A Space Odyssey: ASHRAE Membership & Research Promotion Recap

Pluto was discovered in 1930 by American Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh and named by the 11 year-old British school girl, Venetia Burney. Contrary to popular belief, Mickey Mouse’s dog, was named after the celestial orbit, not the other way around.

Those were just some of the fun facts that the participants in ASHRAE Puget Sound’s A Space Odyssey learned on February 22 during an enjoyable evening at the Museum of Flight. The actuality that Pluto has since been demoted from its status as the sun’s ninth planet, did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd.

This event, organized by the Membership Promotion Committee and sponsored by Johnson Barrow, was held in the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery at the museum. Participants, including ASHRAE members, guests, and students, had the opportunity to enjoy good food and drinks while visiting, networking, and taking in many of the museum’s space exhibits. Ron Hobbs, a Solar System Ambassador for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, gave a captivating one-hour lecture on the topic, “We are all Explorers”, highlighting both earthly and space explorations through the centuries.

After dessert and more mingling, the evening ended with many raffles and elimination from the wine island. To raise money for ASHRAE Research Promotion, each participant could donate $20 and a bottle of wine. The thirty or so bottles were kept on an island, and one by one, hopeful contestants were voted off the island, until only three remained. Those three survivors, Jessica Sanders of McKinstry, Kevin Boyles of Custom Mechanical Solutions, and Amanda Engle, a guest, chose to split the loot among themselves.

Other lucky winners of the evening were Chris Spurlock of ATS who won the Breakfast Basket, Buddy White of Mechanical Sales, who was the winner of the Office Snacks Basket, Mary Jo and Dennis Heller of In Control, who took home the Wine Romance Basket, and Steve Nguyen of Clima-Tech, who received the Exotic Beer Basket. The Grand Prize winner of the evening, and the envy of all, was Bailey DePhelps of Siemens who won a 65” Ultra HD TV donated by Johnson Barrow.

The Membership Promotion Committee would like to thank all the participants and sponsors who made the evening such a success. Our chapter sponsors this year include, Johnson Barrow, PSI, Cole Industrial, Trane, Custom Mechanical Solutions, PAE, Columbia Hydronics, Säzän Group, Hurley Engineering, In Control, Air Reps, and Shoemaker Manufacturers.

Our Puget Sound Chapter still has three interesting monthly meetings coming up until it is time for the yearly Golf Tournament in June. We hope to see all of you at our upcoming events!

Sincerly,

Kerstin Björk, Membership Promotion Committee Member