Welcome to our Chapter’s History Page!
The West Virginia Chapter is currently wrapping up our year of as a statewide Chapter and we have been very successful and a Leader in Region VII. We would like to thank all our leadership, members and supporters throughout the State for helping ASHRAE to make a comeback in West Virginia and hope for your continued support.
1989 to 2006 – Mountaineer Chapter
The Mountaineer Chapter was created from the Bluegrass Chapter in 1989. The Chapter area included Eastern Kentucky, Central and Western West Virginia and about 8 counties in Southeastern Ohio. The Mountaineer Chapter simply ran out of leaders as Chapter Presidents and other Leaders were taking 2 and 3 year terms. After the 2006-2007 year, the Mountaineer Chapter petitioned and was reclassified as a Section of the Bluegrass Chapter. Shortly thereafter, all of the chapter counties in Ohio were transferred to the Columbus Ohio Chapter. This further cut into the number of members able to support the local organization.
Please visit our Mountaineer Chapter history page for more information. As mentioned above, if you have any information to contribute to our past as the Mountaineer Chapter please let us know.
2007 to 2013 – Mountaineer Section of the Bluegrass Chapter
After reclassification in 2007 to a Section, membership waned and very little ASHRAE activities were held within the State. In 2011 a resurgence in interest in building the ASHRAE Chapter and membership within West Virginia was spearheaded under the guidance of Mr. Art Hallstrom, P.E. Mr. Hallstrom served many positions within the Bluegrass Chapter and Region VII, including Director and Regional Chair (DRC) for Region VII. Mr. Hallstrom worked with Mr. Todd Zachwieja, P.E. to reach out to past and prospective members within the State to get involved in building the Mountaineer Section Leadership and move toward becoming a Chapter. The interest was there within the State and at the conclusion of the 2012 – 2013 year at the Summer ASHRAE Conference on June 25, 2013, ASHRAE chartered the West Virginia Chapter to include all members within the boundaries of the State.
2013 – 2014 – First year as the West Virginia Chapter
Our first year was a very successful year! All the Leaders of the Chapter were busy building the chapter membership, programs and learning the duties of being Chapter Leaders.
Some of the highlights from the year:
- Became a co-sponsor of the WV EXPO, which allowed us to provide several training seminars at the EXPO, including ASHRAE 90.1-2007 overview.
- We participated in several training sessions around the State for the newly adopted State Energy Code – ASHRAE 90.1-2007.
- We scheduled and hosted training seminars by two ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturers.
- Our membership grew this year to 67 members. We signed up 13 new members, which placed us 4th in the world for new members.
- The WV Chapter took 1st Place in Region VII Presidential Award Of Excellence (PAOE) points and was recognized for outstanding performance and received several awards.
Please visit the 2013-2014 Information page for more information from this Chapter year.
2014 – 2015
Another very successful year for the new Chapter! Our Leaders were in their second year and gained valuable training from our previous year. It was a tough year for our membership growth goals, as many people lost their jobs this year and moved out of the area, but we managed to remain at 67 members by the end of the year.
We worked with West Virginia University early in the year to establish the WVU Student Branch. At the 2015 ASHRAE Winter Conference, the formation of our WVU Student Branch was presented and approved.
Other Highlight from the year:
- Co-sponsored the WV EXPO and provided 5 training sessions during the EXPO.
- We scheduled and hosted training seminars by two ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturers.
Please visit the 2014-2015 Information page for more information from this Chapter year.
2015 – 2016
We have had a very busy and productive year, thanks to the efforts of all our Chapter Leaders and Supporters!! We are well on our way to being one of, if not THE, top performing Chapters in Region VII again this year! This is our 3rd year as a Chapter and our 3rd year in a row for achieving the PAOE Award status….One more year and we will be named a PREMIERE Chapter (only 8 in the world).
Highlights from the year:
- Co-sponsored the WV EXPO and provided 5 training sessions during the EXPO.
- We scheduled and hosted training seminars by two ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturers.
- We held our first Day of Training/Trade Show on April 29, 2016. This was a BIG success for our Chapter and many THANKS go out to Ray Wohlfarth for his hard work in pulling this together.
- We sponsored several training sessions around the State for the newly adopted State Energy Code – ASHRAE 90.1-2010
- We have been actively working with Marshall University to establish a Student Branch, which should be complete in the fall of 2016.
- We scheduled and conducted two tours of buildings, with a focus on educating Students. The first was in November 2015 at the new Marshall University Engineering Building and the second was in February 2016 at the WVU Student Recreation Center.
Please visit the 2015-2016 Information page for more information from this Chapter year.
2016 – 2017
This was another OUTSTANDING year for our Chapter. We had several chapter meetings and activities this year and hosted many excellent speakers. This year we completed our 4th year of achieving PAOE Star Award status in all categories, which now makes us a PREMIERE Chapter(only 8 in the world). We will be recognized for this accomplishment at the annual Region VII CRC in Nashville, TN in August 2017.
Highlights from the year:
- Co-sponsored the WV EXPO and provided 5 training sessions during the EXPO.
- We scheduled and hosted training seminars by four (4) ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturers.
- We held our 2nd Annual Day of Training/Trade Show on May 11, 2017. This was a HUGE success again this year for our Chapter and was even bigger than the previous year. This event raised $1,550 in donations for ASHRAE RP. Many THANKS go out to all those who planned, scheduled, and pulled this together. Your hard (volunteer) work is greatly appreciated.
- We sponsored several training sessions around the State related to the IEEC and Residential Energy Codes.
- We were able to work with Marshall University to establish a Student Branch and kept the WVU Student Branch operating.
- We scheduled and conducted a tour of the Charleston Civic Center Renovations and Expansion. Thanks to ZMM Architects and Engineers and our Chapter President – Sam Butzer, for this behind the scenes tour.
- The WV Chapter took 1st Place in Region VII Presidential Award Of Excellence (PAOE) points and was recognized for outstanding performance and received several awards.
Please visit the 2016-2017 Information page for more information from this Chapter year.
2017 – 2018
Our Chapter had another Fantastic year, thanks to all our Chapter Leaders!!! We had several chapter meetings and activities this year and hosted many excellent speakers. This year we completed our 5th year of achieving PAOE Star Award status in all categories, and maintained our PREMIERE Chapter status. We were recognized for this accomplishment at the annual Region VII CRC in Chattanooga, TN in August 2018.
Highlights from the year:
- Co-sponsored the WV EXPO and provided 4 training sessions during the EXPO, including an Ethics class.
- We scheduled and hosted training seminars by four (4) ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturers.
- We held our 3rd Annual Day of Learning/Trade Show on April 19, 2018. This was a AMAZING success again this year for our Chapter and was our biggest event yet. This event was also combined as a YEA event and welcomed WVU and Marshall University students as a career fair opportunity to meet with potential employers. This event raised $2,780 in donations for ASHRAE RP. Many THANKS go out to all those who planned, scheduled, and pulled this together. Your hard (volunteer) work is greatly appreciated.
- We sponsored our 1st High Performance Building Day training sessions, and worked with the Governor’s office to receive a proclamation for the week of June 11-15, 2018 as WV High Performance Building Week.
- The WV Chapter took 1st Place in Region VII Presidential Award Of Excellence (PAOE) points and was recognized for outstanding performance and received several awards.
Please visit the 2017-2018 Information page for more information from this Chapter year.
2018 – 2019
Another GREAT year for our Chapter! Thanks to all our Chapter Leaders!!! We had several chapter meetings and activities this year and hosted many excellent speakers. This year we completed our 6th year of achieving PAOE Star Award status in all categories, and maintained our PREMIERE Chapter status. We were recognized for this accomplishment at the annual Region VII CRC in St. Pete’s Beach, FL, August 2019.
Highlights from the year:
- Co-sponsored the WV EXPO and provided 4 training sessions during the EXPO
- We scheduled and hosted training seminars by four (3) ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturers.
- We held our 4th Annual Day of Learning in April 2019 at the Charleston Civic Center. We were visited by RVC for RP – Scott Peach who provided an inspirational presentation and installed the 2019-20 Chapter Officers.
- We sponsored our 2nd High Performance Building Day training sessions.
- The WV Chapter took 1st Place in Region VII Presidential Award Of Excellence (PAOE) points and was recognized for outstanding performance and received several awards.
Please visit the 2018-2018 Information page for more information from this Chapter year.
We are working hard to build a comprehensive History of our Chapter, our past existence as the Mountaineer Chapter and the Mountaineer Section of the Bluegrass Chapter. We are asking for everyone’s assistance in this endeavor. If you have any records, photos, knowledge or information from our past, please contact our Historian, Jennings Davis at [email protected].