LATEST SECTION ACTIVITIES
August 2010 - Section
Meeting
Greater Houston
Section News
The Greater
Houston Section hosted 10 members for our Board Meeting on August
11, 2010 at Brady’s Landing on the shore of the scenic Houston Ship
Channel. Section Chair Ron Hayden called the meeting to order.
Primary topics to address included the budget for this fiscal year
and confirmation of our technical program.
First up was
to welcome our new 2010 – 2011 Section Director - Becky Judkins, and
Section Secretary,
Jeff Wagner.
We received
an update on the ASNT Fall Conference Host Committee’s plans from
co-chair Deal Moore. The committee met earlier in the day and
reviewed the Fall Conference budget, spouses program, current rodeo
sponsors and recent communications with National. All is on track
and we are looking forward to a great conference and rodeo.
Tom Roberts
presented the 2010 – 2011 budget to be forwarded to National. It
was approved with minor revisions. Ron Hayden reviewed the
technical program for the year and it was approved with minor
revisions. We have a solid program for the year including an
installment of our popular Captains of Industry series headed by
John Iman. A proof of the calendar/yearbook was circulated during
the meeting and that too was approved with minor revisions. That
was the tone of the meeting. We fine tuned our plans for the new
year. Just as it should be. We are preparing for a great year.
And we look forward to welcoming all ASNT members to the Fall
Conference in November.
July 2010 - Section
Meeting
Greater Houston
Section News
The Greater
Houston Section’s executive committee and board met on Wednesday
July 14, 2010 at Brady’s Landing restaurant to kick start the new
fiscal year. Board Chair Dwayne Witter and Section Chair Ron Hayden
opened the meeting with seven members present.
From
left – Ron Hayden, Mike Oden, Dwayne Witter, Deal Moore, Jerry Fulin
and Tom Roberts (photographer is Bob Dunn)
We reviewed
and approved the Treasurer’s Reports for May and June and approved
the final financial reconciliation report to be submitted to
National. Changes to the meal costs for members and students were
approved. We heard great stories from Ron and Mike concerning the
Section Leaders Conference they attended in Columbus in June (Ron’s
back went out while bowling and Mike never got to bowl since he was
an alternate). The conference was a big success though and they
enjoyed meeting members from other sections. Jerry Fulin updated
everyone on the budget and plans for the Fall Conference & Rodeo. A
status of the calendar yearbook and monthly newsletter ad placements
was provided by Deal Moore. Bob Dunn reviewed changes planned for
next year’s golf outing based on a survey of participants.
As the
section host for the Fall Conference and the ICPIIT Conference in
June, our 2010 – 2011 year promises to be a big one. We are looking
forward to it.
June 2010 - Section
Meeting
Greater Houston
Section News
Section Chair
Dwayne Witter and his wife Bonnie presided over the annual Family
Day celebration to commemorate the end of another successful year on
Saturday June 12, 2010. The Greater Houston Section hosted 75
members and guests for a private 3-hour lunch cruise aboard the
paddle wheeler Spirit of Texas on Clear Lake. We boarded at noon
and enjoyed an afternoon of barbecue and drinks on a bright summer’s
day.
From left
– David and Norma Schultz, Marilyn and Jerry Fulin
Family groups
of all sizes made this a special event. Jerry and Marilyn Fulin,
Fangwei Fu and Lingli Yao, Pinakin and Alpa Mistry and David and
Norma Schultz were there. Allen and Marie Counts-Bradley were on
board with grand daughter Heather Counts. Winfred Lang, Deal Moore,
Oscar Rodriguez, Miesha Williams and Whitey Young all had large
family groups in tow.
From
left – Leah Lax, Tom Roberts and Ron Hayden
Two covered
decks provided ample room to mingle and explore. Lunch was served
on the lower (air conditioned) deck. Everybody received a souvenir
Section ball cap. Ron Hayden and Deal Moore orchestrated the event
and NOV Tuboscope was our sponsor.
April 2010 - Section
Meeting
Greater Houston
Section News
April 2010
was a banner month for the Greater Houston Section. We hosted
two spectacular events – the Golf Outing at Deerwood and our Vendors
Night at Brady’s Landing. Both events attracted big crowds.
It was a
perfect spring day for the Section’s annual Golf Outing on Monday
April 12 at Deerwood Golf Club on Lake Houston. One hundred
and sixty teed up for the event – a record turn out. Olympus
NDT was our primary sponsor again this year with 25 other companies
pitching in to sponsor holes, drink carts, trophies and players
gifts. Box lunches went with the golfers on their carts and a
lasagna dinner was served at the end of the day at the club house.
All players went home with Swiss army knives, valet key chains,
travel mugs and golf hats – all with the Section’s logo.
First
place team – HMT Tank Inspection. Congratulations!
Some players
went home with special awards for best scores, longest drives and
closest to the pin. HMT Tank Inspection was our first place
team. MPM Products took second place. Tech Corr’s team
was number three and one of Acuren’s teams took home special
trophies for highest score. Ryan Ganey won closest to the pin
at AIP’s sponsored hole and Gilbert Gonzales was closest to the pin
on hole #8. Mark Lurton won the longest drive competition.
Congratulations to all.
Ryan Ganey
(left) receives an Apple iPod from Rick Arnett for closest to the
pin competition at the AIP sponsored hole.
The 2010 Golf
Outing also generated over $600 in scholarship funding thanks to the
generous contributions of the participants. Special thanks to
event organizer Bob Dunn for another great year.
Two days
later, the Section hosted another 160+ members and guests at our
annual Vendors Night on April 14, 2010 at Brady’s Landing.
Twenty five vendors exhibited new products and services on 32
display tables.
Stephanie
Navarro and Anmol Birring at the Birring NDE Center exhibit
The Cypress
Ballroom was converted into an ASNT Trade Show and Banquet room with
exhibit tables arranged around the perimeter and a full buffet and
dining tables in the center of the room. There was no charge
for admission or for dinner. This is one way for our Section
to say thank you to the companies that sponsor our activities such
as the newsletter, yearbook, monthly meetings and special events.
The
Vendors Night event included a free dinner buffet.
Door prizes
included insulated mugs, key chains and golf hats with the Section’s
logo. Our thanks to Section Vice Chair Ron Hayden for making
it all happen.
March 2010 - Section
Meeting
Greater Houston
Section News
The Greater
Houston Section hosted 104 members and guests at our annual Awards
Night on March 10, 2010 at Brady’s Landing overlooking the scenic
Houston Ship Channel. We awarded $3600 in scholarships to
deserving NDT students in the area and crowned our 2010 Technician
of the Year – Jared Williams from Mechanical Integrity, Inc.
Congratulations to all.
Section Chair
Dwayne Witter opened the meeting by recognizing our sponsors for
this month’s meeting – Fugro Consultants, Intertek WISco, Mistras
Group, NDT Seals and The Ocean Corporation. Sponsors are
critical to the functioning of our Section. Not only to defray
meal costs at the meeting but their support of the yearbook,
newsletter, golf outing and the upcoming Fall Conference Rodeo make
the awarding of scholarships possible.
A round of
introductions made it clear that The Ocean Corporation was here in
force. Someone asked who was minding the store? Door
prizes included the coveted CAN USA hats and tee shirts, Section
mugs and flash drives. Ron Hayden and Justin Lecourias had
everyone on the edge of their seat hoping to score one of the
prizes. This has always been a popular event at our meetings.
Keith Wilson
introduced each of the scholarship winners and presented them with a
check and certificate from the Section. This year’s winners of
the Charles N. Sherlock Memorial Scholarships were (from San Jacinto
College) Clemente Armenta, Jr., Lucas Baror, Leslie Crnkovic, Albert
Nieto and Jose Rosario and (from The Ocean Corporation) Jeffrey
Cowell, Scott Heimbecker, Patrick Jones, Margo Lemke, Jack Morgan,
Jerry Morrison II and Tracy Wicker.
Charles N.
Sherlock Memorial Scholarship Award winners for 2010.
Congratulations!
Justin
introduced our Technician of the Year for 2010 – Jared Williams from
Mechanical Integrity, Inc. Jared joins a select few from our
Section to be awarded this honor and past recipients at the meeting
welcomed him to the club.
Greater
Houston Section Technicians of the Year (from left) Dave Bajula,
Greg Hudkins, Jared Williams, Ken Ducote and Jerry Fulin.
This was a
spectacular evening. Promoting the NDT community in Houston is
a core value of our Section. Congratulations again to all.
February 2010 - Section
Meeting
Greater Houston
Section News – Ben Boe Reporting
The Greater Houston Section met on Wednesday, February 10,
2010 at Brady’s Landing. Month after month the popularity and
strength of our Section meetings seem to grow. February was no
different with over 130 people turning up to enjoy the food,
fellowship and fun.
Once a year we celebrate “Past Chair’s Night” – an opportunity
for us to recognize the service and vision of those who have chaired
our Section. It can be easy to forget that an organization
like ours can only exist on the efforts of volunteers.
Volunteering a year of one’s life to be a chair can demand a lot
from a person. But when you speak to those that have served,
they are quick to tell you about the benefits as well.
“Becoming Chairman
was one of the most challenging experiences of my life.” said Syl
Viaclovsky, chairman from ’87-‘88. “But it also brought me new
contacts, new opportunities and gave me a whole new appreciation of
the NDT world.”
Section Chair Dwayne Witter called for the past chair’s in the
room to stand and be recognized by the audience. Seven past
chairs were present with service extending back to 1979. After
the past chairs had their picture taken, Dwayne called for the new
2010 – 2011 board officers to present themselves to the room.
(From left) Greg
Hudkins, Dave Bajula, Bob Cameron, Syl Viaclovsky, Jim Turner, Deal
Moore and Jerry Fulin
The technical presentation was given by John Nyholt of BP and
San Jacinto College. As always, John gave a fascinating
presentation and covered a number of different topics in advanced
NDT. After a round of questions, he was presented with an
honorary plaque from the Section.
Section Chair and
Saints fan Dwayne Witter (left) thanks our speaker John Nyholt
The sponsors for the February meeting were Ashtead Technology,
Stroud Systems, North Star Imaging and Vidisco.
A $500 check was presented to the Section’s scholarship fund
by Lloyd Graham of Olympus NDT in appreciation of our support for a
recent seminar on advanced UT that they hosted at Space Center
Houston in January.
January 2010 - Section
Meeting
Greater Houston
Section News – Ben Boe Reporting
January has come, and with it, a new year full
of challenge and opportunity. On January 13, 2010 the Greater
Houston Section held the first section meeting of 2010.
Attendance was solid with over 65 members and guests. Our
sponsors for the month were DTM Enterprises, Hocker, Inc.,
Oceaneering and Scan Systems. We are thankful to these
companies for making the meetings possible.
The “Captains of Industry” event, originally
scheduled for the January meeting, was postponed until May.
Dave Bajula of Acuren was gracious enough to step up to the plate
and deliver a last-minute technical presentation. His
presentation, entitled “Phased Array Solutions”, was aimed at
inspection service providers. It was a comprehensive
presentation and hit on topics such as trends in PAUT code
specifications, equipment developments, comparison and contrast of
PAUT vs. RT inspection, benefits and limitations of the technology
and much more. Several points were illustrated with case
studies which helped to bring home the real-world value of this
emerging technology. It was a great presentation and we
appreciated Dave’s contribution.
Speaker Dave Bajula (left) and Section Vice
Chair Ron Hayden
New Student Members from The Ocean
Corporation
Earlier in the day the 2010 Fall Conference
Host Committee met. As part of the conference proceedings, our
section will be hosting a rodeo. We will be providing
transportation, a prime-rib meal, and a variety of
side-entertainments. Rumor has it there will be branding at
the rodeo: Be on the lookout for further details!
The Executive
Committee also met. The annual golf tournament will take place
on April 12, and will be planned by Bob Dunn. Spots are going
fast so please register now! Family Night will take
place on June 12 and feature a paddle boat cruise.
Student
scholarships are still available. In fact, there are currently
NO applicants! Applications can be downloaded at
www.asnthouston.com.
Please include a 150 word essay on why you want to work in the NDT
field. There are also no applicants for Technician of the
Year!
All year long
our Section works hard to give to the NDT community. And now
the Section needs our help. As a direct result of last year’s
economic climate, many companies have reduced their funding for the
Section. This impacts our ability to host the activities that
make us great. The first event that challenges us is the golf
tournament which has seen a drastic reduction in sponsorship.
The second challenge is the rodeo event for the 2010 Fall
Conference. Neither of these events can happen without the help of
a lot of generous members. The conference in particular is
more than just a fun activity. It is our opportunity to
display the solid character and industry of Houston NDT.
Towards that end, Jerry Fulin has written a check for $100 – the
first donation towards the rodeo. He asks us to join him.
If we can get 199 more members to follow Jerry’s lead we can pay for
the rodeo and present our Section to the nation with strength and
style. Please choose to be a sponsor and please encourage your
company to be a sponsor as well. To find out how you can make
a difference, please contact Jerry Fulin, Deal Moore, or Benjamin
Boe.
Submitted By:
Ben Boe
December 2009 - Section
Meeting
On December 9th,
2009, the Greater Houston Section celebrated its annual holiday
party with 124 members and guests. As is our tradition the
event took place at Brady’s Landing and featured a casino theme.
Earlier in the day the 2010 Fall Conference Host Committee met
briefly. Early plans for the event are well under way but
there is still plenty of time to be a part of the best fall
conference ASNT has ever seen. To find out how you can get
involved contact Jerry Fulin or Deal Moore.
By any measure the night
was a fantastic success. All the important elements were
there with family and friends turning out in force to eat, play, and
have a great time. Extra tables had to be set up as the
original 100 place settings were rapidly filled. It also
proved to be a night of giving as members donated a total of 72
gifts for “Toys for Tots”. This handily beat last year’s
already excellent record of 60 toys.
Special thanks to Bonnie
Blanchard for planning and organizing the event. Dave
and Connie Bajula bought and wrapped about 50 gifts awarded during
the door prize drawings. Thanks go out also to our generous
meeting sponsors – Fugro Consultants, IRIS Inspection, PetroChem
Inspection and Turbo NDT.
We wish everyone the best
this Holiday Season. May it be as restful as the New Year will
be busy!
Submitted By:
Deal Moore
November 2009 - Section
Meeting
The November meeting of the Greater Houston Area ASNT Section took place
at Brady’s Landing on Veteran’s Day, November 11. Earlier in
the day, the 2010 Fall Conference Host Committee met for the first
time. The Fall Conference is an opportunity for us to shine as
a section and show the world that Houston really is the heart of the
NDT industry. Come help make this the best Fall Conference,
ever. To volunteer, please contact one of the co-chairs, Jerry
Fulin or Deal Moore.
Section Chair Dwayne Witter opened the meeting with thanks to November’s
sponsors: Iris NDT, North Star Imaging and CAN USA. Members
were then invited to introduce themselves and the companies that
they represent. Attendance was excellent with 65 members and
guests. Next up were the announcements.
The Annual Christmas Party will be held on December 9.
Arrangements for the party are being handled by Bonnie Blanchard,
and will continue the Casino theme of years past. Members are
once again encouraged to bring a toy to be donated to Toys for Tots.
As an added incentive, a 50% discount will be given on the night’s
meal, bringing the cost down from $20.00 to $10.00. The
discount applies to one person per toy, and we ask that it be new,
unwrapped, and at least $15.00 in value.
The annual golf tournament will take place on April 12th and will be
planned by Bob Dunn. Family Night will take place on June 12th
and will feature an afternoon paddle boat cruise on Galveston Bay.
Dwayne next called for all of the Veterans to stand and be recognized
for their service and sacrifice. This revealed that our
Section has a large number of veterans as nearly half the room stood
up. They were met with enthusiastic applause. A moment
of silence was then observed for those who have fallen in the line
of duty.
Our guest speaker for the night was Danny Keck. Danny is an
inspection technology development specialist, and multi-disciplined
level III with over 38 years of experience in the nuclear and
petrochemical industries. Danny’s talk managed to be both
informative and entertaining. His presentation illustrated the
use of EMAT and LFET on an extremely large project: 16 miles of
pipeline, with 20% coverage. The talk covered both the
specifics of the technologies, and the problem solving steps that
were gone through to arrive at those solutions. It is rare for
a technical presentation to have an audience chuckling, but Danny
managed to pull it off.
Speaker Danny Keck (left) receives a
plaque from Section Chair Dwayne Witter
Following his
presentation, door-prizes were raffled off and the meeting was
brought to a close.
Submitted By:
Deal Moore
October 2009 - Section
Meeting
October was a
big month for the Greater Houston Section. We kicked it off on
the first Saturday with our Fall Educational at Advanced Inspection
Technologies. The topic was “Codes, Specifications & Standards
in Industry”. The instructor was John Allgood. Sixteen
attended and all received CEU credits from ASNT. Our
Educational Chair Bill Cotter orchestrated the event and it was a
big success. He is already working on plans for the Spring
Educational next May.
Our third
annual joint meeting with the Houston Section of the American
Welding Society (AWS) took place at Brady’s Landing on October 21.
And though it coincided with the ASNT Fall Conference in Columbus,
we managed to attract 150 members and guests. It was a huge
event though not unexpected. Both the AWS and ASNT sections
are the largest in their respective societies. We have 800
members. The AWS section has over 2,000!
AWS Section
Chair John Stoll opened the meeting by welcoming everyone.
Instead of a general round of introductions he asked the students at
each table to stand and introduce themselves. There were a lot
of students in attendance and a good mix of those studying welding
and NDT. The mix included 12 new ASNT student members from The
Ocean Corporation. Steve Rowland was there with several San
Jacinto College students in tow. AWS District 18 Director John
Bray was up next to present about 10 section, district and national
awards to outstanding Houston Section members including Saty Segu,
John Husfeld, Greg Hartwig and Danny Castro.
ASNT Section
Chair Dwayne Witter was up next and began by congratulating the AWS
award winners. He also recognized Matt Hendrix for receiving
his Level III UT certification. Sponsors of this special
meeting were Ashtead Technology, Mistras Group, NDTrak and QISI
Quality Inspection Services, Inc.
Section news
included the forming of an ASNT Fall 2010 host committee chaired by
Jerry Fulin and Deal Moore. Bonnie Blanchard is heading up the
planning of our December holiday party and our family day in June is
being coordinated by Ron Hayden. An afternoon cruise on
Galveston Bay is being considered. Stay tuned for more
details.
Our scheduled
speaker on phased array cancelled at the last minute and it was
Lloyd Graham to the rescue. He enlisted the best in the
business – Mark Carte and Gary Gries from Olympus NDT. With
less than an hour’s notice these two came up with a “Phased Array
Today” presentation complete with demo equipment. It was just
the right topic, depth and detail for this audience and it generated
a lot of questions and discussion. Dwayne thanked all 3 from
Olympus and promised plaques would be delivered to them soon.
Submitted By:
Deal Moore
September 2009 -
Section Meeting
The Greater
Houston Section hosted 60 members and guests at our first meeting of
the season on September 9, 2009. One year ago we were
welcoming Hurricane Ike. This year we welcomed ASNT President
Jocelyn Langlois. It was an event filled visit too. The
morning included a tour of El Paso Corporation’s facility at the
airport hosted by Dave Culbertson. The afternoon was a lunch
and tour of the San Jacinto College’s NDT facilities and training
hosted by Bill Hatler, Chair of the Association of Plant Inspection
Professionals (APIP) and Linda Drobnich from SJC. John Nyholt
provided a tour of the BP NDT training facility on campus.
Next stop – the monthly meeting at Brady’s Landing.
Section Chair
Dwayne Witter opened the meeting by thanking our sponsors – DTM
Enterprises, GCT Inspection, NDS Products, PH Tool and Turbo NDT.
A round of introductions and the door prize drawing followed.
Prizes included 4 tickets to tomorrow night’s Astros game.
Meeting
announcements included the “Meet & Eat” at The Ocean Corporation on
September 24, the Fall Educational is scheduled for October 3 and a
host committee for the 2010 Fall Conference in Houston will be
chaired by Deal Moore with monthly meetings to begin next month.
Our October meeting will be held on the third Wednesday in October
in conjunction with Houston AWS.
The ICPIIT-XI
host committee presented a check to Section Vice Chair Ron Hayden
for $6775.11 representing the monies collected for scholarships from
conference sponsors and revenue sharing with ASNT National.
ICPIIT-XI Host Committee (from
left) Skip Hoyt, Deal Moore, Bob Cameron, David McGrath,
Ron Hayden, Jerry Fulin, Dave
Culbertson, Becky Judkins and John Iman
ASNT President Jocelyn Langlois
addressed the group in a casual question and answer format
responding to concerns about National support of the sections, the
current election and certifications. She shared stories too of
her visits to other sections – numbering about 25 in the past year.
She is a big supporter of the sections and has been involved in the
SOC for many years. It was a pleasure to have her join us.
Section Chair Dwayne Witter presented her with a plaque on behalf of
the Section.
.jpg)
