2023 Sep-Oct RETA Breeze

2022-23 BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN Keith Harper, CARO Tyson Foods Inc PRESIDENT Bengie Branham, CIRO, RAI SCS Engineers

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Michael Hawkins, CARO Midatlantic Refrigeration, LLC TREASURER David Gulcynski, CIRO Dot Foods Inc. SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Bill Lape, CARO, CIRO, CRST SCS Engineers DIRECTORS

Greetings RETA Family,

I hope the cool crisp days of fall provide warm blessings to you all. It is amazing to see the tapestry of the fall colors as they integrate and become a collage of the most majestic scenery we get to see every year during the transition. It is also a vivid reminder to myself in that everything and everyone has a “season” and that change is coming. My season of presiding over RETA as National President will be coming to an end very soon. It has truly been an extreme honor to serve this GREAT organization as National President for the 2022-2023 term. I also want to take a moment to thank the Board of Directors and Committee Chairmen for their hard work and determination to advance the RETA culture and to position our organiz- ation to make a deeper impact for our industry in years to come. The Board of Directors, along with the Executive Director Jim Barron, made some very difficult decisions over this past year, and I am so proud to have worked with each and every Director in accomplishing our goals to continue the path that Giants before us had estab lished. What an amazing group of dedicated, unselfish and vision driven individuals that you as a member elected last November in Reno, Nevada. I am very honored to state that RETA is well positioned to face the many challenges that we may encounter moving forward. At this time, RETA is looking to potentially merge with RSES (if approved by both memberships). This merger will make RETA and RSES the “Refrigeration Training Authority” by

Alan Gervais, CARO, CIRO Western Precooling Systems Andrew Palomar, CARO Stellar Arlie Farley, CARO, CIRO, CRST Farley’s SRP Inc Barbara Kirkpatrick Mi-Docs Debbie Koske Calibration Technologies, Inc. Edward Johnson, CARO Gordon Rascoe, Jr, CIRO, CRST, RAI ConAgra Brands Jeremy Murfin AC & R Specialists Jim Kovarik Gamma Graphics Services Melissa Cassell General Refrigeration Company Raymond Urban, CARO Lineage Logistics Victor Dearman, Jr., CIRO, CRST Peco Foods, Inc COMMITTEE CHAIRS Certification: Lee Pyle, CARO SCS Tracer Environmental Education: Eric Girven, CIRO, CRST, RAI SCS Tracer Environmental Marketing: Jodie Rukamp SCS Tracer Environmental Membership: Arlie Farley, CARO, CIRO, CRST Farley’s SRP, Inc National Conference: Jim Kovarik Gamma Graphics Services Publications: Vern Sanderson,

Bengie Branham, RETA National President

allowing both organizations to share their educational training material, provide both industries with a pipeline of new talent, position our industry to operate and maintain both traditional closed loop refrigeration systems and the new natural refrigeration concepts that are currently being developed. With the required level of responsibility to operate these systems efficiently and I am extremely confident that RETA and RSES entities will meet these challenges and provide training platforms dedi cated to enhancing the knowledge and safety of each operator and technician. In closing, RETA is positioned for this change (just like the fall transition), but we will grow larger than last season and will have many more branches on our tree for many years to come. We will also have a bigger impact on industry than once imagined. I also promised a follow-up from the last Breeze publication which I will be speaking on at conference. Thank you, Bengie Branham safely, operator training is more imperative now more than ever.

CIRO, CRST, RAI Schwan’s Company Executive Director: Jim Barron

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