NECA Convention 2009 Seattle: The Blog

The winners of the 2nd Annual Green Energy Challenge were announced yesterday at the NECA Student Chapter Summit. First-time participants from the Milwaukee School of Engineering were selected by the judges as the top winners of this year’s student design competition.

The entry from the University of Washington won second prize, and Youngstown State University came in third. The judges were effusive in their praise of all the teams innovative solutions and especially on their work with clients in their respective communities to determine their projects’ energy efficiency needs.

“This really is the absolute best experience for any student thinking about a career in electrical construction, or really any sort of electrical technology,” said judge Tim McBride, Southern Contracting, San Marcos, Calif. McBride’s company donated additional prize money for the finalist teams.

The Green Energy Challenge invites teams of students studying electrical construction, engineering, design and management to conduct an energy audit of a nearby commercial or institutional facility in need of energy-efficiency improvements. Based on their energy audit findings, teams then submit a preliminary design of an energy retrofit that could include alternative energy sources.

YSU student team member Brittany Stillwagon lead off the team’s presentation yesterday, describing their client’s energy needs and the retrofits the team recommended. “We really wanted to find solutions that fit M-7′s requirements and offered opportunities for integrated growth.” The YSU project focused on the M-7 Technologies manufacturing facility, which has significant energy demands in manufacturing and repairing large-scale industrial products through the application of advanced digital measurement equipment and database technology. The students devised a plan for M-7, which is located just a few miles off campus, that incorporated lighting retrofits along with new wind, photovoltaic and hydroelectric power systems.

The 2010 induction ceremony of new Fellows into the Academy of Electrical Contracting was held at today’s Opening General Session. Academy Chairman Milner Irvin introduced the nine new Fellows:

George Adams

EC Company

Portland, Oregon

Michael Bender

Bana Electric Corporation

Farmingdale, New York

Russ Borden

Tri-City Electric

Miami, Florida

I. Steven Diamond

Malko Electric

Morton Grove, Illinois

Charles Freeman

Gulf Electric

Mobile, Alabama

John Lambert

L&O Electric, Inc.

Austin, TX

David E. Morse

Morse Electric

Beloit, Wisconsin

Gary Tucci

Potelco, Inc.

Sumner, WA

Bruce Young

ColliSys

New Hope, Minnesota

Since its founding meeting in 1968, the Academy has served as the “voice of experience” for NECA and ELECTRI International – The Foundation for Electrical Construction, Inc. Fellows of the Academy are invited to join the organization based on their exceptional service to the electrical contracting industry. Each Academy Fellow authors a white page on their area of industry expertise, and they participate in issue analysis to determine trends within the industry and make recommendations.

More information about the Academy’s 2010 annual meeting, a list of Fellows and a complete archive of papers by Academy Fellows is available on NECA’s website.

In addition to the usual fun stuff you find at the NECA Show, we’ve got some great speaking drawings and raffles this year. We’ll still have the daily drawings and grand prize drawing for the event, but there are some great chances to take some an awesome souvenir from the 2010 NECA Show!

First, Rexel will be holding a raffle benefiting ELECTRI International’s Talent Initiative for the flat-screen TVs in the fabulous Construction Zone networking lounge. You could be enjoying your next Red Sox game from the comfort of your living room on a brand-new television, plus your raffle ticket purchase will directly help NECA’s student chapter initiatives!

ECPAC will bring its popular regional meeting prize-raffle-with-your-contribution to NECA’s national convention for the first time. This year’s daily prize will be a new iPad, the hottest tech device going these days. Take advantage of BCEC’s wi-fi on your brand new iPad!

And there will be special games and prizes for making the rounds to all of NECA’s special Energy Solutions exhibitors. Just get your card stamped by these featured “green building” exhibitors to take advantage of these new opportunities – and you’ll probably see some of the coolest smart building products on the market.

The real prize hook-up will be the technical workshops, however. Panduit will also be giving away a raffle prize for attendees at their technical workshop, too. A brand new iPod Touch could be yours just for taking advantage of the great training offered at their session, Sunday, Oct. 3 at 3:30 p.m. on Next Generation GBPS Network.

Osram Sylvania will be raffling off a  32 inch Sylvania flat screen TV at their technical workshop, Energy Saving Fluorescent Lighting Systems Technology Update, on Monday, Oct. 4, at 1 p.m.

And finally, we just learned that High Voltage will be giving away an Amazon Kindle Electronic Book Reader with Wi-Fi & 3G connectivity, that will be given away during the following Technical Workshop, Very Low Frequency (VLF) AC Cable Testing, on Monday, Oct. 4 at 3 p.m.

Prizes plus education … a winning combination at the 2010 NECA Show!



NECA and ELECTRI International are running a special benefit for the Sandy Bay Alternative School in Roatan, Honduras, at the 2009 NECA Show.

Installing a solar photovoltaic system at Sandy Bay Alternative School was the student service project during this year’s Cross Border Meeting – a project that went on to win recognition from the Clinton Global Initiative.

Students from the school sent several pieces of artwork to share at NECA 2009 Seattle in gratitude. But with the students’ permission, NECA and the Foundation are taking donations for the school in exchange for their beautiful tropical drawings and paintings.

The recommended contribution is $15 for each picture, an amount that will help educate at child at the school for over half a year. Please help us support Sandy Bay Alternative School by visiting the art display at NECA (booth 10007 on the skywalk) and taking home a special memory from Seattle.