Virginia, it started in May of 1962 when representatives of ten consulting firms in the Richmond area met to discuss the formation of a state organization with the specific purpose of affiliating with CEC/US and implementing efforts at the state level parallel to those being pursued nationally. After meetings with national CEC representatives, an application for affiliation was filed on July 16, 1968 by CEC Virginia Officers Carl Torrence (President), Richard P. Hankins (VP), and Henry P. Sadler (Secretary/Treasurer).

The group then found itself in competition with the state society’s private practice group, with several leading consultants taking the position that CEC would prove to be divisive and that the interests of all engineers, including consultants, could best be served by a single “umbrella” organization. With the passage of time, the rivalry disappeared and the organizations worked together on matters of mutual interest.

The Consulting Engineers Council of Virginia, Inc. (CEC/VA) was organized as an incorporation on December 7, 1968.

The original objectives of CEC/VA were:

  • To protect the public welfare.
  • To maintain ethical professional standards among the independent consulting engineers of Virginia.
  • To promote harmony, cooperation and mutual understanding among the independent consulting engineers of Virginia.
  • To cooperate with other bodies in matters of interest to the independent consulting engineers of Virginia.
  • To promote the professional and economic welfare of the independent consulting engineers of Virginia.
  • To act as a clearing house for information and action on matters of common interest to the independent consulting engineers of Virginia.

The initial Executive Board comprised of:

  • M. O. Roache, Jr.
  • W. A. Thompson, Jr.
  • Alvin W. Dunbar
  • W. L. Gibson
  • Walter K.  Jones, Jr.
  • Creed T.  Elliotte
  • Elmer O. Rodes, Jr.
  • Robert H. Deaderick

Charter members included:

  • Austin Brockenbrough & Associates
  • R. M. Bartenstein & Associates
  • Brandt & Morse
  • Chandler & Gibson
  • Robert H. Deaderick
  • Hankins, Anderson & Noncrief
  • Roache, Mercer & Faison
  • Henry P. Sadler
  • Thomas W. Smith
  • Sowers, Rodes & Whitescarver
  • Robert S. Spratley & Associates
  • Torrence, Dreelin, Farthing & Buford
  • Wagner & Jones
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