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The Presidential Address

Sharing Resources GloballyThe text of the inaugural address delivered at the Annual Meeting

of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating andAir-Conditioning Engineers Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland

lam deeply honored to be electedPresident of the world's leadingtechnical society. The task of livingup to the success of my predecessor

is indeed challenging. I willdo my best withthe help of each one of you.

ASHRAE has made thousands uponthousands of engineers better practi-tioners. Each major advance in our indus-try has resulted in or been influenced by thework of ASH RAE.

In reflecting upon what I can do asASHRAE President to continue this rec-ord of accomplishment, I began by seekingadvice from one of our greatest resources,our Presidential Members. Twenty-onepast-Presidents told me about ASHRAE'sgrowth and commented on what yet needsto be done. Their comments helped toshape my program for this year.

It was their personal insights regardingASH RAE and the role of the Presidentthat I valued most. What did they tell me?Hugh McMillan, ASH RAE's 19th Presi-dent, said it best, "Your first responsibilitywill be to ASHRAE~'

Each of the past-Presidents who choseto share their knowledge with othersthrough ASHRAE over the course of theircar~er,put ASHRAE first time-and-timeagain.

Each of you who works on an ASH RAEcommittee or in a chapter has made thesame decision, one of personal involve-ment. Your desire to share is why ASH-RAE is so successful.

For this Society year, I have chosen atheme which I believe will let us meet theenvironmental and demographic chal-lenges that define our time. It is a theme

which identifies our strength and calls for With the phase-out of the CFCs acceler-attention as to how we can best serve ated to 1995, serious efforts must be ex-humanity. Our theme for this year is, pended in developing training programs to"Sharing Resources Globally" educate the design profession about the

The first rule in Robert Fulghum's book probable alternatives. We must continue(All I Really Need ToKnow I Learned In our efforts to develop an energy standardKindergarten) is, "share everything" for residential buildings and examine the

Weshare in ASHRAE through personal . needs to revise our standards for commer-involvement. Personal involvement gives cial buildings. We must better defineASHRAE its incredible diversity and con- indoor air quality and allow for its bettertinuity. control.

For years, I listened to missionaries share Another of Robert Fulghum's rules is,their experiences of life in faraway lands. "Clean up your own mess" There haveTheir terms ran five years in the field, and been articles written denying that CFCs arethen one year of furlough. During their causing the depletion of the ozone layer.time of furlough in the United States, they Perhaps they are written by the same peo-were expected to travel throughout the pie that Senator Al Gore said believe thatcountry sharing their experiences and rais- denial is a river in Egypt. If there is a ques-ing support for their next term. tion regarding who is right, I would think

When I questioned a missionary about it is better to be on the safe side. ASHRAEthis practice, he acted surprised to hear of will continue to monitor, provide researchmy concerns. He stated, "Who else can tell and keep the public informed of this con-our experiences and raise support better tinuing concern.than we who have been there" The mis- Effective action in all these areas issionaries became more committed to their required by our members involved incause when forced to make a greater in- research, standards and education. At thevestment, rather than if they were simply chapter level, we must improve communi-passive recipients. Thus, the results were cation with government officials and themore gratifying. general public. We have an obligation to

The same principle applies to us as seize the public platform to increase under-ASHRAE members; we will be enriched as standing of the benefits of the HVAC&Rwe share our experiences and knowledge technology and contributions to the qual-with others. ity of life. As Presidential Member Don

The environment, CFC replacement, Rich said so well, "If we don't speak,global warming, energy and indoor air others less qualified will speak for us"quality were some of the issues our Presi- This year, the Government Affairs Com-dential Members cited as ASHRAE's top mittee and the Energy and Technicalpriorities. These issues put ASH RAE at Activities Committee have been combinedthe forefront of organizations contributing to form the Technical, Energy and Govern-solutions to environmental problems. ment Activities Committee.

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For many years, we have had a concernabout promoting government affairs at thechapter level. Now, for the first time, wewill be making a stronger effort to carryout this task with the formation of this newcommittee.

ASH RAE has many resources. Oneof the greatest is our Presidential Mem-bers. This year, they will become a work-ing group to improve communicationswith those in related disciplines. ThePresidential Members who have attendedthe past-Presidents' breakfast will learnthat there is no such thing as a free break-fast anymore.

Another resource is our Fellows. Thereare 493 Fellows in ASHRAE. During thisyear, I will ask them to personally bringinto the technical committee structureyoung engineers, women engineers, engi-neers from overseas and minority mem-bers. The legacy of our Fellows-memberswho have already shaped our industry'stechnology evolution-will be to provideASHRAE with a pool of talent for futuregrowth.

We desperately need to consider whereour future growth and talent will comefrom. A report conducted by the HudsonInstitute found that by the year 2000, 820/0of new workers in the U.S. will be a com-bination of female, non white and immi-grant. Out of the 272 appointments toSociety committee positions that I made inpreparation of this year, only 12 werewomen. That's only 4%. And this was aftera concerted effort of asking current com-mittee members to identify women forthese important positions.

In many cases, we simply do not knowwho all the talented people in our Societyare. That's why during this year wewill sur-veyour membership to determine the num-ber of women and minority members andto expand the pool of those willing andable to serve on committees.

Already, some 1,200 members serve ontechnical committees. They are the grass-roots of our technology. They attend ourmeetings without financial support fromthe Society. More than 3,000 membersvolunteer for chapter committees. They arethe grassroots of our educational effortand devote untold hours to the success ofour chapter programs.

Because weneed to keep these volunteersinvolved, I will ask our Membership Pro-motion Committee to further develop thelargeemployer program, an effort to bettercommunicate with those employers whosupport, or who should support, multipleASH RAE memberships.

ASHRAE President Richard A. Charles, P.E.

ASHRAE develops its human resourcesthrough education. It is the desire to edu-cate and to be educated that binds themany diverse elements of ASHRAE to-gether.

ASH RAE taught me about HVAC&R.As a young engineer, I gained valuableinstruction by attending ASHRAE meet-ings and seminars, and by using ASHRAEhandbooks and other publications.ASHRAE does not make good engineers,but in our discipline, you cannot be a goodengineer without ASHRAE. Wemust con-tinue to provide educational materials ofall types to our members to secure a futuregeneration of engineers.

Weare in the process of creating the firsttwo courses of eight in HVAC&R funda-mentals to be developed as home-studycourses or as lectures at the chapter orcommunity college levels.Wealready havetwo correspondence courses available

to individual members. They are Air Sys-tem Design and Retrofit and Indoor AirQuality.

But we must do more. We must chal-lenge our chapters to provide counselingfrom kindergarten to the 12th grade inorder to interest children in pursuingcareers available in our industry. Ourscholarship programs must continue toassist deserving students.

We must think globally. We interact in acommunity of engineers and industry thatis both getting larger and smaller at thesame time: larger because we compete inlarger markets; and smaller because ourability to communicate has drasticallyimproved.

To ensure ASH RAE's continued diver-sity and to make ASHRAE's educationalresources all they can be, membershipmust be expanded to all parts of theworld. A presidential ad hoc committee

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As we look overseas, we must not forgetour U.S. and Canadian structure. Does ourregional structure adequately support ourchapters? Should we schedule Societytopical conferences in conjunction withCRCs? Does our Society meeting formatmeet the needs of technology transfer?All of these will be examined this com-ingyear.

Sharing resources globally. Each one ofus givesand receivesas part of this process,

At our spring 1994CRCs, we will begincelebrating the 100th anniversary ofASH RAE's founding. To prepare us, thePresidential Award of Excellence willinclude criteria for additional historicalachievements at the chapter level.

Toguide us to this important milestone,a new strategic plan has been prepared andwill be voted by the Board of Directors.The strategic plan will focus on our ener-gies in each specific area of ASH RAE'sactivities: technology, education, publish-ing, chapter support, and membershipservices and growth. This will include serv-ices to our international members. Butdevelopment of strategic plan objectivesdoes not complete ASH RAE's ongoingplanning process.

Several months ago, I read an article byJames Mapts, a management consultantbased in Winton, Connecticut. Mr. Maptsdescribed something that most of us takefor granted; he spoke about vision. Vision,Mapts said, is something greater than our-selves. Vision expresses our values andwhat wehope to contribute. Vision is aboutcreating an organization that expressesourdeepest values about work, family,achieve-ments and community. Vision transformsmomentary strategies into a way of life,engenders change.

What is your vision of ASHRAE? Is itto improve the quality of life? Service toothers? Improving our environment?Advancing technology?

Byyear's end, the Long Range PlanningCommittee will develop a vision statementfor ASHRAE. As part of this process, I aminviting each member to share their visionfor ASHRAE.

Perhaps it is the personal involvement ofmembers, the sharing of experiences asseen in chapter and Society activities andtechnical committees that defines ASH-RAE's vision. Personal involvement bythousands of individuals from the manysegments of our industry gives ASHRAE

its diversity. Personal involvement, becausemembers volunteer time-and-time again,gives ASH RAE its continuity. Personalinvolvement, because our publicationsreflect the experiences of the peopleinvolved in ASHRAE, gives ASH RAEits quality. Don Rich's attention to qual-ity must remain the basis of everythingwe do.

I read with interest the biography of oneof our leading consulting engineers, AlfredWolff, who had designed 100 HVAC sys-tems between the years 1889and 1909.Mr.Wolff would not join ASHVE at that timebecause salesmen were permitted to bemembers.

I believe that one of ASHRAE's secretsto success has been the diversity of itsmembership, which includes educators,engineers, design professionals, manufac-turers, service people, contractors andsalespeople. Each person brings a varietyof experience and needs to the ASHRAEcommunity.

In ASH RAE, there are scores of dedi-cated members. I am impressed with thethousands of hours of volunteer time thatgo into transacting the Society's affairs. Itis an awesome task to lead this effort, andit is a challenge I would not undertake wereit not for the support of the ASHRAEmembers and my family members.

Presidential Member Lou Flagg said, "Ifit can happen to me, it can happen to you:'It has happened to me, and it can happento you.

Stop and think. If you have received anybenefits from being an ASHRAE member,then I challenge you to do as I did and putsomething back into this great Society.

Join a TC or TG, be part of your localchapter, be active on a committee. Dosomeone a favor, invite them to an ASH-RAE meeting, introduce them to thetremendous benefits which ASH RAEprovides to all of its members.

Sharing resources globally. That's whatASHRAE is all about.

Senator Al Gore, in his book Earth InThe Balance, sums up the challenge whenhe states, "For civilization as a whole, thefaith that is so essential to restore thebalance now missing in our relation toearth is the faith that we have in our future.We can believe in that future and workto achieve and preserve it or we can whirlblindly on, behaving as if one day therewill be no children to inherit our legacy.The choice is ours. The earth is in thebalance:' •

Sharing Resources Globally

ASHRAE Journal August 1992

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