FOUNDING HISTORY
In 1937, NSPE was petitioned by members who lived in Maryland for a charter to establish the Maryland Society of Professional Engineers. The society was established on March 23, 1938 when Charter # 21 signed by the NSPE President was received. The founding members were:
G. Milton Benson
Willard S. Conlon
Charles M. Upham
Fred W. Gast
De Witt Clinton Webb
Abbott L. Penniman, Jr.
Abel Wolman
The Society files list 110 Charter Members. Fred W. Gast served for three years as the first president and was succeeded by Russell B. Allen, PE for the next two years. Allen later became Treasurer of N.S.P.E. for many years. This dedicated group aided in the adoption of the Maryland registration law that was signed by Governor O'Conner on May 27, 1939. The Society was incorporated on April 19, 1947. Charles A. Mohr, PE was the last president before incorporation.
During the period of 1938 to 1955 there were no local chapters of the MSPE. Prior to 1947, members of the MSPE were thinly scattered throughout the state, except for member concentrations in the Baltimore metropolitan area and in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties. In 1956 the first chapter, Baltimore, was chartered. Since then the number has expanded until today, there are eight local chapters and a total membership of more than one thousand.
PAST PRESIDENTS - SINCE INCORPORATION
Period Name
1946-47 Col. James A. Pratt, PE
1947-48 Harry L. Katz, PE
1948-49 Owen W. Turpin, PE
1949-50 Paul W. Backus, PE
1950-51 Arthur M. Gompf, PE
1951-53 James J. O'Donnell, PE
1953-55 Louis G. Smith, PE
1955-56 Ernest H. Hanhart, PE
1956-57 Frank E. Winslow, PE
1957-59 Benjamin E. Bevin, Sr., PE
1959-60 Victor J. Richter, PE
1960-62 G. Philip Stout, PE
1962-63 Albert P. Backus, PE
1963-64 Robert G. Deitrich, PE
1964-66 H. Bruce Baty, PE
1966-67 Frederick Jeffers, PE
1967-68 John C. Handy, PE
1968-69 Theodore Yaffe, PE
1969-71 David Kamoroff, PE
1971-72 Harry O. Huss, PE
1972-73 James C. Johnson, PE
1973-74 Horace Lehneis, PE
1974-75 Lawrence E. Jones, PE
1975-76 James F. Lawrence, PE
1976-77 James S. Spamer, PE
1977-78 James F. Mills, PE
1978-79 Carl D. Walbeck, PE
1979-80 James F. Shook, PE
1980-81 Eric S. Walbeck, PE
1981-82 George A. Simpson, PE
1982-83 John C. Dale, PE
1983-84 Ronald P. Lenert, PE
1984-85 Elmer J. Leister, PE
1985-86 William J. Teach, PE
1986-87 J. Jay Pecora, PE
1987-88 Jerry A. Valcik, PE
1988-89 Werner Kloetzli, Jr., PE
1989-90 Francis W. Kuchta, PE
1990-91 Wallace S. North, Jr., PE
1991-92 Romeo Freer, PE
1992-93 Charles B. Pittinger, Jr., PE-LS
1993-94 Randolph A. Petersen, PE
1994-95 Eduardo Acevedo, PE
1995-96 John Erdman, PE
1996-97 Wayne B Ericksen, PE
1997-98 William R. Gluck, PE
1998-99 Robert M. Gagnon, PE
1999-00 David Herring, PE
2000-01 Marc Hurwitz, PE
2001-02 Michael Clar, PE
2002-03 Robert G. Sebastian, PE
2003-04 James D, Lesikar, II PhD, PE
2004-05 Jonathan Blasco, PE
2005-06 John A. Rutt, PE
2006-07 Manoj Jha, PhD, PE