Happy 2024, ASPE members and industry friends. It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is behind us already. What makes it hard to believe is the fact that our decorations are still up—clear reminders that we have to finish the un-decorating now. I do hope that everyone enjoyed the holidays and took time to be with your families and friends.
I’ll jump right in with the latest on all things ASPE. The Board of Directors has already convened via Zoom this month. That was to bridge the time until our first-quarter face-to-face meeting in February. On the call, the BOD took a look at the Finance Committee’s proposed 2024–2025 budget, which gave us an opportunity to review the budget before voting on it at the February meeting. The Board also started evaluating nominations for ASPE’s awards. The awards will be presented at the 2024 Convention & Expo, but we’d like to come to consensus for each award at the February Board meeting.
Important Dates
The most immediate date on ASPE’s calendar is January 31, 2024. That’s the application deadline for the Alfred Steele Scholarship. ASPE members or their family members enrolled in an engineering-related full-time college program can apply. To apply, go to aspe.org/membership-global-community/membership/alfred-steele-scholarship.
More dates and locations have been set for our MedGas Workshop. The first will be held in Orlando, Florida on April 18–21 at the Harry Warren Inc. facility. The second-quarter workshop will be hosted by Viega in Broomfield, Colorado on June 13–16. Following that will be September 26–29 at the Bradford White facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan and then November 7–10, hosted by MediTrac in Exton, Pennsylvania. Those locations will make it easier for more of our members to attend an in-person workshop. Remember that ASPE also offers an online workshop to get the training needed for the ASSE 6060 certification. You can take the 32-hour course at your own pace. Both versions of the course will help you prepare for the 6060 certification exam. You can find more information on both options at aspe.org/medgas-workshop.
If you are looking to earn your CPD—the Certified in Plumbing Design credential—registration is now open for this year’s exam, which will be administered virtually from April 15 to April 26. Make sure to complete your registration by the April 1 deadline.
If you are a Chapter Officer, it’s not too early to start thinking about Annual Reports. Sure, the Annual Report isn’t due until June 30 and the Treasurer’s Report not until July 15, so why am I mentioning this now? Believe it or not, while it is January of 2024, a few Chapters still have not completed their 2022–2023 reports. We realize that Chapter Officers are volunteers, but when you run for one of those positions, some commitment is involved. Unfortunately, the Board may not be able to recharter the Chapters that are noncompliant—that’s why I’m providing the friendly reminder now for the 2023–2024 cycle. The June Region Meetings will be here before you know it.
We also are in a Convention year. The 2024 ASPE Convention & Expo will be held in Columbus, Ohio on October 18–23. In addition to the technical sessions and the Expo, ASPE Delegates will conduct our Business Meeting, and elections for the 2024–2026 Board of Directors will be held. Are you happy with the current BOD? Would you be interested in serving on ASPE’s BOD? To my knowledge, all Board positions are open to applicants. Download the application form from the Members-Only section after you login to ASPE’s website. ASPE is always looking for a few good people.
Exciting News!
Some exciting membership news may be coming shortly. We hit the elusive 7,000 mark last June, and we continue adding to that. A certain Chapter (unspecified here, but maybe in Region 1?) is on track to set an all-time Chapter membership record. I won’t tip that here. I’ll let our VP Membership, Jason McDonald, CPD, FASPE, announce that in a special report.
It’s time for me to clock out for this edition. I appreciate those who have taken the time to read this. If you’d like to hear more (and who wouldn’t?), I will be back with another article in February. Best wishes to everyone for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2024.
