Educational Committee
08-31-2008, 07:42 PM
History of the Educational Forum and the Educational Forum Committee
The Educational Forum (EF) is the culmination of an idea set in motion by HVAC-Talk professional member Dave Lusk (aka Lusker,) with the encouragement and blessing of Penton Media, owner of HVAC-Talk.com. Dave explains his desire for a centralized educational reference source as follows:
“With my dealings as a previous Administrator/Moderator for H-Talk, I would hear suggestions that this would be a great place to mentor new employees and new comers to this field. I too had technicians that would say there is just nothing on the net without going from site to site with mostly dead ends. It was a slow process steering H-Talk in such a direction that would make this possible, such as Pro Membership areas and a committee to handle the processing of applications, thwarting off those who do not qualify except for DIY. This dream started taking shape when an Educational Committee was formed and the process began. It has been a long road.”
In March of the year 2007, a call went out for volunteers from the HVAC-Talk.com forum membership to chair a new committee being formed, known as the Educational Forum Committee (EFC). At the time, very little was known about what this new, proposed Educational Forum might consist of, nevertheless five HVAC-Talk professional members stepped up to offer their time and various talents toward beginning development of the EF. These original EFC members were:
DavidR
Scottsacavsfan
John Dalton
Shophound
Irishmist
DavidR was appointed by the new committee to be the “bus driver”; the individual charged with overseeing the committee and giving the individual efforts of the EFC volunteers a common direction and goal. A new, private section on HVAC-Talk was established for the EFC members to meet and discuss how to put together the EFC. Members met often in this section to become better acquainted with one another, and to share their vision of what the EF might become. Things moved along slowly at first, since a clear structure for the new forum had yet to emerge.
A few months after the EFC’s creation, DavidR reluctantly announced to the group that other commitments in his personal and professional life were eating into his time and desire to serve as head of the EFC, and that he felt he must resign. Prior to this, HVAC-Talk member Icemeister had been sought for consultation regarding the commercial refrigeration aspect of the trade. Icemeister quickly demonstrated he had not only significant knowledge of his trade, but organizational and leadership skills, almost bursting with ideas for EF structure and format. Following DavidR’s departure, Icemeister was asked if he would like a hand at the wheel, to which he affirmed. One or two other members announced that, if chosen by the group, they also would serve as chairman. The EFC, via private email, held a vote and unanimously elected Icemeister to take the driver’s seat on the bus.
Icemeister wasted little time creating a more consistent structure for the EFC to meet, and building speed for the bus. He established a weekly chat meeting time and place, and also found a collaboration site where the committee could swap files, messages, maintain a to-do list, observe a calendar of important dates, etc. The EFC members responded well to these changes. Soon, a rough outline for the EF’s structure emerged. Through weekly meetings and online collaboration, the format was edited, revised, polished, tweaked, and refined. Alongside, changes occurred in the EFC membership, with an overall increase in size as more volunteers were sought to help with the work. The current EFC roster, with each person’s role within the group and join date, is as follows:
Icemeister – EFC Chair (5/07)
Shophound – Vice Chair, Editor/Scribe (4/07)
Scottsacavsfan – Editor (4/07)
Lusker – EF Founder (4/07)
Crackertech (11/07)
Jbp2 (11/07) (I)
Bornriding (11/07) (I)
Orlandotech (11/07)
Pecmsg (11/07)
Powell (12/07)
Rich Pickering (11/07) (I)
MechAcc (11/07)
Markettech (11/07)
(I) = Currently Inactive Member
During the development of the Educational Forum it underwent three “sneak previews”; one to the 2007 Comfortech attendees, another to the HVAC-Talk professional membership, and the most recent to the attendees of the 2008 HVAC-Talk Convention. All sneak reveals were well received.
The EFC set September 5, 2008 as the official opening day for the Educational Forums.The EFC will continue after the opening to manage and refine the Educational Forum, ensuring it becomes and remains a premier source for HVAC/R knowledge and training on the internet.
The Educational Forum (EF) is the culmination of an idea set in motion by HVAC-Talk professional member Dave Lusk (aka Lusker,) with the encouragement and blessing of Penton Media, owner of HVAC-Talk.com. Dave explains his desire for a centralized educational reference source as follows:
“With my dealings as a previous Administrator/Moderator for H-Talk, I would hear suggestions that this would be a great place to mentor new employees and new comers to this field. I too had technicians that would say there is just nothing on the net without going from site to site with mostly dead ends. It was a slow process steering H-Talk in such a direction that would make this possible, such as Pro Membership areas and a committee to handle the processing of applications, thwarting off those who do not qualify except for DIY. This dream started taking shape when an Educational Committee was formed and the process began. It has been a long road.”
In March of the year 2007, a call went out for volunteers from the HVAC-Talk.com forum membership to chair a new committee being formed, known as the Educational Forum Committee (EFC). At the time, very little was known about what this new, proposed Educational Forum might consist of, nevertheless five HVAC-Talk professional members stepped up to offer their time and various talents toward beginning development of the EF. These original EFC members were:
DavidR
Scottsacavsfan
John Dalton
Shophound
Irishmist
DavidR was appointed by the new committee to be the “bus driver”; the individual charged with overseeing the committee and giving the individual efforts of the EFC volunteers a common direction and goal. A new, private section on HVAC-Talk was established for the EFC members to meet and discuss how to put together the EFC. Members met often in this section to become better acquainted with one another, and to share their vision of what the EF might become. Things moved along slowly at first, since a clear structure for the new forum had yet to emerge.
A few months after the EFC’s creation, DavidR reluctantly announced to the group that other commitments in his personal and professional life were eating into his time and desire to serve as head of the EFC, and that he felt he must resign. Prior to this, HVAC-Talk member Icemeister had been sought for consultation regarding the commercial refrigeration aspect of the trade. Icemeister quickly demonstrated he had not only significant knowledge of his trade, but organizational and leadership skills, almost bursting with ideas for EF structure and format. Following DavidR’s departure, Icemeister was asked if he would like a hand at the wheel, to which he affirmed. One or two other members announced that, if chosen by the group, they also would serve as chairman. The EFC, via private email, held a vote and unanimously elected Icemeister to take the driver’s seat on the bus.
Icemeister wasted little time creating a more consistent structure for the EFC to meet, and building speed for the bus. He established a weekly chat meeting time and place, and also found a collaboration site where the committee could swap files, messages, maintain a to-do list, observe a calendar of important dates, etc. The EFC members responded well to these changes. Soon, a rough outline for the EF’s structure emerged. Through weekly meetings and online collaboration, the format was edited, revised, polished, tweaked, and refined. Alongside, changes occurred in the EFC membership, with an overall increase in size as more volunteers were sought to help with the work. The current EFC roster, with each person’s role within the group and join date, is as follows:
Icemeister – EFC Chair (5/07)
Shophound – Vice Chair, Editor/Scribe (4/07)
Scottsacavsfan – Editor (4/07)
Lusker – EF Founder (4/07)
Crackertech (11/07)
Jbp2 (11/07) (I)
Bornriding (11/07) (I)
Orlandotech (11/07)
Pecmsg (11/07)
Powell (12/07)
Rich Pickering (11/07) (I)
MechAcc (11/07)
Markettech (11/07)
(I) = Currently Inactive Member
During the development of the Educational Forum it underwent three “sneak previews”; one to the 2007 Comfortech attendees, another to the HVAC-Talk professional membership, and the most recent to the attendees of the 2008 HVAC-Talk Convention. All sneak reveals were well received.
The EFC set September 5, 2008 as the official opening day for the Educational Forums.The EFC will continue after the opening to manage and refine the Educational Forum, ensuring it becomes and remains a premier source for HVAC/R knowledge and training on the internet.