Baton Rouge, La. (ASCE-LA) - The Section was notified by letter dated December 14, 2007 that its $13,900 in grant proposals for the national ASCE State Public Affairs Grant (SPAG) program were eligible to receive partial funding up to $12,500.

The Section's proposals that were funded by the SPAG program are:

Baton Rouge Branch :

• EveryOne Counts - Tutoring program ($1,500 requested) $1,500 awarded
• Zoom Into Engineering video ($1,500 requested) $1,500 awarded
• Engineers Week billboard ($4,000 requested) $3,500 awarded

New Orleans Branch :

• Hurricane season billboard ($6,900 requested) $6,000 awarded

The Section received an initial payment of $7,500 with the notice. The remaining $5,000 of the funds obligated will be due provided the proposed programs are completed and a final report is submitted by the Section concerning the funded programs and received by the national ASCE deadline. The Section agreed to pay the $1,400 unfunded balance to the respective branches to cover their total grant request.

The Baton Rouge Branch had already begun the preliminary development of the art work for its proposed Engineers Week billboard. This was done by commissioning the graphics to be developed by the same outdoor advertising firm it plans to contract with to provide the digital billboard display space during Engineers Week 2008.

Louisiana Section News