Welcome Message

Welcome to the Ottawa Valley Chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

Founded in 1894, ASHRAE is an international organization of 55,000 persons. Its sole objective is to advance through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world.

The Ottawa Valley Chapter was established in 1952, and supports roughly 500 local ASHRAE members, of which approximately 200 are Chapter members. Our membership is comprised of a diverse group of men and women from the various fields in the HVAC&R and construction industries; e.g. consulting engineers, contractors, developers, facility managers, federal, provincial & municipal government, manufacturers, researchers, sales organizations, students, university and college faculty.

Our Chapter meets the third Tuesday of the month from September to May (excluding December) and typically consists of a tour or technical session, followed by a social gathering starting at 5:30 pm, dinner at 6:30 pm and the featured presentation to round out the evening. The meetings are held at Restaurant International at Algonquin College Woodroffe Campus, with the exception of the September meeting, which is occasionally held at a different venue.

The cost of a Chapter Membership is $60.00 and $30.00 for students. Chapter membership gets you a copy of the Ottawa Valley Chapter Roster which contains the contact information of the roughly 500 local ASHRAE members, monthly electronic access to chapter newsletter and discounts on Chapter meetings, seminars and events.

I hope you enjoy our web site and look forward to seeing you at our chapter meetings.

Yours very truly,

Steve Moons
2014-2015 OVC President

Past-Presidential Message May 2014

I was watching "Pulp Fiction" again the other night and as I was doing so I happened to be enjoying a German lager - and it was made that bit sweeter because I was drinking it from one of the commemorative pint glasses we special-ordered for the 60th Anniversary Meeting at the Mill Street Brew Pub. This was in September of 2012 and the occasion brought out many of our most cherished members - I am reminded that the late Paul Baker was Master of Ceremonies. Its theme was obviously History and this will again be the flavour for May's meeting - which hopefully will be another excellent evening for those attending. But I digress, back to the beer: in true historical fashion, we had the occasion lettering engraved on the side of the glass, along with the (beloved) original ASHRAE logo. On the base of the glass, the new logo was engraved - so it appears when you finish your beer. A little bit of magic that I had forgotten about; come to think of it I had also forgotten how good a film Pulp Fiction is!

So the May meeting will yet again be Past-Presidents and Companions night, which means that I will be rolling off as your President. The year has flown by and it is hard to believe that it will be the eighth meeting already. A major plus for this year has been the move to Restaurant International at Algonquin College's Woodroffe Campus; there were a few teething problems at first, as expected, but these have largely been sorted out. In my opinion the food has been uniformly excellent and at the initial meetings I was wondering whether we were in the right place - five courses indeed!

I will be leaving the Chapter in very capable hands, with Steve Moons taking the helm, and Georges Maamari as his second. Many people have made this year a success, notably Abbey Saunders with her very reliable minutes always professionally written in a timely manner, and Sandy Taylor our Chapter Director with her continued work behind the scenes ensuring a tight ship. Another person worthy of mention is Richard Cameron, who took over the role of Newsletter editor with a great deal of enthusiasm, and is responsible for its fresh new look - a long-overdue facelift.

April usually brings the Regional Planning Meeting and I attended this along with many of my Region 2 colleagues on Saturday April 26th in Toronto. The meeting was chaired by our Director and Regional Chair (DRC) Isabelle Lavoie, and all of the Regional Vice Chairs (RVC's) and Chapter Delegates or Alternates were present. I was there because I am assuming the role of RVC History from George Menzies of Hamilton Chapter. George has been RVC for many years and remembers far too much from our past. There was discussion during the meeting of who will replace Isabelle after her final year as DRC (2014-15), and I leaned over and asked George if he had ever been DRC. He smirked and replied "yes of course - during the 1970's". This gives you some idea of his dedication to ASHRAE Region 2. I have my hands full taking over from him, but I will pledge to do my best.

Roderic Potter
2013-2014 OVC President
rod@rodders.com