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President's Corner |
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Any questions regarding SES, please contact the SES Secretary at ahansen@hoeflernet.com |
April 5, 2007 SES Membership, First
of all I want to thank all of you who have entrusted me with
another two year term at the helm of the Good Ship SES.
It’s an honor to be associated with so many
intelligent and dedicated professionals and I am glad to
serve the Society in this capacity.
I will continue to strive to further the The Mission of the Source Evaluation Society is to advance the applied sciences relating to source evaluation with respect to air pollution and air pollution control by: (1) promoting the development of concepts and techniques relating to the field, (2) encouraging related professional development and knowledge, and, (3) striving to ensure the highest professional standards by its members. The aims and objectives of the Source Evaluation Society shall be: · Developing and disseminating technical information in order to provide a continuing education to stationary source sampling professionals and technicians; · Developing industry’s standards, codes, safety procedures, and operating principles; · Encouraging the personal and professional development of practicing source samplers and students; · Maintaining a body of current sampling knowledge; · Assisting in maintenance of a high level of ethical conduct; · Providing for a certification program for the membership; · Seeking cooperation with other professional organizations. I am proud to say that significant, measurable progress was made in each of the areas above during the past year. The Newsletter, the updated Safety Manual, the Website, the groundswell of activity in the QSTI program, the George Walsh Honorary Scholarship program, and the work done by SES members who are also involved with ASTM, EPA, STA, and other organizations are all shining examples of this progress. I hope you are all aware that the SES is a not-for profit organization, and it is operated solely by volunteer officers, directors, committee chairpersons, committee members, and conference chair staff. Most of this business is executed through committees. The hard work expended by these folks cannot be overstated, many of them putting in dozens of hours each month throughout the year. They are all deserving of our gratitude. This past year SES employed several “for hire” contractors to aid in executing some critical committee work. In doing so we were able to accelerate tasks that may have taken many months to accomplish into only period of weeks. These were perfect examples of your dues at work, multiplying the talents of our volunteers for the benefit of the industry. As it stands now there are at least 9 active committees in SES. A listing of them along with the current slate of officers can be found on the website. I need to reiterate the importance of the committees and I challenge all of you again to find time to contribute to one or more of them in the following year. Once
again the annual conference was an overwhelming success with
another record number of attendees and among them a large
percentage of first time participants.
There were attendees from virtually every sector of
our business, the testers, the tested, federal and state
regulators, and equipment suppliers.
Representatives from at least 9 different countries
and In
March 2001, the SES Board of Directors created an award to
be presented annually to the person who does the most to
further the principles that Matt DeVito (former SES
President taken from us in an untimely accident several
years ago while stack sampling) stood for: quality,
integrity, safety, and an ethical approach toward stack
sampling. The
award is not given annually, but only when an
individual’s contributions warrant special recognition.
This years’ conference also saw a second recipient
of the prestigious Matthew S. DeVito Award for Excellence.
Dave Curtis,
founder and President of the Source Testing Association (STA),
the “…Dave
recognised, back in the mid 1990's, that regulatory
monitoring in the UK was becoming an open market that would
endanger investment by reputable stack testing companies and
fail to meet the expectations of the regulators and
regulated alike unless the stack testing industry introduced
self-regulation. He
has shown insight, and initiative in developing the Source
Testing Association to demonstrate the value of
professionally delivered emissions measurement services to
plant operators and regulators alike.
Under his leadership the STA has developed as a
highly successful and much valued: -
Vehicle whereby a large number of widely different (and
competing) companies work cooperatively to improve the
professionalism, technical proficiency and safety
performance of stack testers; the original STA accreditation
scheme evolved into the current MCERTS personnel
accreditation system; -
Means of informing plant operators of the finer technical
points of measurement, purchasing value for money, and the
need for safe working platforms; the STA's Golden Stack
award is typical of Dave's ingenuity in promoting such
issues; - Forum at which service supply companies, plant operators, and regulators can work together to define good practice, embody it in regulatory practice, and promote it internationally; the STA technical groups develop improved procedures, second members to CEN and ISO working groups, and encourage the exchange of know-how with other groups of practioners – like SES for example.” Congratulations to Dave for this well deserved recognition. I am looking forward to the next two years with hope and anticipation. The rapidly evolving areas of mercury, accreditation, low emissions measurements, and a host of other issues will to bring additional challenges to our industry. Please work with me and the other members of SES to make meaningful contributions. Please let me know how I can help you optimize SES role in today’s ever-changing world of measurement. Sincerely, Bob Finken SES President bobfinken@deltaaqs.com
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