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Chapter Spotlight: East Texas
ROOTS
On June 19, 1961, shortly after the merger between ASHAE and ASRE, a group in Tyler, Texas petitioned the ASHRAE Board of Directors to form the East Texas Chapter. The Board responded by granting a charter on October 24, 1961.
The founding of the chapter was primarily due to the initiative of Frank H. Faust and Walter R. Yeary. At that time Faust was Second Vice President of ASHRAE. He became First Vice President the following year and was national President for the June 1963 and July 1964 period. During this period both Faust and Yeary were transferred by the General Electric Company to Louisville, Kentucky, and joined the chapter there. By that time the East Texas Chapter was well established and active.
CURRENT LEADERSHIP
President: Caitlin Butler - Caitlin is Lead Software Engineer at Ingersoll Rand Residential Solutions. She was a student member of the student ASHRAE branch at the University of Texas at Tyler, then transitioned to an Associate member after graduation. Before serving as President, Caitlin served as Research Promotion Chair and President Elect, and attended the Fall 2018 YEA Leadership 1.0 Weekend in Portland, Maine.
President Elect: Josue Cruz - Josue attended the University of Texas at Tyler where he served as the president of the student branch for 2 terms. He currently works for PRO Hydronic Specialties as the Director of Sales and Business Development. Josue has 7 years of experience in the hydronic industry and has been an active ASHRAE member for 5 years. He has attended numerous ASHRAE events including winter conferences, annual conferences and the Leadership Academy in Atlanta, GA.
Secretary: Beth Robinson - Beth Robinson is a Senior Engineer with Trane and is currently serving as Chapter Secretary. This is her second year in ASHRAE leadership.
Treasurer: Bill Stiles - Bill is currently the Department Chair of HVAC, Power Plant Technology, and Electrical/Electronic Controls Technology at Tyler Junior College. Bill has served in the East Texas ASHRAE Chapter for many years, holding officer and chair positions, including serving as the ‘93-94 Chapter President.
Historian: Dominique Schaefer Pipps - Dominique Schaefer Pipps is a Diagnostic Algorithm Engineer at Trane Residential in Tyler, Texas. She has been with Trane for almost 2 years in this role. This is her first year in ASHRAE leadership and she is serving as Chapter Historian.
RECENT
The East Texas Chapter has a close association with the student branches at the nearby universities, The University of Texas at Tyler and Tyler Junior College, providing scholarships to students and funding towards senior design projects related to HVAC. The East Texas chapter boasts a diverse group of dealers, product engineers, consulting engineers, technicians, contractors, students, and teachers. The chapter continues to excel with Research Promotion, having achieved Full Circle and Goal for the past few years, with great participation in the annual golf tournament and sporting clays tournament. In 2016 the East Texas Chapter hosted the CRC in Tyler, Texas, the Rose Capital, and will once again be hosting the CRC in the following years.
