Last week, I had the great fortune of celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Hydraulic Institute, which has flourished over ten decades because of the hard work of its members and their vision for the future. I was honored to have participated in this centennial celebration, spending time with HI members, old and new. The black-tie gala on Friday was a sparkling evening to recognize many contributions made within the pumping industry, with awards presented to several significant individuals and groups impacting our world today.
Congratulations to Albert Huber (Patterson Pumps) on receiving the HI 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award; Michael Coussens (Peerless Pump Company) for accepting the HI 2016 Member of the Year Award; Jared Wageman (Sundyne) for achieving the HI 2016 Young Engineer of the Year Award; and Ray Hardee (Engineered Software, Inc.) for being honored with the HI 2016 Pump Systems Matter Leadership award. You all are an inspiration to the newer generations working to advance the pump industry!
To recognize recent advances, the Hydraulic Institute acknowledged four organizations with the first-ever HI Pump Industry Excellence Awards designed to honor companies who have demonstrated serious commitment to advancing the North American pump industry while also helping to preserve our nation’s precious natural resources.
Charli K. Matthews with M. John Constable, Senior Engineer at Con Edison, who accepted the HI Pump Industry Excellence Award for Energy Efficiency.
Congratulations to TechnipFMC for receiving the Pump Industry Excellence Award in Innovation & Technology; Clean Water Services & Portland General Electric in Environmental Impact; and Con Edison in Energy Efficiency. It is my sincere desire that other organizations see your success and strive to replicate your achievements.
Achievements are made with constant focus on the future, requiring consistent goal setting and clear direction. Clear direction is an attribute of strong leadership, which the Hydraulic Institute has had for decades. Watching George Harris (Hydro, Inc.) pass the torch to John H. White, Jr. (Taco Comfort Solutions) as he enters his new position as the HI Chairman of the Board, it was easy to see that the Hydraulic Institute will continue its history of strong leadership to set the course for major contributions in the next century to come.
John H. White, Jr. made a lovely speech about really ‘listening’ to one another and communing with all the different groups that come together to be part of the Hydraulic Institute. He introduced new HI Board Members, including one of my personal heroes – Christy Bermensolo, CEO of Engineered Software Inc. Having spoken with her throughout the event, she had some poignant things to say about the direction of the pump industry: “The pump industry is changing as a whole. The value of having diverse teams, having diverse backgrounds, the value of that is needed with the way the industry is going in general. We are no longer an industry that is going to do things because we’ve done things that way for the last however many years. We are an industry that is innovating. We are going to be using more and more technology in order to get pumping systems operating better to address reliability issues, reduce energy usage, and increase yield.”
Join the Hydraulic Institute in celebrating their 100th Anniversary by visiting their commemorative site at http://pumps.org/100th_Anniversary/Home.aspx. Watch the fantastic video, “The Hidden World of Pumps”, and explore an interactive timeline of the pump industry. Then share your thoughts and hopes for the future in our Industry Forum.
Thanks for another great article Charli. I was sad I couldn’t be there to celebrate their centennial with you and the EB team. HI is a fantastic association and it shows with the fact they are celebrating such an amazing milestone! There’s a lot of innovation occurring in the industry right now so it’s a great time to be a pump engineer or to be actively involved with HI and all the great things the association and it’s members are doing!