Section News
Read Section News every month to see what types of programs and activities ASNT Sections have held recently or to catch up on what your Section has been doing. These postings for February will also be published in the March issue of Materials Evaluation.
Chicago
CHICAGO, ILLINOISOn 12 December, the Chicago Section met at Mack’s Golden Pheasant Restaurant and Bar in Elmhurst, Illinois, with 15 members and guests present. Mike Kelley, of Olympus NDT, was the featured speaker. He spoke on the current technologies available through Olympus and had a number of very informative demonstrations. The latest in X-ray fluorescence, positive metal identification units were highlighted. In addition, Kelley used several different types of borescopes to show the versatility of each type and the kinds of viewing tips available. Measurement of discontinuity depth through the borescope was also demonstrated using multiple views. Advancements in screen brightness and articulation have been made and these improvements were highlighted as well. New ASNT Fellows, Larry Strouse, of the Federal Railroad Administration, and Eddywayne Messmer, of Moraine Valley Community College, were in attendance and were acknowledged.
ASNT Chicago Section Board member Stuart Kleven (left), of Alloyweld Inspection Company, presented a plaque with the cast outline of the City of Chicago to speaker Mike Kelley of Olympus NDT.
Greater Houston
HOUSTON, TEXASThe Greater Houston Section hosted 133 members and guests at their annual holiday season dinner at Brady’s Landing restaurant on 14 December. Section Chair Skip Hoyt and his wife, Amy Hoyt, welcomed everyone and recognized the meeting sponsors: Ashtead Technology, Inc., Fugro Consultants, Inc., Iris Inspection Services, Inc., Olympus NDT, Inc., PetroChem Inspection Services, Stroud Systems, Inc. and Turbo Nondestructive Testing, Inc.
Discounted meal prices were offered to those who brought an unwrapped gift for the Toys for Tots program and. In all, the Section collected 76 Christmas presents, including a bicycle donated by Dale Tucker, of Quest Integrity. This was one of the Section’s most successful toy drives ever. Deal Moore and Tom Roberts delivered the toys the next day to the Marine Corps collection headquarters at George R. Brown Convention Center.
A round of introductions included the many families in attendance, including Ron Hayden and Rita Hayden; Greg Hudkins and Janet Hudkins; Bob Dunn and Nancy Dunn; David Schultz and Norma Schultz; and David McGrath and Sheila McGrath. Everyone enjoyed the chance to gather for the holidays, share a drink at the bar and savor the food at the buffet. After dinner, the room transformed into a Monte Carlo casino, with black jack, poker, craps and roulette tables.
Door prize winners were announced each half hour to collect one of 50 gifts that Amy Hoyt purchased and wrapped, many from the annual Nutcracker Market benefiting the Houston Ballet. Each table of ten also raffled off the nutcracker centerpieces. Everyone went home a winner.
Greater Houston Section members and attendees at the annual holiday dinner: (from left) Greg Hudkins, Janet Hudkins, Dwayne Witter and John Iman.
Greater Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIAOn 13 December the Greater Los Angeles Section held their annual holiday dinner at Maggie’s Pub in Santa Fe Springs, California. The event had a great turnout and everyone enjoyed the white elephant gift exchange and nice dinner. The Section always encourages spouses to come for free on this night so they can be thanked for their support throughout the year. For entertainment, there was a DJ/comedian, as well as karaoke, which everyone enjoyed.
The Greater Los Angeles Section engaged in some spirited karaoke during their annual holiday dinner. From left: Richard Banks, Ramsey Campbell, Duane Schultz, Brianna Buchannan, Kristy Davis-Jones and Ricky Morgan.
Greater Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIAThe Greater Philadelphia Section’s biannual Vendor’s Night was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Trevose, Pennsylvania on 3 November. Forty-seven members and guests were present and enjoyed a buffet dinner and open bar. The ten vendors who purchased display tables were: Mistras Group, Inc., Ashtead Technology, Inc., Schiavone Electronic Labs, Inc., TAC Technical Instrument Corp., Olympus NDT, Inc., MS Industrial Distributors, PH Tool Reference Standards, Bookholt Associates, Laboratory Testing, Inc. and GE Energy Services. Frank Peszka, of Laboratory Testing, won the $250 progressive membership drawing. He immediately donated $100 back into the pot toward next month’s drawing. The 50/50 drawing was worth $90 and was won by Ken Temme, of Diver’s Academy International. Additional prizes were donated by PH Tool Reference Standards and Stork MMA Laboratories, Inc.
The Section held a meeting on 1 December at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Trevose, Pennsylvania. It was the annual Significant Others Night, when the spouses of Section members are thanked for their background efforts and understanding of the time a member spends doing the work of the Section. Each spouse received a gift card and additional gift donated by Pauline Roding. The section also bought bottles of wine that were given as extra prizes for the 50/50. Twenty-five members and guests were present, including seven ladies. For this night the topic is chosen to be something of more general interest.
The speaker was Thomas E. Mutchler, of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. His topic, “A Perspective on the Future of Energy,” was mostly about energy for transportation, where it comes from now and what the future may be with hydrogen as a major fuel source.
Members of the Greater Philadelphia Section met in November for their biannual Vendor’s Night. From left: Don Meyers, of Laboratory Testing; Brett Kendall, of MX Industrial Distributors; and Brian Parlett and Frank Finnegan, of Stork MMA in front of the MX Industrial table.
Hampton Roads
NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIAIn December, the Hampton Roads Section hosted a Toys for Tots drive in which they encouraged members and their spouses to meet up for a dinner, which was paid for by the Section, for those members who donated a new, unwrapped toy to the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program. The event had a really good turnout at Al Fresco Italian Restaurant in Newport News, Virginia, along with a great dinner, and the Section was happy to help out some children in need so that they would have a special surprise on Christmas morning.
Hawaii
HONOLULU, HAWAIIThe Hawaii Section held its 7 December Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day meeting at Schooners Restaurant, which is at Pearl Harbor next to the historic Arizona Memorial. There were 10 members and guests in attendance. Chair Eric Totten started the meeting with a moment of silence in remembrance of all those who perished during the Japanese attack 70 years ago.
The guest of honor at the meeting was David Mitchell, Region 15 director. Mitchell gave a brief overview of ASNT in regards to membership.
The guest speaker was Christopher Moody, of Mistras Group’s Product Services Division. Moody gave an informative presentation, showcasing both acoustic emission and remote ultrasonic testing devices and equipment.
Members of the Hawaii Section gathered for a meal and presentations by David Mitchell and Christopher Moody at their December meeting.
Mohawk Hudson
ALBANY, NEW YORKOn 1 November, the Mohawk Hudson Section held a meeting at Pinhead Susan's restaurant in Schenectady, New York. There were 15 in attendance and GEIT sponsored the meeting. The speaker was Neville Sachs, who presented on “Tales Mechanical Failures Tell,” The talk discussed the human and latent roots of mechanical failures and explained how fracture surfaces can be used to determine the cause of failure.
Members of the Mohawk Hudson Section gathered at Pinhead Susan’s Irish Pub at the beginning of November for a meeting, featuring speaker Neville Sachs of Sachs, Salvaterra and Associates, Inc.
Old Dominion
RICHMOND, VIRGINIAThe Old Dominion Section conducted their third meeting of the program year on 28 November at the Italian Kitchen restaurant in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Seventeen members and guests gathered to enjoy the company and cuisine before hearing the presentation from Robert Statchel, the vice president of HRV Conformance Verification Associates, Inc., on his involvement with Engineers Without Borders. Statchel headed up a project that provided clean spring water to a village on a ridge in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. Section Chair Ed Darby thanked everyone for helping the Section obtain Gold Status in the President’s Award Program and provided an overview of the program. He also highlighted the class scheduled for late spring with the intent of providing an overview of six NDT methods for designers to consider when they are beginning a rehabilitation project. Reports were received from Gary Schepker on the Section’s finances and from William Via, Jr. concerning activities at the national level, including the ASNT Fall Conference. The Section recognized William Briody, who received the Philip D. Johnson Honorary Member Award at the conference. The Section also discussed upcoming events.
The Section held their fourth meeting of the program year on 3 December, with a holiday gathering and Christmas play. Twenty-six members and guests gathered at the home of William Via, Jr. and Charlotte Via to enjoy the play, which was produced by the Barksdale Theatre in Hanover Tavern. The dinner featured many holiday favorites, including a perennial favorite for the Section, peanut soup, provided by Briody and Glen Briody. Via and his wife also made special cakes for the event; the Section would like to thank them for sharing their home during this busy time of year. The play, A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas, set in the early 1930s, presented a number of traditional carols from the immigrants of the British Isles and the story of the government’s condemnation of several properties to create the Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia. After the play, many returned to the Via’s for coffee, cake and camaraderie.
Pacific Northwest
SEATTLE, WASHINGTONThirty-five individuals, ranging from 3 to 65 years of experience, attended the annual Pacific Northwest Section Christmas party meeting and buffet dinner. The party was held at Jillian’s Billiards Club (located near Lake Union in downtown Seattle, Washington). Santa Claus paid a visit to distribute gifts to the children in attendance. For all of those older than 18, a drawing was held for gift distribution. Attendees were able to practice their billiards skills during the event.
Subsequent to the party, it was learned that the Section’s appeal for standing in the President’s Award Program was accepted by the ASNT Appeals Committee. As a result, the standings for the 2010–2011 program year will be updated to include the Section as a 2011 Gold winner.
The December meeting of the Pacific Northwest Section was a holiday party, complete with a visit from Santa Claus. St. Louis
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURISix members and guests of the St. Louis Section gathered at Quality Testing Services, Inc. on 16 November for a presentation, titled “Remote Visual Inspection,” by Jeff Webster of GE Sensing and Inspection Technologies. Webster spoke about the evolution of remote access visual inspection solutions from the first rigid borescopes to small diameter flexible optical fibers, video monitor viewing and the most recent software applications for image enhancement, as well as applications from a number of industry sectors.
St. Louis Section members present a commemorative Arch to guest speaker Jeff Webster (second from right). Saudi Arabian
DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIAThe Saudi Arabian Section held a technical dinner meeting on 12 December at the Carlton al Moaibed Hotel in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The meeting was attended by 116 members and guests, and was sponsored by the Section.
Section Chair Mohammad A. Al Salih welcomed everyone and began with announcements, including regarding the ASNT NDT Level III Exams, which will be held 7–8 April at the Dhahran Palace Hotel, in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
After the announcements, Al Salih introduced the guest speaker, Fathi E. Al Qadeeb, a former Section Chair and current technology adviser for Saudi Aramco. Al Qadeeb then delivered a presentation, titled “Advanced Technologies in the Oil and Gas Industries,” which was well received.
After the question and answer session, a raffle and prize distribution was held. Afterwards, members enjoyed a buffet dinner served by the Carlton Al Moaibed.
After the Saudi Arabian Section meeting in December, guest speaker Fathi E. Al Qadeeb (center) posed with Section board members. From left: Abdullah Al Khalifah, Mohammad J. Anjum, Thomas Scales, Al Qadeeb, Isa Mudaibegh and Mohammad A. Al Salih.
South Africa
As part of its mission to promote the NDT industry, the South Africa Section hosted an informative evening on the basics of aerosol handling and safety.
Gerrie Coetzee, of Chemserve Systems (a manufacturer and distributor of consumables for the NDT industry), was invited to give the presentation. Many of the Level III members thought that they knew all there was to know about consumables, but everyone was delighted to learn something new.
Coetzee’s talk and slideshow was full of information on: shelf life; expiry dates; safety devices; how to handle consumables safely; how to store products; and even how to transport consumables correctly. Members were reminded that they are never too old to learn, and that everyone forgets the basics.
Henry Chimezie, Chair of the Nigeria Section, was a guest for the evening. He was extremely encouraging to the newly resurrected South Africa Section and inspired the audience with his vision for a strong ASNT presence in Africa. He will be a welcome guest at the 18th World Conference on NDT in Durban, South Africa, in April.
The Section is planning many talks and informative evenings for its members going forward. This was the second event of its kind and was a great success.
The Section would like to thank members Elaine Macdonald and Hans Beukes for putting the event together. Also, the Section offers congratulations to the 2011–2012 Section planning committee for putting together a great year plan.
Members of the South Africa Section gathered for a presentation on the safe handling of aerosols.
<> <> <>
Section news reports and photographs are published from submissions received from individual sections. For submission requirements, contact ASNT's Membership Department.
Copyright © 2012 by the American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Inc. ASNT is not responsible for the authenticity or accuracy of information herein. Published opinions and statements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of ASNT. Products or services that are advertised or mentioned do not carry the endorsement or recommendation of ASNT.IRRSP, NDT Handbook, The NDT Technician and www.asnt.org are trademarks of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Inc. ACCP, ASNT, Level III Study Guide, Materials Evaluation, Nondestructive Testing Handbook, Research in Nondestructive Evaluation and RNDE are registered trademarks of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Inc. ASNT exists to create a safer world by promoting the profession and technologies of nondestructive testing.
