Spring 2011 New England AARST
Chapter Meeting & CE Conference
Date: May 16-17, 2011
Location: MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Event Sponsors:
More than 50 New England AARST members gathered at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, CT for the group’s Spring Annual CE Conference and Dinner Meeting.
On Monday, May 16th, the morning agenda featured a series of guest speakers. Along with AARST New England and National updates, the attendees heard reports from EPA’s Larainne Koehler, ALA New England’s Dawn Mays-Hardy, Connecticut’s State Radon Officer Francesca Provenzano, and Steve Gladstone, a Past President of American Society of Home Inspectors. Maine’s Bob Stilwell and Rhode Island’s David Spink were unable to attend but provided presentations and handouts regarding their states’ radon activities.
At the Monday night dinner meeting, before the steak and sea bass dinners were served, members voted for Officers and Directors. Re-elected were: Dave Hill, Chapter President; Ed Beauregard, Vice President; Dick Rammacher, Secretary; David Naggar, Treasurer; and Directors Dave Kapturowski and Ray DeWitt.
The CE sessions included two courses presented by Trudy Smith of Spruce Environmental Technologies: Monday afternoon’s “Updating RRNC” and Tuesday morning’s “Radon in Water Updated.” Following the Water course, NE AARST members Steve Senkowicz (CT), Robin Gelinas (NH) and Jeff Hickman (MA) participated in a lively discussion on proper (and improper) methods for reducing radon from well water, highlighted by Robin’s photos of some of the worst systems he has encountered.
Also on Tuesday, a panel of mitigators discussed “Troubleshooting Tough Mitigations,” accompanied by photos and drawings. The panelists were Jim Jasensky (CT), Norman Johnson (RI), Stan Liebert (NY), Rick Saulen (MA). Both the Radon in Water and Troubleshooting panels led to lively discussions among panelists and attendees. After lunch on Tuesday, two additional guest speakers, Attorney Kimberley Kluchnick and Al Everts of Green Insurance Exchange, provided timely advice on legal and insurance considerations.
David Naggar, NE AARST’s Treasurer (and Director of Marketing at Spruce Environmental) presented a follow-up to his popular 2010 Symposium CE class on Internet Marketing, this time discussing the pros and cons of email versus social media. The day’s final CE class, resulting in more lively discussion, was on Radon Sources, presented by Stan Liebert.
Our thanks to the event’s sponsors, who helped to defray a portion of the costs: AccuStar Labs, AQUES and RadonAway.
