The SWE RMS Section Awards are presented to SWE RMS members, teams, or collegiates who have made an outstanding contribution to activities within SWE RMS during the fiscal year. Nominees are judged based on the significance of the achievements cited on behalf of the nominee and on the contributions of the nominee to various SWE RMS activities. RMS Summit Awards were recognized at the 2022 Spring Summit event held on April 2, 2022, at the Colorado School of Mines campus. This year RMS recognized the following members for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the section. 
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After a year plus of virtual meetings and Zoom socials, it feels like face to face get togethers are a bit weird and wonderful at the same time. As the Vice President of Membership for FY22 one of my focus areas was in person events that could reconnect the RMS membership as well as welcome new members. As a new member of the section myself, I was excited to have the opportunity to plan and execute in person events and meet my new SWE group.  

The first in person event for the Rocky Mountain section since March of 2020 was held on Sunday August 29th 2021 at the Anthem Community Park in Broomfield. This was an ideal location for our FY22 Welcome Picnic! The picnic structure was large with plenty of tables and ample space to mingle and keep comfortably distant. We had around 20 RMS members attend and some even brought their family or pets (Photo 1). The weather was warm, breezy, and sunny making for quite a lovely afternoon. The section provided drinks and ​

2021 Virtual Spring Summit conference was held on Saturday, April 24. If you missed out on the event or just want to re-watch a session, select recordings from the event are now on the YouTube 2021 Virtual Spring Summit Playlist.

Spring Summit is a one-day conference for engineers, technologists, and partners to connect through professional development workshops, inspirational speakers, and networking opportunities. RMS started the year planning an in-person event with a local collegiate section as a co-sponsor. With the ongoing uncertainty that the pandemic created for in-person events and the collegiate co-sponsor backing out of supporting the event, the Spring Summit committee pivoted to design a high impact professional development and networking event for RMS. By embracing the virtual platform, we reached a wider audience, including out-of-state members from nearby sections who otherwise would not be able to attend the event.

This year's theme was Embrace Uncertainty: Find Your True North and featured keynote speakers Jo Miller, a globally renowned authority and expert on women's leadership and Dr. Heidi Steltzer, and environmental scientist, explorer, and storyteller. FY21 SWE President, Heather Doty, presented opening remarks and provided her insight into importance of the Summit's theme in her personal experiences as a SWE member and industry professional. Instead of limiting the event to a single session per time slot like most other virtual events, we leveraged the platform functionality to allow self-select breakout rooms of 8 different breakout sessions, mimicking breakout rooms selections of an in-person conference. We included specific networking sessions including morning coffee and lunch networking. The event program and social media marketing attracted three industry financial sponsors and their employees for attendance. The post-event survey reveals 72% rated the event as “Excellent” and 28% rated as “Above Average”. 

Check out the Opening Comments, and head over to the  YouTube 2021 Virtual Spring Summit Playlist for more.

The SWE RMS Section Awards are presented to SWE RMS members, teams, or collegiates who have made an outstanding contribution to activities within SWE RMS during the fiscal year. Nominees are judged based on the significance of the achievements cited on behalf of the nominee and on the contributions of the nominee to various SWE RMS activities. RMS Summit Awards were recognized at the 2021 Virtual Spring Summit event held on April 24, 2021. This year RMS recognized the following members for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the section. ​