Historian
The ASHRAE San Diego Chapter is one of fourteen chapters in Region X. The Chapter was founded in 1959, with Henry Smith serving as its first Chapter President. Since its founding, many formative events and milestones have occurred, including the following:
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1959: ASHRAE San Diego Chapter was chartered as Chapter #085, with Henry Smith serving as the first Chapter President.
- 1963: Hosted CRC.
- 1964: Milton Kodmur served as Chapter President. He later became one of the Chapter’s longest-serving members, eventually receiving recognition for 50 years of ASHRAE membership.
- 1972: Robert Miner served consecutive terms as Chapter President, one of the relatively uncommon instances of a San Diego Chapter president serving two consecutive years during this period.
- 1975: Verle Williams served as Chapter President. He later became a prominent ASHRAE leader, serving on numerous Society technical and standing committees, contributing to the ASHRAE Handbook, serving as a Distinguished Lecturer, and later serving as Region X Director and Regional Chair.
- 1983: Hosted CRC.
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1986: Verle Williams received the Regional Award of Merit.
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1987: John Littrell received the Regional Award of Merit.
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1989: Gerland Seifert received the Regional Award of Merit.
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1994: Verle Williams received the Distinguished Service Award. Hosted CRC.
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1995: Atma Advani was elevated to ASHRAE Fellow.
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1996: Nancy Hessiltine became the Chapter’s first woman president.
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1998: Lyle Willis was elevated to ASHRAE Fellow. Milton Kodmur received the Distinguished 50-Year Member Award.
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2001: Victor Neuman received the Distinguished Service Award.
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2003: Frank Shadpour received the Regional Award of Merit.
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2004: Frank Shadpour was elevated to ASHRAE Fellow.
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2009: Emil Sandru received the Distinguished Service Award.
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2012: Mark Bender received the Chapter Service Award. Richard Des Lauriers received the Regional Award of Merit.
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2013: Tiffany Bates Abruzzo received the Regional Award of Merit. Verle Williams received the Distinguished 50-Year Member Award.
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2014: Dennis Christie and Rebecca Haehn received the Chapter Service Award. Heather Schopplein received the Chapter Program Star Award. James Bushnell received the Distinguished Service Award. Verle Williams received the Exceptional Service Award.
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2015: Heather Schopplein and Richard Springe received the Chapter Service Award.
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2016: Frank Shadpour received the ASHRAE Technology Award and Distinguished Service Award. Hugh Egan received the Chapter Service Award. James Bushnell was elevated to ASHRAE Fellow. Tiffany Bates Abruzzo received the Region X Director’s Cup.
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2017: Andrew Nash, Bill Reagan, Mark Richards, Ronald Amberger, and Walter Houle, Jr. received the Chapter Service Award. Heather Schopplein and Mark Bender received the Regional Award of Merit. Heather Schopplein also received the Region X Director’s Cup.
- 2019: Hosted joint Region IX and Region X CRC lead by chairs Heather Schopplein and Kevin Blankemeier
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2020: Brian Alexy and Kevin Blankemeier received the Chapter Service Award.
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2021: Atma Advani received the Distinguished 50-Year Member Award. Frank Shadpour received the ASHRAE Journal Paper Award. Tiffany Bates Abruzzo received the Chapter Service Award.
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2022: James Bushnell received the Distinguished 50-Year Member Award. Tiffany Bates Abruzzo received the Distinguished Service Award.
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2023: Cindy Moreno received the Regional Award of Merit. Gerald Hartford, Jr. and Dennis Shea received the Chapter Service Award. Lyle Willis received the Distinguished 50-Year Member Award.
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2024: Tiffany Bates Abruzzo received the William J. Collins Award. Frank Shadpour received the Exceptional Service Award. Michelle Shadpour received the YEA Individual Award of Excellence.
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2024: Hosted its first joint meeting with 7x24 Exchange Southern California, featuring a program focused on data centers and emerging industry trends.
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2024: Hosted a joint Chapter meeting with the ASHRAE Orange Empire Chapter that exceeded 100 attendees.
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2024: Established the ASHRAE San Diego Chapter Professional Engineering and Technology Development Fund to support professional education, training, certifications, and technical development.
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2025: Erick Sanchez, James Del Monaco, and Joe Kilcoyne received the Distinguished Service Award.
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6/2025: Awarded five Chapter scholarships to support local students pursuing careers in engineering and related fields.
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6/2025: Robert Romeo and Cindy Moreno received the Take the Bull by the Horns Award for their dedication and service to the Chapter.
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6/2025: Raised more than $44,000 through the Chapter’s Resource Promotion campaign in support of ASHRAE research, education, scholarships, and other Society programs.
- 8/2025: Michelle Shadpour received the President of the Year Award by the Region.
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8/2026: Mike Kronhaus, Logan Dorrell, Robert Romeo, and Michelle Shadpour received the Chapter Service Award. Michelle Shadpour also received the Distinguished Service Award. Tiffany Bates Abruzzo received the Region X “Top Dog” Resource Promotion Award. Robert Romeo received the Region X GAC Majority Leader of the Year Award.
