2024 Jan-Feb RETA Breeze

2023-24 BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN Bengie Branham, CIRO, RAI SCS Engineers PRESIDENT Michael Hawkins, CARO Midatlantic Refrigeration, LLC EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT David Gulcynski, CIRO Dot Foods Inc. TREASURER Bill Lape, CARO, CIRO, CRST SCS Engineers SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Raymond Urban, CARO Lineage Logistics DIRECTORS Melissa Cassell General Refrigeration Company Dale Clinton, CIRO Stellar Victor Dearman, Jr., CIRO, CRST Peco Foods, Inc Arlie Farley, CARO, CIRO, CRST Farley’s SRP Inc Ron Fetterley, CARO, CIRO, CRST Super Store Industries Brandon Jones, CARO Tyson Foods, Inc Barbara Kirkpatrick Mi-Docs Jim Kovarik Gamma Graphics Services Mike Missall Summit Refrigeration Group Jeremy Murfin AC & R Specialists Andrew Palomar, CARO Stellar Gordon Rascoe, Jr, CIRO, CRST, RAI ConAgra Brands 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: Jason Daniell, CIRO APSM National Conference: Jim Kovarik Gamma Graphics Services Publications: Vern Sanderson,

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT

Greetings everyone, I hope that your New Year is off to a wonderful start and that you will be able to successfully stick to and achieve your New Year’s resolutions. Recently our church hosted a movie night showing “The Jesus Revolution” which was based on a true story of the late 1960’ s into the early 70’s about the hippies coming to Jesus and creating a revival in Christianity. Now before you start to think that I’m going to start preaching to you, rest assured that I am not nor is that my intent. However, as I watched the movie and they mentioned that this was one of the largest religious movements in our country’s history and that it was the rebirth or revival of one church in particular, thoughts of RETA popped into my mind. The hippies in the movie that started to attend the services and believing, feeling saved, started telling their friends about Jesus and started bringing friends with them to services and prayer meetings. The next thing you know, they’ve outgrown the church and expanded to a giant circus type tent; of course, this was Southern California with that beautiful weather! What started out as a small church of 10-20 is now into the hundreds, possibly thousands. I know, I know… where is he going with this. Well, here it is. I know everyone reading this article loves RETA and has the RETA passion. But those of us active in our chapters know that there are a lot of contractors or operators in our area that aren’t at these meetings. The same is true for our National Conference. So here is where I

Mike Hawkins CARO, RETA National President

am going to put this all together. I challenge all of you to be a “Refrigera tion Hippy” and start telling those that you encounter in your daily work travels that are not aware of or may not know much about RETA. Bring a friend to your next chapter meeting, share what RETA has done for you. In my article last month, I mentioned how I was wel comed in many years ago as an “industry rookie.” When I attended my first chapter meeting at the Southeastern PA chapter, I was welcomed with open arms. Everyone was willing to share their vast knowledge and stories of being in the industry, some for many decades. Then I attended my first conference, feeling like the proverbial fish out of water. Guess what, the same thing happened! I was welcomed, folks shared, told stories, taught, and that was just on show floor before I got to my first tech session. We are facing a time where there are so many knowledgeable folks retiring from our industry and there are many new young people joining our ranks. It is our job, scratch that, it is our duty as stewards of RETA and the refrigeration industry to welcome these new folks with open arms and mentor, teach, and share with them the same way it was done with so many of us when we got

CIRO, CRST, RAI Schwan’s Company Executive Director: Jim Barron 4 RETA.com