JANUARY - PREZ SEZ

Hello Fellow Members of AEE(OKC),

 Happy New Year!!

 Well, your Oklahoma City Chapter of AEE is off to a rocky start. Despite several requests for people to step up and run (or help run) the AEE(OKC) chapter, we only have a President and a Treasurer – and I for one would have been happy to see someone else in the Prez’s position. However, I’d hate to see the chapter become totally inactive and/or die off, so I’ll do my best to keep it alive for one more year, and meanwhile try to find some ways to attract new local members.

 If you would like to help Tim and me run the organization this year, please contact one of us. There are three slots vacant on the AEE(OKC) Board – see below.

 We are also seeking ideas for L&L programs for 2012.  Please try to think of something that might interest you, and take a minute to contact us and share your thoughts.

 We have heard good news from the Tulsa area. The 2011 National President of AEE, Eric Woodroof, will present the official charter to the Oklahoma Green Country Chapter of AEE on February 7, 2012 at 11:30 am in the meeting room at Ti Amo Italian Ristorante (Downtown) (302 S. Cheyenne Ave. Tulsa, OK).  If you’re interested in attending the meeting, please contact Kerry Rowland at 918-277-9411.

 So the Tulsa Chapter of AEE is getting a fresh start! We wish them the very best.  

 Roger Farrer.

President, AEE(OKC).

NOVEMBER - PREZ SEZ

Hello Fellow Members of AEE(OKC), 

Prez Sez

I have enjoyed my involvement in our local chapter of AEE and it has been very fulfilling; however, it is time for me to let someone else lead. Being an officer is as much about learning as it is about leading.  I am grateful to each of you for acting as a resource for me and teaching me more then I knew when I started. 

 Your Board is seeking members of the local Chapter of AEE who would like to be on the Board and be more involved in the operations of the Chapter. People on the Board have the opportunity to impact our Chapter, and the work is not onerous or very time-consuming. However, the Board needs some new members with fresh, new ideas. Please let one of your officers know that you are interested and please become involved. You really can make a difference and help to run the local Chapter.

 Currently we have no candidates for President or Vice-President for our Chapter for 2012, and other Board positions are available.

It’s time to step up and help!

Bob Corff.

President, AEE(OKC).

AUGUST - PREZ SEZ

Hello Fellow Members of AEE(OKC),

Is it sun spot activity, has the earth moved closer to the sun or is it greenhouse gas?  Why is it so dam hot this summer?  I don’t know the answer to these questions but what I do know is that hot summers is why air conditioning was invented.  Thanks for that.

Our electric meter is spinning so fast it is about to take off like a flying saucer, but I don’t care.  As a young boy growing up in Oklahoma (many years ago) I remember trying to sleep on a hot night.  I pulled the bed next to the open window and placed the pillow in the window trying to catch a breeze.  I remember thinking that night that it would be worth whatever it cost to be able to have a little cool to sleep with.  Now I do have the cool to sleep with and I am a little less of a curmudgeon in the morning and can tolerate the Oklahoma summers.  If we are to live in Oklahoma, Texas, etc we need the air conditioning and for the air conditioning we need electricity and to generate the electricity we need coal, gas, Hydro, wind, nuclear, solar and any other prime energy.  Our jobs are totally self serving to insure that all energy is used wisely so that I can have air conditioning as long as possible before the earth goes dark.

Thanks for keeping me cool.

Bob Corff.

President, AEE(OKC).

JULY - PREZ SEZ

Hello Fellow Members of AEE(OKC),

Standing outside in this heat it seems crazy to worry about efficiency when all you can think is to get inside where the temperature is livable.  This summer we are paying for the last several mild summers.  I hear some people say “if you don’t believe in global warming now, you’re stupid”.  Hey, summer in Oklahoma is hot.  As a kid, before air conditioning, I remember lying in the window, to catch a breeze, trying to sleep.  It’s part of life on the Great Plains, hot summers and cold winters.

This is why energy efficiency is even more important in our area; we have both extremes over extended periods.  If we are to live and prosper here we must be able to be comfortable and be competitive.  Energy efficiency provides both of these attributes.  If homes and buildings are built well and insulated well, if conditioning equipment is efficient and energy cheap then even those on fixed incomes will be able to thrive.

Is your job important?  Think of the money saved with energy efficiency as being reinvested to be part of the fuel to help the US recover from this recession.  We do our part and each small savings falls directly to the bottom line, therefore I say that you are saving the world.  Keep up the good work.

Bob Corff.

President, AEE(OKC).

JUNE - PREZ SEZ

Hello Fellow Members of AEE(OKC),

I feel like a hypocrite.  We built a new building a few years ago and I was barely able to get a few efficiency improvements included.  It seems that when an organization decides to building something they don’t think to include the efficiency personnel in the design and planning.  I had to insert myself as soon as I found out about the plan which was well into the process.  Of course the architect claimed to be too far along to include the improvements I recommended and that it would add cost to include them.  So we agreed to pay the added cost but what we got was a poorly designed change that kind of included the improvements. 

You would think that a City would have a design committee or team that would include energy efficiency personnel.  What I experienced was that the owner didn’t really have a true representative in the design process.  The architect’s design team put together what they thought we should want.  What they designed was something that would help them get their next job.  It looks good but functions average to poor.  The open work space has 34 foot ceilings with the lighting turned to the ceiling to show off the woodwork.  The work stations below have poor ambient lighting and had to have light-bridges installed.  With the high ceilings it is hard to have enough heat at desk height and due to the surrounding hard surfaces a little noise sounds like a marching band.

What are your experiences?  Has your input been sought when your company is planning new buildings?  Is your input even considered?  How do we provide more energy efficiency impact into the building process?  Should each of us adopt an architect and teach him some energy efficiency thinking?

Bob Corff.

President, AEE(OKC).