CHAPTER HISTORY NORTHWEST FLORIDA
1978-2008

The Constitution of the Northwest Florida Chapter of A.S.H.R.A.E. was approved by the National organization on November1, 1977.  Bruno Morabito, President of A.S.H.R.A.E., chartered the Chapter the night of April 1, 1978.

A.S.”Red” Goodwin was elected by unanimous vote to serve as President of the Chapter during the trying period of Chapter organization.  His untimely death on July 18, 1978 prevented him from serving a second term as President.

Glenn C. Almond was assigned the responsibility of leading the Chapter during its first official year of operation, 1978-1979.  Under his leadership the Chapter earned the Presidential Award of Excellence, was above its goals in membership, meeting attendance and research promotion.

The operational year of 1979-1980 was under the presidential leadership of John D. Shearer.  The Chapter again earned the Presidential Award of Excellence, and was the Region VII Champion in obtaining Research Promotional Funds. 

Tom Cook pushed the chapter to new heights in the year of 1980-1981.  It won the Presidential Award of Excellence and was only a few points away from achieving the Regional Award of Merit. 

Robert L. Blythe served as president in 1981-1982. The Presidential Award of Excellence was reached and the Chapter was first in Region VII for Research Promotion.  Our membership increased to sixty-four.

Patrick Fex was the president for 1982-1983. The year saw us again win the “Presidential Award of Excellent” and our Chapter came in first in research promotion category. This was also our best year for meeting attendance in our local Chapter meetings.

David Galloway III became the new President for 1983-1984. The October meeting was held at the Climatic Hangar at Eglin, AFB, and was a most interesting technical program.  The Chapter continued its First Place Status in Region VII for Research Promotional and again achieved the Presidential Award of Excellence. 

Under the leadership of Howard “Matt" Yonge, the 1984-1985 year continued its forward momentum.  The chapter repeated earning the Presidential Award of Excellence and the research promotion reached an all time high.  One of the Best programs was Computer Design and Drafting using the CADD System.

Mike Stephens gave us our leadership in the year of 1985-1986. The presentation, Gateway to Energy Conservation, won first place on commercial buildings.  The chapter was also awarded Presidential Award of Excellence.

For the year 1986-1987, Roy M. Tugwell led the Chapter.  This year was highlighted by a most informative tour of the Climactic at Eglin Air Force Base and a very interesting program at the new Civic Center in Pensacola.

The year 1987-1988 proved to be another great one under the guidance of Greg Peterson.  One of our better programs was Thermal Imaging for Energy Conservation.  The Presidential Award of Excellence was achieved with a high of 2800 points.

With Dave Poston as President, the 1988-1989 Chapter year was busy in preparation for hosting the CRC at San Destin.  This was one of the most successful conferences with highest attendance ever reached.  We were honored with the presence of our Society President Elect, A. Damon Gowan. 

We had an exciting year 1989-1990 with the capable leadership of Newton Houston.  With the changes in our industry we had a very informative program on “CFC’s” presented by Joe Buck.

Our next year 1990-1991 was lead by president Keith Grubbs who stated that the outstanding program of his year was Surge Suppression Equipment.  The Chapter placed sixth in the region in research promotion with a new high in contributions.

Albert “AL” R. Barfield led the chapter for 1991-1992. (CHAPTER REVITALIZED) We returned to the achievement of reaching the Presidential Award of Excellence.  We had one of our best seminars on Indoor Air Quality that was well represented and had a large attendance.

Charles “CHUCK” Brown was Chapter President of the 1992-1993 year and we continued the success of the previous year by once again reaching the Presidential Award of Excellence.  The Chapter sponsored the A.S.H.R.A.E. Second Annual Invitational Golf Tournament and raised $1300.00 for A.S.H.R.A.E. Research Promotion.

Tim Graydon accepted the presidency for 1993-1994.  Through Tim’s enthusiasm and unity of board membership, the club’s monthly participation continued to increase, citing the quality of the programs and the central location of the meetings for the increase in participation. 

Pat Kempf accepted the presidency for 1994-1995.  Pat had served in various offices prior to becoming president.  Pat’s enthusiasm and experience in A.S.H.R.A.E. helped to “jumpstart” an increase in monthly membership attendance.  C.R.C. was held in Mobile, Alabama, with N.W.Florida club having its best representation since N.W.Florida hosted C.R.C. at San Destin.

Paul Carnley led as president for 1995-1996.  Paul directed the reviews of our club for STANDARD 90.1-1989R.  His promotion led to the club submitting its view about humidity control relative to our coastal region.

Jeffrey Mock was president for 1996-1997.  During the year the members participated in a Geothermal Heating & Cooling Teleconference conducted by Gulf Power Company.  The year ended with the largest participation and profit that has been raised from the annual golf tournament. 

       Patrick (Pat) Fex led the chapter as president for 1997-98.  Pat‘s enthusiasm and desire to see the chapter grow paid off during the year as he promoted having some luncheon meetings to invite the local chapter of the American Institute of Architect (A.I.A.).    

       Paul Almond accepted the presidency for 1998-99. The chapter was represented by five members at CRC in Baton Rouge, LA. This year’s meetings included indoor air problems, an update on governmental issues with ASHRAE, and a tour of the ice rink at the Pensacola Civic Center.     

       Ben Womble accepted the president’s gavel from Paul Almond for 1999-2000. Five lunch meetings were held at the New Worlds Landing, instead of Hurlbert Field during the evening. This proved to be a success by the increase in attendance.

Ben Womble served an unprecedented second consecutive term as the chapter’s president. His previous year experience added stability to the chapter. The year was a success from September CRC to the chapter’s most successful golf tournament in May 2001. The chapter received the GOLD EAGLE AWARD at CRC in Nashville. This award represents the most collective traveled miles with the number of members present at CRC. Contributions from the chapter’s fund went to support Boy Scouts pine wood derby and Summer Environmental Camp at Pensacola Junior College.

Ron Nall was elected president of the chapter for 2001-2002. The first official meeting was on September 11, 2001. A sad day in America. We conducted our meeting, but a moment of silence was held for the victims of the attack. Our chapter was represented at CRC in Knoxville, TN by Ron Nall, Ben Womble, Pat Kempf, Channing Everett and Paul Almond. This was the first year of the electronic “semi-paperless” CRC meeting. The chapter received awards for chapter operations and research promotion.

Ron Nall accepted a second year as president with the condition other officers did the same. The challenge was accepted by the officers and committee members to serve a second year for 2002-2003. In April Dr. Don Colliver, President of ASHRAE visited the chapter. The chapter also completed its 25^th anniversary year.

Channing Everett was elected President in 2003 and served two terms into 2005 with a goal of boosting meeting attendance.  The ASHRAE board assisted him with various programs and speakers that would be appealing to not only the local engineering community, but local contractors as well.  In September of 2004, the gulf coast was paid a visit by Hurricane Ivan. This was the most powerful storm to hit Pensacola since the late 1920’s.  Pensacola suffered extensive damage and even loss of life.  Even through the hurricane, the membership drive resulted in a 20% increase in membership. 

Bobby Marcus began the 2005-2006 office of president with enthusiasm and encouragement for membership participation. Bobby recognized various members at the annual welcoming meeting for their accomplishments and dedication to the chapter. As past Program Chair, Bobby works with Glenn Langan, present Program Chair, to help provide interesting and educational programs. {BALANCE OF YEAR TBC}

Bobby Marcus, 2006-2007, has completed a second successful year as president of the chapter. Bobby worked closely with Glenn Langan, Program Chairman, to promote chapter growth by offering successful chapter meetings through engineering excellence programs.  The chapter was recognized with PAOE award – Research Promotion Highest Pts. - Chapter Operations Award Highest Pts. - Chapter Technology Highest Pts. - Student Activities Highest Pts. & History Highest Pts. The chapter also received a gold ribbon in history. Currently Bobby continues to provide the chapter newsletter and the promotion of the up coming chapter golf tournament. Through Bobby’s leadership and working closely with Tracy Bice, CTTC & Chapter Golf Event Chairman, the 2005-2006 golf event was the most successful golf event the chapter has had. 

Glenn Langan, 2007-2008, Glenn’s first year as president was a highly productive year for the chapter. His follow through from his previous position as Program Chair provided the chapter informative and high profile speakers. The 2007 year program began with society past-president Terry Townsend speaking on ASHRAE Leading the World relative to climatic change and sustainability. Additional interesting meetings included a tour of the NAVY FEDERAL credit union facility, Florida’s first LEED Gold certified building and a visit by Dr. Chandra Escher, Distinguished Lecturer from Singapore. Dr. Escher, spoke to the chapter on decoupled Ventilation Strategies for Enhanced Indoor Air Quality. A big success in 2008 was the golf outing for ASHRAE Research. The event was coordinated by Tracy Bice and Glenn. There were 23 teams which netted $1600.00 more than in 2007.  Year to at date, as of June 16, 2008, the chapter is ranked third in region VII total PAOE points. High PAOE achievement is recorded in all categories. In January 2008, at the New York City winter meeting. Al Barfield (long time member of the NW Florida chapter) was recognized with the first place Technology Award. His paper was written on the geothermal technology applied to a hotel on Pensacola Beach. Glenn, while working closely with Vanessa Johnson (chapter webmaster) expanded the application of using the chapter’s website. This has greatly improved communication of the chapter’s activities to both members and non-members. Glenn will also serve as president for 2008-2009, with plans and programs already well underway.