I am very happy to report that our 2024 ASHRAE Region X President Elect Training (PET) in Honolulu, Hawaii was a huge success! We had a fantastic turnout and I had a great time getting together with so many old friends and making a bunch of new ones. Due to its location, many attendees opted to turn the training weekend into a mini-vacation, bringing their families and staying a few extra days to enjoy some fun on the island. My wife and two sons joined me and we had a blast!
We started things off with a good old fashioned "Beer with Buzz" session at our hotel (the Ala Moana near Waikiki), providing the opportunity for incoming Chapter Presidents to get to know our amazing Regional Leadership team.
Beer with Buzz!
After BwB, we walked over to Lucky Strike, where we had a great time bowling and grabbing some dinner.
Dinner & Bowling at Lucky Strike
The following day, we had our main PET training, hosted by Norman S. Wright Mechanical Equipment Corporation. I think our Regional Leaders did a great job providing a ton of useful information for the President Elects, without completely overwhelming them. With the resources, motivation, and support our volunteer team has, I am certain the 2024-2025 ASHRAE Society Year will be one of the best we've seen in Region X and I'm excited to be a part of it!
President Elect Training
To change things up from last year, the afternoon session was moved outdoors for some nice fresh air at one of the Ko Olina Lagoons. We discussed Highlights and Challenges for each Chapter and then Jonathan Smith (Region IX DRC) helped me run through some mind-mapping on what a successful year as a Chapter President could look like. And then, of course, we had some fun on the beach and in the water!
Competition Level Frisbee Circle at the Ko Olina Lagoon
That evening, our families joined us at Paradise Cove for a really fun and unique Hawaiian Luau experience, and some great food too. A few of our brave members even ended up on stage to show off their hula skills!
Dinner & Luau at Paradise Cove
And we weren't done yet! The next day the President Elects were able to explore the island on their own while our Regional Leadership Team participated in a fun, strenuous -- and maybe a bit sweaty -- team-building hike to the top of Diamond Head, followed by a very productive Regional Planning Meeting (indoors, with air conditioning at Tchin Tchin!) where we all discussed highlights and challenges from the past year as well as our goals for the upcoming year.
Hiking to the Top of Diamond Head
I want to pause here to give some shout outs to this amazing group of volunteers. Devin Abellon, Colin Laisure-Pool, Jacob Brausch, Greg Schnable, David Roberts, Tyler Bradshaw, Tracey Jumper, Nicholas Rosner, Kevin Baldwin, Omar Rojas, Elise Backstrom, Robert Kunkel, Cindy Moreno, Kellie Huff, Sean Skiles, Nikola Kravik, Larry Hodgins, and Elise Kiland -- thank you all so very, very much for the hard work, dedication and passion you put into your roles in this organization. You are all wonderful people and I am proud to call you my friends.
And I want to extend my most sincerest gratitude to Marites Calad, who was instrumental in making this year's PET/RPM a success. So much time and effort went in to planning everything and there is no way I could have done it without her. Hotel rooms, leis, shirts, airport transfers, shuttle vans, meals, drinks, event tickets, audio/visual components, white board with an easel, cooler full of beverages, and on and on...
Marites, thank you.
But wait, there's more!
Teague & Finn, Future ASHRAE Members
Our President Elects and family members joined us as we ended our President Elect Training / Regional Planning Meeting the right way with a sunset dinner cruise, perfectly finishing off the weekend, enjoying some delicious food and beverages, a beautiful sunset, and spectacular views of the island of Oahu.
Sunset Dinner Cruise
Our Region has 14 Chapters, and every single one of them has a great volunteer about to take the helm. Cody Sinke, Moana Reynau, Joshua McDonough, Dave Zaski, Anthony Zanotti, Nick Fiorito, Michelle Shadpour, Andrew Arballo II, Benito Ferreyra, Matt Killough, Rafi Karim, John Bowman, Kevin Le, and Blake Willmes -- I know you all are going to have a successful year as Chapter Presidents, and I stand ready to assist you however I can. We have a lot more great times together in our future!
Hang Loose!
Oh, and if you're on the sidelines thinking to yourself, "that looks like fun" -- well, you're right! And you can be a part of it -- the Chapters in our Region would love to have you join them as a volunteer, and we need your help. I can't promise PET/RPM will always be in Hawaii, but I can promise that you will get a lot out of serving as a volunteer. I certainly do!
Buzz
Marites Calad (DRC for 2017-22), Buzz Wright (DRC for 2023-26), & Devin Abellon (DRC for 2020-23)
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