The LSPA hosted a fun night of socializing and baseball at beautiful Polar Park in Worcester earlier this week.  Perfect weather.  Free drinks and food, raffle prizes, and a private box area made the night even better.  Keep an eye on Jaylin Davis #12 – he had a hot night with two home runs. Box score:  Mud Hens 0, Red Sox 4 (Final Score) on Gameday (milb.com)

Last night, LSPA’s Emerging Professionals Committee hosted Introduction to Drilling Techniques with Technical Drilling Services (TDS). At the sold-out event at their headquarters in Sterling, TDS demonstrated various drilling and monitoring well installation methods.  Environmental consultants along with students from Bridgewater State University (BSU) learned about basic drilling/sampling techniques (including continuous and discrete soil cores) and groundwater monitoring well installations on a 15-foot monitoring well.  

Here are a few photos from the event (photo credit to Michael Penzo).

Nancy M. White and Iris Davis Memorial Golf Tournament

When: Friday, June 7, 2019
Time: 7:00 AM Registration; 8:00 AM Shotgun Start
Location: Far Corner Golf Course, 5 Barker Road, Boxford, MA - Directions

The LSPA celebrated its 25^th anniversary in style on October 25^th at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. The only thing better than the gorgeous, historical venue was the fact that 350 LSPA members and friends were in attendance. It was a great night: food, drink, 17 Past LSPA Presidents in attendance, three Contribution to the Practice awards, and that doesn’t even include the evening’s entertainment. 

We were excited to hear Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s a cappella group, the Audiophiles, perform. What a talented group of future engineers and techies!

Last month, the LSPA offered an 8-hr field course in the greater Falmouth, Massachusetts, area entitled, “Sediment, Surface Water, and Biota Sampling Methods to Support MCP Assessments.” This is a repeat course and each time it has been offered, we have received excellent rave reviews. Here are a few comments that we received after the June 2018 course:

LSPA's Emerging Professionals Committee hosted a Soils Classification event last week at GZA GeoEnvironmental. Zachary Baum, P.E., a Geotechnical Engineer at Tighe & Bond, gave a brief overview of the Modified Burmister System, focusing on different soil types and the corresponding grain sizes. Fun Fact:  The numbers given to various sieve sizes are equal to the number of holes in the sieve per inch.  Zach passed around small bags containing various soils, so everyone could get a “real-world” sense of the look and feel of each soil type. Participants then had the opportunity to get their hands dirty and team-up to classify four soil samples that had been lab analyzed for the “right” answer.  We had great turnout of 35 people, and participants were engaged both with the subject matter and one another. Here are some photographs of the event. Thanks to GZA for hosting and to Zach for his enlightening presentation.

The LSP Association (LSPA) is proud to support the 33rd Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water, and Energy as an event sponsor. As part of this sponsorship, all LSPA members are eligible to receive a discounted registration fee! Please remember to check "Presenters*, Sponsors/Supporters, and Academics" to receive the discount. Rates for LSPA members are listed below. These rates are valid until September 29. Registrations received after September 29 will be charged a late fee. 

• Full Three Days: $295 (Savings of $255)
• One Day: $150 (Savings of $75)

Are you attending the conference or are you an LSPA member in the Western Massachusetts area? Please consider meeting up for an informal gathering at The Hangar Pub. Details are below. 

The LSPA Young Professionals hosted a successful networking and trivia night at Lowell Beerworks on December 7, 2016. Six teams competed in general knowledge trivia for prizes. The first place team, comprised of Eric Andrews, Amanda Cantara, Ryan Farrell, Kate Hanrahan, and Michael Penzo, won by a large margin. A tense tie-breaker decided the second and third place teams.

A special thanks to LSPA Platinum sponsor, Alpha Analytical, for providing prizes to the top three teams and also offering extra prizes for bonus questions!

Thank you to all who attended the 2016 LSPA Annual Dinner. What a great way to kick off the new LSPA year! It was a wonderful night and great to see so many LSPA members, clients, and friends. The LSPA experienced record-breaking attendance, received incredible sponsorship support, presented a very interesting speaker and hosted a successful silent auction to support the LSPA Scholarship Fund.

We were pleased to honor three very deserving colleagues. Big congratulations goes out to: 

Join the EBC Young Environmental Professionals and the LSPA Young Professionals for a networking night at Harpoon Brewery in Boston’s Seaport. Mix and mingle with colleagues in the environmental and energy sectors and expand your network. These are the connections that will carry you through your career! 

All-you-can-eat pretzels, beer, and a tour of the Harpoon facility are included in the registration fee. Registration is capped at 50 – be sure to register today! Please note: there is a $15 registration fee which includes, pretzels, beer, and a facility tour. View Attendee List. 

The LSPA Technical Practices Committee had its annual summer outing on Boston Harbor last week. Twelve intrepid sailors (aka committee members) enjoyed a sunset cruise on a gorgeous ship from the Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships. We are happy to report that no sailors went overboard. All committee members are ready to return to the land of LNAPL, Historic Fill, and Telemetry in September. View the photo album. 

Special thanks to Isaac Anderson, Past Chair, and Jason Chrzanowski, Current Chair. If you are interested in learning more about the Technical Practices Committee, please visit their web page. 

LSPA’s Technical Practices Committee (TPC) and Young Professionals Committee (YPC) recently traveled to the Medfield State Hospital for a tour of the facility, led by John Thompson, LSP and member of the Technical Practices Committee.