Chapter Spotlight: East Texas

The ASHRAE East Texas chapter is located in the upper eastern section of Texas, also known as the Piney Woods. Wikipedia calls it the westernmost extension of the Deep South, which probably explains why everything moves a little slower and you’ll often see a friendly southern smile from our members. Some notable people that have come from this area are George Foreman, Matthew McConaughey, and Sissy Spacek. These people weren’t in ASHRAE but definitely would have been if they had chosen an HVAC career path, because East Texas ASHRAE is definitely the best chapter in ASHRAE. Our chapter was chartered on October 24th, 1961. Since then, we have had many members and contributors that have made our chapter great.

More recently, the membership has made some great accomplishments and strides in the area. The 2016 CRC was held in the Rose Capital, Tyler, Texas, and had a great turnout with very successful collaboration and some fun times too. We may not have all of the PAOE points figured out but we are on a 10 year streak for Full Circle donations from the leadership of the chapter. Holding strong just under 100 members, we have a diverse group of product engineers, consulting engineers, technicians, contractors, students, and teachers, all who provide valuable expertise in the HVAC industry. East Texas ASHRAE is also home to some higher learning facilities and growing young minds and the future of HVAC is important to the chapter as demonstrated by our consistent scholarship donations and capstone project support.

The current leadership in our chapter is a mixed bag of members who have several years of experience, while some are new and green. Lucky for us, many of the members who have been in the chapter for several years are still involved and help to guide the chapter. We are very excited for the 2018-2019 year because our leadership will be 50% women in ASHRAE!

All in all, East Texas ASHRAE is a great group of people who are constantly volunteering to better the community and the industry. There is rarely a frown at an ASHRAE meeting and members are always happy to see each other and welcoming to any new guests. We are proud of East Texas, proud of ASHRAE, and proud of our members. Feel free to drop us a line any time you’re in the area, we’d love to see some fellow Region VIIIers!