On the 11th May 2021, my tenure as AGS Chair will officially come to an end at the AGM, and I will pass the reins over to Sally Hudson of Coffey Geotechnics. I believe that Sally will be the first female Chair of AGS and her enthusiasm, expertise and knowledge will ensure that AGS will continue to promote and improve our industry. You will hear more from Sally as the year progresses.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite others working within the geotechnical and geo-environmental sectors to engage further with the AGS. We would be delighted to work with individuals who are keen to give back to their industry; whether helping to raise awareness of issues we are poorly or simply not tackling, or helping to improve the safety, quality and/or technical aspects of our work, now is the time to join the AGS. We have a number of places available on the Executive Committee as well as new Working Group Leaders required for the Contaminated Land and Geotechnical groups. If you think you can contribute to some or all of the above please send your applications in by March 26th.

I am pleased to continue to promote Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within AGS and in the coming months we would hope to provide positive actions which members can take. We have now received a number of nominations from Early Career practitioners who would like to be co-opted on to some of our working groups, but would still like to encourage representation within the Labs and Loss Prevention areas of work. It is a unique opportunity to see a different side to the sector, as well as hearing about issues and initiatives which are common across the industry. The Yellow Book Revision is progressing well and a draft will be ready for industry comment within the next couple of months, so watch out for announcements.

Julian Lovell (AGS Chair)