Section Meeting Minutes
Meeting Minutes for of the Power and Energy Society Chapter of the IEEE Panhandle Section meeting on June 25, 2009.
Meeting was called to order by PES Chair Scott Davis at 12:00 in the Sunburst East Room of the Amarillo club.
Guests were introduced.
Scott presented a plaque expressing the Panhandle Section’s gratitude to Rhett Despain for his multiple years of service as Section Chair.
Matt Leoni (SEL) and Stacy Smith (KD Johnson) spoke on the “Smart Grid”
There was no other business. The meeting adjourned at 1:05 PM.
Section Meeting Minutes
Apr. 21, 2009 Section Meeting
Amarillo Club
The April Panhandle Section meeting was called to order by Bob Cochran, Section Chair at 12:30 pm
12 IEEE members were in attendance
No guests were in attendance
Meal was $15 per person.
Bob turned the meeting over to Brian Byrd. Brian Byrd introduced Wayne Acklin from MATHCOUNTS. Mr. Acklin gave a history of the MATHCOUNTS program. He then spoke about the competitions and the types of clubs involved with the program. He showed a video from the 2005 National Competition. Mr. Acklin handed out brochures and encouraged the members to volunteer for future MATHCOUNTS programs.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:13 pm.
Section Meeting Minutes
March 19, 2009 Section Meeting sponsored by the Consultants’ Network
an Affinity Group of and Joint Meeting with IEEE – Panhandle Section
Pacific Cheese Tour in Amarillo, Texas
Tracy Harlow, Consultants’ Network Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:04 pm
12 IEEE members were in attendance
5 Guests were in attendance
No meal was available so no meal cost
No tour cost was charged
Old/New Affinity Group Business: Nothing new to report
Old/New Section Business: Nothing new to report
Meeting:
Mr. Tracy Harlow introduced Mr. David Volden of Pacific Cheese who in turn answered questions about the plant, the owner, the process and the business.
Mr. David Volden of Pacific Cheese gave a tour of the facility, showed the tour group the line and answered still more questions.
Meeting was adjourned at 6:56 PM
Section Meeting Minutes
February 17, 2009 Section Meeting
Amarillo Club
The February Panhandle Section meeting was called to order by Bob Cochran, Section Chair at 7:30 PM. The meeting was part of the 2009 Engineers’ Week banquet organized by TSPE and jointly with IEEE.
11 IEEE members were in attendance
8 guests were in attendance
53 members and guests from other engineering societies were in attendance.
Meal was $35 per person.
Bob announced upcoming meetings and events.
James Savage presented the 2009 Leadership Award to Rhett Despain.
Guy Bailey, President of Texas Tech University spoke on current events at Texas Tech.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM
Section Meeting Minutes
Jan. 15, 2009 Section Meeting
Amarillo Club
The January Panhandle Section meeting was called to order by Bob Cochran, Section Chair at 12:03 pm
27 IEEE members were in attendance
4 guests were in attendance
Invocation prior to the meal and meeting was delivered by IEEE member, Robert Bryant
Meal was $15 per person.
Bob had all guests present stand and introduce themselves, the introduced the incoming officers for the Section for 2009. He then announced the February meeting, the Engineer’s Week Banquet hosted by TSPE.
Bob introduced the first speaker, Dr. Brian Nutter from the South Plains Section. Dr. Nutter introduced the other two speakers: Dr. Richard Gale and Dr. Marcus Borhani. Dr. Gale then gave an overview of the focus for the Region 5 Conference being held April 16 & 17 in Lubbock. Dr. Borhani spoke about what tasks would require volunteer assistance for the Conference. All three speakers then answered questions from the attendees about the conference. Dr. Nutter said that he would put together a list of the specific tasks that they would like members of the Panhandle Section to assist with.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:08 pm.
Section Meeting Minutes
December 1, 2008 Section Meeting sponsored by the Power Engineering Society
a Chapter of and Joint Meeting with IEEE – Panhandle Section
Hoffbrau Steakhouse, Amarillo
Rhett DeSpain, Section Chairman, called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm
20 IEEE members were in attendance of which 15 were PES Chapter members
3 Guests were in attendance with 1 being the speaker and 2 from Zachary Engineering
Each Meal by Hoffbrau was originally intended to be paid for by each attendee
Hoffbrau staff only created 1 ticket
To avoid further delays an average cost per attendee was calculated at $15 per person with speaker’s meal paid for by the section
Old/New Chapter Business: Nothing new to report
Old Section Business: Pictures of 2008 board were taken
Mr. Kenny Munsell was presented the 2007 Outstanding Chair award for distinguished service to the section
New Section Business:
Chairman Rhett DeSpain relayed a question from the organizers of the 2009 Region V Conference who asked to see if there was any support from the Panhandle Section for a green energy presentation. An consensus supported such a presentation.
Meeting:
Chairman Rhett DeSpain introduced Mr. Bob A. Wilson of ABB who in turn presented a presentation titled, “Arc Flash Presentation.”
Presentation gave information about arc flash guidelines from various codes and industry standards as well as an ABB solution to minimizing calculated arc flash energy.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:13 PM
Section Meeting Minutes
November 10, 2008 Section Meeting sponsored by the Consultant’s Network
Amarillo High School Cafeteria, Amarillo
Catering by Rosa’s Cafe
Rhett Despain, Section Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:50 pm
4 IEEE members were in attendance
36 guests were in attendance – guests included 10 AHS Texas BEST team members and their parents and guests.
Invocation prior to the meal and meeting was delivered by Rhett Despain
Meal was $8 per person. IEEE paid for meals for AHS team members.
Rhett presented the 2009 officer nominating committee report and asked for nominations from the floor. There were none.
Rhett spoke briefly on IEEE and its relationship with the Texas BEST program at Amarillo High School.
Rhett introduced the keynote speaker, Lyndall Hopper. Mr. Hopper is the faculty advisor for the Texas BEST robotics team at Amarillo High. He spoke on the team’s design efforts and their contests thus far. He had various student team members address various facets of the design and competition. The presentation included a demonstration of the robot and the competition tasks.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM
Section Meeting Minutes
October 22, 2008 Section Meeting sponsored by the Gold Affinity Group of the Panhandle Section of IEEE
Amarillo Club Sunburst Room East, Amarillo
Catering by Amarillo Club
Rhett Despain, Section Chair, called the meeting to order at 12:30 am
30 IEEE members were in attendance of which 5 were GOLD affinity group members
1 Guest was in attendance
Invocation prior to the meeting and after the meal is delivered by Mr. Robert Bryant.
Meal is $10 per person. IEEE-Panhandle Section pays any difference in cost.
Old Business:
Discussed 2009 Sections’ Congress.
Identified the 2008 Executive Committee.
Identified the Nominating Committee for 2009 Panhandle Section Executive Committee Officer Election.
Election ballots for 2009 Panhandle Section Officers must be sent out by Nov. 15, 2008
Election ballots for 2009 PES Chair must be sent out be Nov. 15, 2008
Volunteer opportunities were identified for November and December 2008 middle school robotics competitions.
A PES sponsored meeting was announced without specifics for December 2008.
Mr. Lewis Thomas discussed upcoming speakers and events at the November education seminar.
Meeting:
Mr. Rhett DeSpain introduced and thanked Mr. Ted Carr for supplying his personal computer to be used during meeting as part of visual display.
Mr. Carr played two videos found on IEEE website.
One is titled “Why I joined IEEE”. Members from outside the section share their stories why they joined IEEE.
A second is titled “Hydrogen House”. A unique view of a home supplied predominately by on-site, hydrogen generated electricity.
Meeting was adjourned at 12:55 AM
Section Meeting Minutes
Sept. 9, 2008 Section Meeting
Dyers BBQ, Amarillo
The joint meeting with TSPE, sponsored by Panhandle Section - IEEE was called to order by Bob Cochran, Section Vice Chair at 12:44 am
18 IEEE members were in attendance
5 TSPE members were in attendance
1 guest was in attendance
Invocation prior to the meal and meeting was delivered by IEEE member, Robert Bryant
Meal was $17 per person.
TSPE had new business that discussed the need for members to fill openings on committees that will elect the Young Engineer of the Year Award as well as Engineer of the Year Award.
Bob introduced the keynote speaker, Freddie J. Davis Ph.D., P.E. Dr. Davis delivered his West Texas A&M Dept. of Engineering and Computer Science Update Presentation. Current engineering degrees offered, future degrees, numbers of students, class curriculum, continuing education and post graduate possibilities were either topics of discussion or questions and answers.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:20 PM
Section Meeting Minutes
June 24, 2008 Section Meeting
Amarillo Club, Amarillo
The meeting, sponsored by GOLD was called to order by Bob Cochran, Section Vice Chair at noon
30 IEEE members were in attendance
3 guests were in attendance
Meal was $10 per person.
GOLD members were recognized.
Bob introduced the keynote speaker, David Stidham. David Stidham spoke on the Design and Construction of Large Scale Wind Farms, using the Roscoe, Texas facility as an example.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:00 PM
Section Meeting Minutes
May 13, 2008 Section Meeting
Dyer's Barbecue
Jeff Stebbins called the meeting to order at 6:44 PM.
Gene Wolf spoke on "The Smart Grid"
The Meeting was adjourned at 8:44 PM
Section Meeting Minutes
January 22, 2008 Section Meeting
Amarillo Club, Amarillo
The meeting was called to order by Kenny Munsell, out going Section Chair at 7:15
12 IEEE members were in attendance
14 guests were in attendance (including 4 prospective members and the keynote speaker)
Members recognized their guests
Kenny introduced the incoming Section Officers for 2008
Chair – Rhett Despain
Vice Chair – Bob Cochran
Secretary – Mike Rebstock
Treasurer – Brian Byrd
Kenny then introduced the keynote speaker, Richard “Buzz” David, President & CEO of the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation. Buzz informed the attendees of the history, activities and achievements of the Amarillo AEDC.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM
Section Meeting Minutes
December 4, 2007 Section Meeting
Dyer’s Restaurant, Amarillo
The meeting was called to order by Bob Cochran, Section Secretary, at 12:15.
22 IEEE members were in attendance
3 guests were in attendance
Meal was $10 per person.
Bob presented the results of the 2008 officer election
Chair – Rhett DeSpain
Vice Chair – Bob Cochran
Secretary – Mike Rebstock
Treasurer – Brian Byrd
1st Year Director – Tracy Harlow
Bob then turned the meeting over to Jeff Stebbins, chair of the Power Engineering Society chapter who introduced the speaker.
Jeffrey T. Burnham, NGK-LOCKE, Inc made a presentation on the NAS (sodium sulfur) battery: “NGK’s NAS battery: A tool for Solving Power and energy Problems”
Meeting was adjourned at 1:30 PM
Bob Cochran
Secretary
Section Meeting Minutes
November 7, 2007 Section Meeting
Amarillo Club, Amarillo
The meeting was called to order by Kenny Munsell, Section Chair, at 12:23.
17 IEEE members were in attendance
7 guests were in attendance
Meal was $10 per person.
Kenny presented senior member pins to Lewis Thomas and Sun-Ham Or.
Robert Bryant, chair of the nominating committee presented their nominations for officers for 2008:
Chair - Rhett DeSpain and Tedd Carr
Vice Chair - Bob Cochran
Secretary - Mike Rebstock
Treasurer - Brian Byrd
1st year director Tracy Harlow and Duane Ripperger
Robert then requested nominations from the floor. There were none
Kenny Introduced program.
Dr. Ben Richardson talked about the Legos Robotics competition and the local team at San Jacinto Christian Academy. He reported on the 2007 competition and the funding needs for the 2008 competition: robot $300, registration fee 200, tournament fee is $50-$100, trip to world tournament was $13000 in 2007.
Kenny adjourned the meeting at the conclusion of Dr. Richardson’s talk.
Bob Cochran
Secretary
Panhandle Section of IEEE
July 7, 2007 Meeting Minutes
The IEEE Panhandle and South Plains Sections held a joint meeting at the American Wind Power Center in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday July 7. The meeting comenced at noon with a catered lunch followed by a tour of the Wind Power Center museum. Lunch was provided. Ted Carr, Brian Byrd, John Kotula, and Kenny Munsell were the Panhandle Section members present. There were approximately 15 others in attendance.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 2:00PM.
Prepared by Kenny Munsell, IEEE Panhandle Section.
Section Meeting Minutes
May 22, 2007 Section Meeting
Amarillo Club, Amarillo
The meeting was called to order by Desi Gilani, Section Vice-chair at 12:10
31 IEEE members were in attendance
2 guests were in attendance
Desi presented Region V outstanding small company award to Utility Engineering
Desi announced the Region V small section award went to Panhandle Section
Desi announced the Region V outstanding web site award went to Panhandle Section
Desi presented Region V outstanding member award to Scott Davis
Kenny Munsell announced that Desi Gilani would be transferring to a Utility Engineering job in Denver in July.
Dave Bennett presented a information on WiMax and the supporting IEEE standard.
Desi adjourned the meeting at 12:55
Bob Cochran
Secretary
Meeting Minutes
Panhandle Section/IEEE
Joint Meeting with the Power Engineering Society
April 19, 2007
The April 2007 IEEE/PES meeting was held at the Big Texan and dinner began at 6:30 PM. PES Chairman Jeff Stebbins called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM. A total of 25 people were in attendance: 1 speaker, 2 guests and 20 members and 2 non-members.
Mr. Stebbins asked if there was any IEEE business to be conducted and it was reported that there will be a technical meeting in May, but the time and location are not known at this time. Mr. Stebbins then asked David Miller to introduce our speaker, Mr. Mikhail Halonen, design engineer for ABB.
Mr. Halonen spoke on the benefit s of having Static VAR Compensators (SVC) connected to the utility grid. He began with a review of VARs and the effect that they have on a utility network. He then explained that not only do SVC’s provide increased capacity on transmission lines by mitigating the VAR load on transmission systems, they also help sustain an electrical system during adverse operating conditions. He showed several slides of different SVC installations and also showed a slide that illustrates the large number of ABB SVC’s installed in the USA.
After a brief Q & A period, Mr. Stebbins adjourned the meeting at 8:30 PM.
Sincerely,
Jeff Stebbins
PES Chairman
Section Meeting Minutes
March 27, 2007 Section Meeting
Professional Development Seminar
Amarillo College Business and Industry Center
Registration began at 11:30 AM.
A fajita lunch was served at 12:00 PM.
The meeting was called to order by Duane Ripperger at 12:10 PM
48 IEEE members were in attendance
76 guests were in attendance
Mr. Richard Epstein with Los Alamos National Laboratory presented “Chilling Out With Lasers”. It covered the use of the lasers for specialized equipment cooling applications such as in equipment sensitive to vibration.
Mr. Jimmy H. Smith, Ph.D., with the Texas Tech University’s College of Engineering’s Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism’s National Insitute for Engineering Ethics, presented “Incident at Morales” as part of a two-hour ethics training session.
Ms. Jackie Davis, with Spellman & Associates presented “Advanced Tips for Excel” and “Advanced Tips for Word”. The presentations provided tips for users of Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.
No other business was conducted.
The meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted
Bob Cochran
Secretary
Section Meeting Minutes
February 22, 2007 Section Meeting
Engineers Week Banquet
Amarillo Club, Amarillo
The meeting was called to order by Stacy Sanning with ASME/TSPE
16 IEEE members were in attendance
14 guests were in attendance (spouses had been specifically invited to attend)
IEEE Outstanding Panhandle Section Member award presented to Scott Davis by Kenny Munsell
TSPE presented Young Engineer of the Year Award to Jason Blasingame and Engineer of the Year Award to John Patterson
Debra McCartt, Mayor of Amarillo spoke on the State of the City.
Bob Cochran
Secretary
Section Meeting Minutes
January 23, 2007 Section Meeting
Johnny Carinos Restaurant, Amarillo
The meeting was called to order by Section Chair, Kenny Munsell at approximately 6:30 PM.
15 IEEE members were in attendance
12 guests were in attendance (spouses had been specifically invited to attend)
Officers for 2007 Calendar year were introduced.
An educational program was presented by Beth Duke and Freda Powell of Center City of Amarillo, Inc. Ms. Duke spoke about the mission of Center City of Amarillo, Inc. Ms. Powell spoke about the activities of the Center City of Amarillo.
Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:00 PM.
Bob Cochran
Secretary
Section Meeting Minutes
Panhandle Section of IEEE
November 27, 2006
The meeting was held at the Amarillo High School cafeteria and was called to order by Scott Davis at 6:30 p.m. There were 17 section members present along with 17 guests of members in addition to the Amarillo High West Texas BEST team and coaches. Total attendance was approximately 45. After a meal, catered by La Fiesta Mexican Food, Scott provided a brief overview of the West Texas BEST program. He then turned the program over to the team. They told those assembled about their team, their recent competition in Lubbock, and the awards that they won. They also presented certificates of appreciation several of their supporters, including the Panhandle Section of IEEE and section members Scott Davis and Don Porter. After a brief demonstration of the team’s robot, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:45 p.m. Most in attendance then joined the team in the science room where a replica of the competition course was set up. The team then provided a more detailed demonstration of the robot’s capabilities.
Minutes prepared by: Kenny Munsell
Section Meeting Minutes
Panhandle Section of IEEE
Consultants’ Network
October 26, 2006
Chairman Rhett DeSpain welcomed everyone at 5:45 p.m. at Zoo-kini’s Restaurant and directed everyone to proceed through the serving line. Mr. DeSpain introduced Mr. James Savage, 2007 Nominating Committee Chairman. Mr. Savage requested nominations from those in attendance for officer elections for 2007. Hearing none, Mr. Savage presented 2007 candidates as follows: Mr. Kenny Munsell-Chairman, Ms. Desiree Gilani-Vice Chair, Mr. Bob Cochran-Secretary, Mr. Mike Rebstock-Treasurer, and Mr. David Stidham-Director. Mr. DeSpain mentioned the next section meeting would be the presentation of the Texas BEST Robot in November. Mr. DeSpain continued by directing everyone to drive to Don’s Hi-Fidelity for the program presentation. At Don’s Hi-Fidelity, Mr. Bill Ellett, Consultants’ Network Chairman, introduced the speaker Mr. Greg Towner. Mr. Towner gave a presentation on the topic of “Emerging Technologies in Home Entertainment.” The presentation was followed by demonstrations in the store. The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m. There were 21 IEEE members and 4 guests present.
