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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

ASHRAE San Diego June 2020 Newsletter

06/25/20

Dear San Diego ASHRAE Members, Students, Retirees and Guests:

We trust that all of you have remained safe and healthy, in response to this unprecedented pandemic that has been thrust upon us. 

And whether you have been able to work from your office or from your home, we hope that you have been able to maintain some degree of productivity.

We should all remain optimistic that soon we can return to some version of our previous “normal” for the sake of ongoing business growth and development. 

That said, this will be my last message serving as the President of the ASHRAE San Diego Chapter.

I want to thank every officer, BOG member and committee chair for your unwavering support during my Presidential year. 

Clearly this has been a most unconventional year, but a successful year in spite of the gauntlet laid ahead of us. 

During this 2019-2020 year, we embarked on a journey to find a more cost-effective lunch-meeting venue, which found us “testing” multiple other venues, only to realize that when we thought we found the “perfect” venue, it closed ☹. 

And then the pandemic hit and every social gathering that we had planned was terminated, which meant that we then shifted gears and began to host “virtual” BOG meetings and chapter meetings, each with equally credible content, but without human contact.

Unfortunately, our planned refrigeration tour also had to be cancelled.  There is hope for such a tour next year (2020-2021).   

In fact, just today, we celebrated our very first “virtual” installation of officers, since our otherwise regularly scheduled installation banquet at the San Diego Yacht Club was cancelled. 

In life there will always be challenges.  It’s how you meet them that exposes our character.  In other words, adversity does not BUILD character, it EXPOSES character. 

I can proudly say without reservation, that the members of ASHRAE San Diego chapter always display amazing character, compassion, commitment, creativity, communication and collaboration (my 6 C’s).   Thank you. 

On behalf of your San Diego Chapter of ASHRAE, we understand that this current health crisis is impacting all of us and our highest priority must be to the health and safety of our entire membership, our colleagues and our families.  Please remain calm, strong, committed and vigilant.

This too shall pass!

In closing, I am reminded of a quote that I have held dear my entire personal and professional life, and it goes like this:

“Do not follow where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” --- attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson

Remember --- we are NOTHING without you and your willingness to offer your time, talent and treasure to the ongoing success of the San Diego Chapter of ASHRAE.  Thank you.

God bless you all,

Gerald D. Hartford, Jr., PE, LEED AP, GPD

ASHRAE San Diego Chapter President (2019-2020)

858-337-7712

[email protected]