A recap of the 2010 Electrical Safety and Reliability Conference

I would like to thank everyone that made our recent membership meeting in Denver a success. Mark Stone, his staff and the Westin hotel provided all the necessary elements. For those of you that missed the event, we had all the weather anyone could ask for. Springtime in Denver was a show all by itself, sunshine, snow, sleet, rain, wind and even funnel clouds in the area all added to the event.

A group of committed Go Cart enthusiasts braved the elements (snow forecasts) and headed by the busload to the track. Some may have preferred a ride that was closer to NASCAR for protection from the bumps and spins. Track officials and time clocks were all in place to track the winning times and everyone had a shot at the title -- as long as you had car #6. For those that were not so fortunate and got some other car, better luck next time. A smaller but just as brave group of four golf enthusiasts headed out to for a quick nine under the same threatening sky and ended up having a wonderful time and more sun than expected.

Denver Breakers hosted a visit to their facility and shared the secrets to their success. It looked to me that spending the time to keep their inventory organized pays off if more ways than just neatness. Once again showing the world that used electrical materials can be handled professionally.

I would like to give a special 'thank you' to all the companies that chose to display their goods and services. Our meeting is an opportunity for your organizations and our membership to build upon our previous successes. By showing your wares and being present you help us fulfill our goals. Thanks you!

Scott Vaughn, owner of Widespread Electrical, took on hosting a group of skiers at a Victorian mansion he rented in Brackenridge, Colorado days prior to our meeting. By arranging everything from airport pick up, house rental, lift tickets and hot times (dinner too), the group couldn't have asked for a better time before the meeting. I'm sure Widespread Electrical built strong relationships with these PEARL members that will last for years.

Our speakers covered a variety of topics. Tom Grace, of Eaton Corp. spoke about ways we as a group could build bridges between our membership and companies like Eaton. Nabil Nasr from the Rochester Institute of Technology spoke about the processes used in discovering and testing previously installed material to evaluate the expected life of different products and how a reconditioning process can extend that life. Boltswitch sent Jim Erickson and Eric Maier to demonstrate how their bolted pressure switch design easily accommodates planned maintenance and upgrades, like shunt trips. Bob Byerley of Byerley Metals spoke about metal plating. Arc Flash was covered by Al Ulinskas of Satin American and Scott Peterson of CBS Nuclear Services. Helmut Brosz once again scared us straight with the effects of poorly handled bus duct insulation rapping. Finally our meeting would not have been the same without Alan Mirman and his Electrical Equipment Jeopardy. Learning about contract law is rarely that much fun.

The members-only business meeting elected the 2010 Board of Directors and discussed topics that included an idea of increasing the Board of Directors from seven to nine members, as well as adding additional membership classifications and product-based member certification and site inspections rather than 'across the board' inspections and certifications like we have now. These ideas were moved to the Board for consideration. Chairmen from each of PEARL's committees gave updates on what was accomplished during the previous year as well as future plans - with one exception: PEARL's PR Consultant, Winn Hardin, took the time make the membership aware of what is in the works within the marketing, partnerships, and newsletter fronts. Our PEARL name is being spread far and wide because of the type of efforts headed up by Winn. We should all thank Winn for his efforts!

The next membership meeting will be held in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. We have picked a gorgeous hotel called The Benson and we have a number of special events in the works that should make for the best PEARL party ever. So make room on your calendar for May 14-16th, 2011.

Best Wishes for A Profitable 2010,
Brian Corekin, PEARL President