In 1997 a group of Engineers from both the Private and Public Sector began meeting at the Bahamas Tourism Training Center with the primary focus of these meetings being; to establish what might be done about the void that existed in the engineering community. At that time, the only Engineering Body that existed was the Bahamas Institution of Professional Engineers (BIPE), a group that still exists today and that can be credited for marking out many in-roads for the development of Engineers in this country. However, it was largely felt by many Engineers in the community that this group no longer represented their needs. During this time Engineers were not meeting as a group and there existed no real voice for the concerns in the Engineering Community. Further, there was no avenue for Engineers to provide service to the community for example, through establishing a resource base for students and others interested in the field of Engineering and most importantly there was no concerted voice of Engineers to speak out against developments by any interest group that would threaten the health, safety and welfare of the public.

A decision was made by the growing numbers of Engineers attending these meetings to form a new Engineering Body in the Bahamas. The title, Bahamas Society of Engineers (BSE) was adopted by vote for the name of the group and on the evening of June 24, 1998 the first election of officers was held making Mr. Hammond Rahming the founding president. Also elected to serve were DeCosta Bethel- Vice-President; Peter Gordon- Secretary; Sonia Brown- Assistant Secretary and Adrian Rollins- Treasurer. The Directors of the Board were Kevin Basden, Melanie Roach, Patrick Hanna, Dwight King, Lambert Knowles, Carleton Blair and Racquel Greene. The first registry of members consisted of just over fifty members of varied Engineering Disciplines. The membership included not only those with many years of service in the Industry but also those aspiring to become seasoned Engineers.

Several factors influenced the manner in which this new body would function. Firstly, and of greatest significance was the fact that the Ministry of Public Works was in the process of making sweeping changes to the current make up of the Proposed Bill for the Registration of Engineers. The revised bill would no longer seek to make any group the empowering body for deciding on the registration of engineers, rather the government was to establish a board for this purpose. Secondly, there was a need for the new society to be progressive, more inclusive and forward-looking.

Landmark Events in the History of BSE

1997

• Steering committee established

1998

• Constitution drafted and ratified by membership; Formation and naming of BSE
• Elections; membership at 50
• First Biannual Installation Banquet was held at where the newly elected board was installed and our first group of Honourary Members was inducted- Ivern Davis, Peter I. Bethel, Calvin Cooper and John Steer.

1998 – 2000

• The Society met monthly and several field trips were organized including the new Paradise Island Bridge that was under construction, Phase II Atlantis Construction, Reverse Osmosis plant, BEC Expansion at Clifton Pier and others. The Society also made courtesy calls to the Minister of Public Works, Hon. James Knowles, M.P., the Publisher of Nassau Guardian, the current General Managers of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, Water & Sewerage Corporation and the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation.

2000

• The First annual trip to Grand Bahama was held. Thirteen BSE members went to various sites of interest during this trip including a luncheon and a tour of the Our Lucaya Resort that was under construction at the time.
• The second election of officers was held and the following persons were elected: Sonia Brown- President; Kevin Basden- Vice-President; Gregory Stubbs- Secretary; Cadrington Coleby- Treasurer. Board members DeCosta Bethel, Dwight King, Nicholas Dean, Damian Francis, DuWaine Edwards, Cyprian Gibson. Later Keith Bishop was elected to replace DeCosta Bethel who stepped down.
• The Second Installation banquet was held where the newly elected board was installed along with twelve new members.
• BSE wrote Minister Knowles to request that the MOPW host a meeting to discuss the proposed Engineering Bill. The purpose of this meeting would be to bring together all the representatives of stakeholders in this bill and reach an agreement as to the content of the proposed legislation.

2001

• BSE organized a social event for students of the College of The Bahamas. At this event members from BSE were able to interact with the students and provide them with information on BSE and the Engineering Profession in a relaxed atmosphere.
• The Public Relations Committee of BSE launched its school career’s day campaign. As a result of this campaign BSE members visited various local high schools to inform students about careers in the Engineering Profession.
• The Engineering Forum, which was the brainchild of BSE, was hosted by the MOPW and BSE participated in this lively debate on the Engineer’s Bill along with Engineers representing the Ministry of Public Works, Public Corporations, Engineers from Grand Bahama and the Bahamas Institution of Professional Engineers. It is from this meeting that the current draft of the Bill was formulated.
• BSE signed an Agreement of Cooperation with the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) at the CSCE’s annual conference in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
• BSE held its second annual meeting in Grand Bahama. This entailed site visits and a luncheon where the speaker the Hon. Kenneth Russell, M.P. and Minister responsible for Public Works who addressed the group on the Draft Legislation for the Registration of Engineers.
• Lobby letters were issued to Members of Parliament, Ministers of Government and Senators to encourage support for the Proposed Engineer’s Bill and during this month we held a panel discussion with young candidates representing the three major parties to pledge their parties’ support for the Proposed Bill.

2002

• The year opened with Governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas addressing the group on “The State of the Bahamian Economy.”Other guest speakers at the luncheons included the Minister of Works, the Parliamentary Secretary, The Ministry of Financial Investments and Senator Trevor Whylly.
• BSE continues to lobby for Engineering Registration.
• BSE participated in the Women in Science & Technology, the Bahamas Association for Career and Technical Educators (BACTE) and the New Plumbers Permit Seminars. BSE also participated in theHistory Pays Workshop, The Construction Seminar Group initiatives, various WTO, FTAA, and CSME Workshops and meetings, the Annual Caribbean Water & Wastewater Association Conference and the Bahamas Home & Building Show.
• General Elections were held in the country and BSE member and Engineer John Carey was elected to the Honourable House of Assembly.

2003 - 2005

• In 2003 the passage of the Bill in the lower House of assembly was unanimous.
• Monthly luncheons continued to be held. These included speeches from the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Financial Services, BTC, NEMA, The Island School, The Developers of Cotton Bay, and others.
• BSE has remained active in various trade shows and Technology Fairs as well as a special forum to discuss the promotion of Science.
• BSE played a major role in the national emergency response. More than 20 members of BSE volunteered their time and experience to assist with the initial damage assessment for the numerous hurricanes.
• In May 2004 the Bill was passed with amendments and signed into law effective August

2004

• BSE established a new office with a part-time office administrator and set-up Standard Operating Procedures in order to provide better service to the membership.

2006

• The landmark establishment of the Professional Engineer’s Board.
• The Completion of the first in a series of PE Workshops.
• BSE’s Certified Workshop on the Canadian Electrical Code.
• Active participation on many National Committees & Consultations as well as various public relations initiatives, and membership recruitments.

2007

• The year opened with a luncheon with the speaker being the Ho. Vincent Peet, MP, Minister of Financial Services & Investments on Opportunities for Engineers in 2007.