First established on Sept. 10, 1954, in Breezy Point, Minn., the City and Village Engineer's Association of Minnesota -- as CEAM was first called -- had two main goals. According to a letter sent to potential members that year, the mission and benefits of joining the organization were:
1) To find out the ways and means whereby we can render the maximum service to our respective cities and villages where a civil engineer is one of the regularly appointed city officials and to extend said service to other cities and villages where the need is evident for a civil engineer on a full time basis; and,
2) To better the position of a city or village engineer from the standpoint of economic, civic, tenure, and social standing.
As described by the founders of CVEAM, city engineers generally performed work related to "sewer extensions and maintenance; water extensions and maintenance; new street construction and resurfacing of old; curb and sidewalk construction; new wells and pump houses; building permits and zoning; plumbing inspection; and general street maintenance."
The first logo for the organization depicts the state of Minnesota, with a few white dots for cities; inscriptions below the state symbol for CVEAM, MSPE, and PE; an inner red, black, and white circle representing clay pipe, cast-iron pipe, and concrete pipe; and an outer circle with two parts representing a centerline and a grade line. And, all of the circles represent the circles in which city engineers find themselves on a daily basis.
