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New Look for the Ultimate Electrical Connection
NECA in the Spotlight
Welcome to the first HTML edition of the Ultimate Electrical Connection, the biweekly update on NECA 2005 New Orleans! More information is now available right at your fingertips – simply follow the links directly to the NECA 2005 New Orleans website for schedules, locations and event details.
“There’s unparalleled opportunity for everyone in the electrical industry at this year’s program in New Orleans,” said John M. Grau, NECA CEO. “We’re offering a number of registration options so attendees can attend the sessions that are important to them and their business, whether at the NECA Convention, the IBS Conference or the Conference on Lighting Education. And of course, all of the attendees will have access to the expanded NECA Show.”
Registration opens June 1, so check www.necaconvention.org today for all the opportunities for you, your colleagues, and your company at NECA 2005 New Orleans.
· To subscribe to the Ultimate Electrical Connection, email di.vanbuskirk@necanet.org
· For sponsor and exhibitor information, email eie@necanet.org
· For questions about NECA 2005 New Orleans, email necaevent@necanet.org
Who Brings Light to the Site?
Recent industry research clearly identifies the electrical contractor’s specifying power when it comes to lighting. According to Electrical Contractor magazine, contractors are choosing the brands of lamps, ballasts, fixtures and controls most of the time, whether for new construction, renovation or retrofit jobs. Electrical contractors can learn to make the most of their lighting jobs at the Conference on Lighting Education, Sept. 17-20 in New Orleans.
Participants will be guided by industry “luminaries” to learn how they can make the best lighting choices for their customer. Mary Beth Gotti, Manager of GE’s Lighting Institute, will bring her expertise and insight to the conference as keynote speaker. Mary Beth has worked for GE Lighting for over 20 years in a number of technology and marketing positions, including Lamp Development Engineer for both incandescent and metal halide lamps, Senior Product Specialist in Application Development. The Lighting Institute was the first facility of its type in the world devoted solely to the teaching of lighting; as Manager, Mary Beth is one of the industry’s most sought-after lecturers.
She is enthusiastic about the resources available at the Lighting Institute. “We get thousands of people that come through the Lighting Institute, and [there] we have an office lighting demonstration room. We’ll show them direct lighting systems with lenses and parabolic louvers. Then we’ll show them an indirect lighting system in the same space, and almost without exception, people tend to prefer indirect lighting just because it’s visually very comfortable and gives a very pleasant glow to the space,” she recently noted.
Mary Beth also works as the Senior Lighting Specialist for Retail, Museum and Hospitality lighting applications at GE. She has BS and MS degrees in physics She is active in the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), currently serving on the Board of Directors and several committees including Papers, Retail and Museum Lighting. She is also a frequent lecturer at conferences and seminars across the country.
Master the New MasterFormat at IBS Conference
Recognizing the rising importance of voice, data and communication systems, the latest MasterFormat includes distinct specification guidelines for low-voltage systems. This means that electrical contractors must be ready to act as general contractors when it comes to delivering the modern, well-integrated electrical systems building owners rely on. Contractors, specifiers and estimators will learn how they can best use the new MasterFormat at the Conference on Integrated Building Systems, Sept. 17-20, in New Orleans.
“We think the trend today is clearly toward greater integration of electrical building systems, both low and high voltage” said Mary Germershausen, NECA Executive Director of Integrated Building Systems. “The recent changes to CSI’s MasterFormat will provide the electrical contractor with the opportunity to be the general contractor on a project. The electrical contractor will be positioned to install power, lighting, communications and control systems. Instead of hiring several contractors the end-user can hire one contractor.”
Smart buildings call for the integration of power and communication technologies into energy-efficient systems, and this means that electrical contractors will begin acting as lead contractors on building projects. Just as the integration of power and communication systems means electrical contractors will take on a broader construction role, recent changes in Master Format specifications-writing standard will also impact the information electrical contractors must utilize.
Bringing the low and high voltage divisions together in one job can be a complex task, according to Germershausen. “That’s why we’re offering sessions on how MasterFormat will affect the way you do business, as well as workshops on the opportunities available in fire and life safety and homeland security.”
Dilbert creator Scott Adams at General Session, Sept. 18
Scott Adams, the cartoonist who created Dilbert (the most photocopied, pinned-up, downloaded, faxed and e-mailed comic strip in the world), will speak at the NECA Convention General Session, Sept. 18. Dubbed "the cartoon hero of the workplace" by The San Francisco Examiner, Dilbert has been syndicated since 1989 and now appears in 2,000 newspapers in 65 countries and 25 languages.
Adams held a variety of (in his words) "humiliating and low paying jobs" during his eight years at Crocker National Bank and eight years at Pacific Bell. He's been a bank teller (he was robbed twice at gunpoint), computer programmer, financial analyst, product manager, commercial lender, budget manager, strategist, project manager and pseudo-engineer.
“I worked in a number of jobs that defy description but all involve technology and finances,” he writes on his website, www.dilbert.com. “The most recent job was in a laboratory, finding ways to use digital phone lines and also running the company's BBS. My business card said "engineer" but I'm not an engineer by training.” During this time Adams entertained himself during boring meetings by drawing insulting cartoons of his co-workers and bosses. Eventually a bespectacled character named Dilbert emerged from the doodles.
In 1988 Adams mailed some sample comic strips featuring Dilbert to the major cartoon syndicates. United Feature Syndicate plucked Dilbert out of thousands of submissions received that year and offered Adams a contract. Dilbert launched in about 50 newspapers in 1989. In 1993, Adams became the first syndicated cartoonist to publish his e-mail address in his comic strip and Dilbert became the first nationally syndicated comic strip to appear on the Internet.
Adams continued his day job at Pacific Bell until 1995, drawing Dilbert at 5 a.m. everyday before work. Now Adams devotes his entire day (and much of the evening) to Dilbert, including speaking, writing, doing interviews, designing licensed products and answering hundreds of e-mail messages per day. He owns two restaurants and is CEO of Scott Adams Foods www.dilberito.com, Inc., a vegetarian food company. Adams was born and raised in Windham, New York, in the Catskill Mountains. He has lived and worked in California since 1979. He holds a B.A. in economics from Hartwick College, Oneonta New York, and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. He's also a certified hypnotist.
Innovation in Action: Technical Workshop at NECA Show
Each year, different exhibitors present Technical Workshops on the NECA Show floor, covering current topics important to the electrical industry. This year’s expanded Show floor will feature two workshop areas to include workshops on both lighting and integrated building systems issues. Check out www.necaconvention.org to see the details on what educational opportunities we're bringing you this year. Each Technical Workshop, such as Controlling a Fleet of Company Vehicles, promises to be a great learning experience!
Controlling a Fleet of Company Vehicles
Sunday, Sept. 18, 12 - 12:45 p.m.
In this session, participants will explore the concerns associated with controlling a fleet of company vehicles, and how they can improve efficiency and operability and lower overall cost. The workshop will cover funding options, maintenance programs, risk management including driver safety programs, fuel management, vehicle acquisition and disposal methods, aftermarket equipment, leasing vs. buying, and reporting and risk management advice.
www.necaconvention.org/pressroom/index.cfm?cicu=cat&ID=505
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