2010 Section Meeting Minutes

IEEE Panhandle Section Minutes December 13, 2010

Date:  December 13, 2010

Who: Joint Section Meeting sponsored by the Power Engineering Society  of the Panhandle IEEE Section 

Place: Amarillo Club 31st Floor, Chase Bldg, 600 Tyler St, Amarillo, TX

Topic:  “Substation and Industrial Networking” 

• Michael Rebstock, Section Chairman, called the meeting to order at 12:16 pm

•  23 IEEE members were in attendance

• 5 Guests were in attendance with 2 being the speakers

• Cost of meal was $15 per person

• Time was taken at the beginning of the meeting to recognize the not-speaking guests.  Three guests were recognized, and one new member was recognized.

 Old Section Business: 

• Floor was turned over to Mr. Ted Carr of the sections’ teller committee.

• The results of the 2010 IEEE-Panhandle Section election were reported by Mr. Carr.

• Winners of this year’s election are: 

• Mr. Carr reported over 50% election participation by the section membership which is quite high.  

 New Section Business: No new section business.

 Floor was turned over to Mr. Scott Davis, PES Chapter Chair

 Mr. Davis asked Mr. Jeff Stebbins to provide invocation.

 Mr. Jeff Stebbins read invocation.

 Old PES Chapter Business: No old PES Chapter business.

 New PES Chapter Business: No new PES Chapter business.

 Meeting: 

PES Chairman Mr. Scott Davis introduced Mr. Mike Mount of GarretCom, Inc. as the main speaker. 

Mr. Scott Davis introduced Mr. Tom Haenszel of Ev Smith Sales Co., Inc. as a supporting partner to the main speaker. 

Mr. Mike Mount discussed several communication protocols, several communication configurations and several communication equipment used in the electric power, networking and communication industries. 

Mr. Scott Davis thanked all for attending. 

Meeting was adjourned at 1:13 PM 

Reported By: Michael Rebstock, IEEE – Panhandle Section 2010 Chairman

IEEE Panhandle Section Minutes for November Section Meeting Sponsored by GOLD Affinity Group

Date: November 9, 2010 Section Meeting

Place: Amarillo Club

The November GOLD affinity group and Panhandle Section meeting was called to order by Brian Byrd, Section Vice Chair at 12:32 pm 

20 IEEE members were in attendance

3 guests were in attendance

 Meal was $15 per person.

 Ben Stallwitz gave the invocation. 

Ted Carr announced the nominees for the 2011 Panhandle Section board members and asked for nominations from the floor for any additional nominees.

Brian Byrd then showed the members the IEEE website and walked through the website to show the members all of the tools and benefits available through IEEE.  Mr. Byrd then opened the floor for questions and answers.

Meeting was adjourned at 1:03 pm.

IEEE Panhandle Section Minutes for September Section Meeting Sponsored by GOLD Affinity Group/TSPE 

Date: Sep. 14, 2010 Section Meeting

Place: Hoffbrau Steakhouse 

The September Panhandle Section meeting was called to order by Brian Byrd, Section Vice Chair at 7:15 pm

 13 IEEE members were in attendance

2 TSPE members were in attendance 

Meal was $15 per person. 

Business:

Bob Cochran announced that the upcoming Professional Development Seminar would be held Tuesday, October 19th at noon.

Ben Stallwitz gave the invocation. 

Brian turned the meeting over to Dr. Lavelle Mills from West Texas A&M University.  Dr. Mills spoke about the background and accreditation of the MBA Program at WTAMU.  Dr. Mills then introduced Dr. De'Arno De'Armond from WTAMU who gave more details about the program.  Dr. De'Armond discussed the goals of the program and the methods used.  Both professors then opened the floor for questions and answers. 

Meeting was adjourned at 8:06 pm.

IEEE Panhandle Section Minutes 04-07-2010

 Members in attendance:24

Guest in attendance: 1

 Meeting location Amarillo Club, Amarillo Tx

 Called to order at 12:30 pm by Mr. Mike Rebstock.

 Invocation given by Mr. Jeff Stebbins.

 Old Business

Robert Bryant received the 2010 Leadership and Achievement Award.  Congratulations was given to him again at the meeting.

The Panhandle Section had excellent feedback on Spring 2010 Professional Development Seminar.

New Business

Tentatively the Panhandle Section is hoping for a PES meeting around May 10^th on IEC communications protocol.

There will possible be a Gold Meeting at the end of May.  Not quite sure of the topic may be IEEE videos or demo over IEEE’s tools.

Turned the meeting over to Mr. Tracy Harlow of the Consultants Network to introduce the speaker. Allen Gwynn from News Channel 10.

Allen Gwynn delivered a technical presentation on weather forecasting.

Meeting was adjourned at 1:25pm by Mr. Mike Rebstock. 

Section Meeting Minutes

February 18, 2010 Section Meeting Joint with the

Texas Society of Professional Engineers Engineering Week Banquet

Held at the Amarillo Club Sunburst Room

Mr. Jonathan Burkhard, TSPE Panhandle Chapter Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:08 pm 

13 IEEE members were in attendance

4 Guests were in attendance 

Meal cost was $35 with $15 of that amount subsidized by IEEE. 

A cash bar was available in advance of the meeting 

Old/New Section Business:  Nothing new to report 

Meeting: 

Mr. Burkhard welcomed all in attendance. Mr. Scott Davis gave the Invocation with time for individual prayer in honor of our friend, colleague and fellow IEEE member, Mr. Bill Ellett who recently passed away. Dinner was served.Mr. Burkhard gave podium to Mr. Michael Rebstock, Chair of IEEE-Panhandle Section for any announcements. 

Mr. Michael Rebstock briefly mentioned that IEEE was finishing its celebration of 150 years.  Mr. Michael Rebstock mentioned that IEEE sponsored Professional Development Seminar was to be held at Amarillo College, Polk Street Campus on March 25, 2010.  No further announcements. 

Mr. Burkhard gave podium to Mr. Jeff Aycock, TSPE’s Mathcounts Chair, who discussed the Mathcounts competition to be held on February 20^th. 

Mr. Burkhard discussed TSPE-Panhandle Chapter business which included an additional note about the Professional Development Seminar. 

Mr. Burkhard gave podium to Mr. Rebstock who roasted Mr. Robert Bryant, the 2010 winner of the IEEE-Panhandle Section’s Leadership and Achievement Award

Mr. Rebstock gave podium to Mr. Bryant who thanked the membership for the award.

Mr. Burkhard gave podium to Mrs. Stacy Sanning who roasted and gave award to Mr. Brian Sanning, winner of the 2010 TSPE-Panhandle Chapter Young Engineer of the Year.  Mr. Sanning thanked all for the award.

 Mr. Burkhard gave podium to Mr. Steve Cross.  Mr. Cross discussed the career and personal information of the TSPE-Panhandle Chapter Engineer of the Year in 2010 award winner, Mr. Steven Becker.  Mr. Becker thanked his God, his family and his co-workers past and present for the award. 

Mr. Burkhard gave podium to Mrs. Heidi Blasingame who in turn presented TSPE-Panhandle Chapter scholarships to Mr. Trey Bowen, Mr. Michael Ripperger and Mr. Boone Tyson.   Congratulations to these young men! 

Mr. Burkhard gave podium to Mr. Warren Chisum, Texas State Representative from Pampa - District 88.  Mr. Chisum discussed some legislative topics.

 Mr. Burkhard closed by thanking Mr. Chisum and his hostess, Ms. Sara Burkhard. 

Meeting adjourned at 9:08PM. 

Michael Rebstock

Section Chair

Annual Section Meeting Minutes For          Date_1-19-2010_ 

Section Officer Attendance

_x__Chairman: Mike Rebstock

_x__Vice-Chairman: Brian Byrd

_x__Secretary: Dustin Eiland

_x__Treasurer: Steve Hudson

_x__1st Year Director: Joe Dunn

_ __2nd Year Director: David Evans

_x__Past Chairman: Bob Cochran 

Committee Chair Attendance

_x__Arrangements: Steve Hudson

_x__PACE (Professional Activities Committee for Engineers): Muhammad Hussain

_ __Membership: Jim Gilmer

_x__Webmaster: Roland Azcarraga

_ __Awards: Rhett DeSpain

_x__Education: Robert Bryant and Lewis Thomas

_x__GOLD: Brian Byrd

_ __Consultants Network: Tracy Harlow

_x__Community Service Projects: Roland Azcarraga

__ _PES: Scott Davis

Members in attendance: 28

Guest in attendance: 9

Speaker: 1

 Meeting location______Hoffbrau Steakhouse__________

Called to order at 6:48pm by Mr. Bob Cochran

 Mr. Bob Cochran began by welcoming everyone to the meeting and having members introduce there guests. Then Mr. Bob Cochran had Mr. Jeff Stebbins give the invocation for the evening meal. After the invocation Mr. Bob Cochran introduced the new 2010 Section Officers. Then Mr. Cochran turned the meeting over to the new chairman Mr. Mike Rebstock. Mr Rebstock began by encouraging the younger members to become part of the leadership team. Some of the main topics Mr. Rebstock brought up were as follows:

            WIE – requested to know if any female members in the Panhandle section are interested in starting a chapter in the Panhandle Section of IEEE If any are interested or know someone who is interested to let Mr. Mike Rebstock know.

            IEEE USA meeting in Nashville Tennessee March 4 -7, 2010. The section would like one of the gold members in the section to attend. If any GOLD members in the section are interested in the IEEE USA meeting in Nashville to get in touch with Mr. Mike Rebstock.

            Region 5 conference in Dallas. If members are interested in attending to please contact Mr. Mike Rebstock.

            February 18, TSPE meeting. The group is not sure on location. The only thing they do have is a date. When more information is available the IEEE panhandle section will send out a notification to the members.

            Mathcounts is still needing volunteers and donations for the upcoming event on February 20, 2010 at Amarillo College. If any members are interested they need to contact Mr. Mike Rebstock and he will get them in touch with the coordinators of the event.

            Community Service program –More donated computers are needed the section will accept printers. Receipts are available for tax deductions.

            IEEE Outstanding Member Award-  Is still accepting nominations . To nominate someone members need to get with Mr. Mike Rebstock. It also may be possible do download the nomination form from the section website.

After covering all the main topics above Mr. Rebstock opened the floor to any new or old business.

            Mr Tedd Carr asked if there was any news on the upcoming Spring Seminar. Mr. Mike Rebstock introduced Mr. Robert Bryant as the new Education Chair.  Mr. Bryant gave an update that the Spring Seminar will be March 25. Some of the topics will include Intellectual Property, Ethics, and Windows 7. Mr. Robert Bryant also mentioned that fajitas will be on the menu for this upcoming seminar. 

At 7:01pm Mr Mike Rebstock stopped the meeting for the even meal.

At 7:43 Mr. Mike Rebstock introduced the evening speaker Dr. Duane J. Rosa, Ph. D  a Economics Professor from West Texas A&M. The topic of his presentation was “2010 Economic Projections – Local and Regional” 

After the presentation Mr. Mike Rebstock presented the Past Chairman Mr. Bob Chochran with a plaque for his service. 

At 8:20pm Mr. Mike Rebstock adjourned the meeting.

2009 Section Meeting Minutes 

Power and Energy Society Meeting Minutes held on Dec. 16, 2009 Section Meeting at Amarillo Club

The December Panhandle Power and Energy Society meeting was called to order by Bob Cochran, Section Chair at 12:15 pm .

 31 IEEE members were in attendance

 Meal was $15 per person.

 Scott Davis gave the invocation.

Bob announced the 2010 Panhandle Section officers.  He then announced that nominations were open for the annual Section Outstanding Member award.

Mike Rebstock announced that there will be a January Section meeting presented by Dr. Duane Rosa on economic issues. 

Bob then turned the meeting over to Scott Davis.  Scott introduced Craig Stiegemeier and Dick Stone from ABB.

Mr. Stiegemeier gave a presentation of transformers.  He started with the tests that should be performed to evaluate an existing transformer.  This included Advanced DGA, Power factor test, SFRA analysis, and Dielectric frequency response.  He then showed example cases of transformers ABB has tested and the results of the analysis.  He explained the use of infrared thermography to determine the condition of a transformer.  Mr. Stiegemeier completed his presentation and asked if there were any questions.  In response to questions he explained the difficulty of doing a partial discharge test in the field, he explained the possible uses for natural esters in transformers, he explained degree of polymerization, and he explained the process for determining the life expectancy of a transformer in service.  Mr. Stiegemeier and Mr. Stone then had a drawing for a User’s Handbook on transformers.

 Meeting was adjourned at 1:25 pm. 

The following table is copied from the IEEE meeting report web site to show the meeting information reported to IEEE:

 Brian Byrd

Secretary

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

1^st 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.