The Marine Chemist Association held a Board of Directors (BOD) meeting on April 24, 2022 at the Boston Airport Hilton Hotel
A meeting summary and general information follows.
The 2022 Annual Seminar will be held in San Antonio, Texas from July 18 – 20 at the Hyatt Regency on the Riverwalk.
The Hyatt Regency Hotel is directly in the heart of the Riverwalk in San Antonio. When you walk out of the hotel you are directly on the Riverwalk. There is a large assortment of shops, restaurants and attractions within minutes of the hotel. The Hyatt is about a 10 minute ride from the airport and is a three minute walk to the Alamo.
The popularity of our past virtual seminars lends a degree of uncertainty to the turnout. To encourage the membership to attend the following incentive will be offered to regular members who attend.
You must register for the seminar!
Click “Register for Annual Seminar” to register and pay for yourself, your spouse, your children or a friend. Note that children under 12 are free but you need to include them with their ages when you register.
Seminar Incentive Program Requirements
- The seminar fee ($400) will be reimbursed/refunded by the MCA. However you must initially register and pay the seminar fee.
- Up to $525 towards room fees will be reimbursed/refunded by the MGHCP.
- Stipulations are as follows.
- You must be a regular member and attend the entire seminar and obtain credit for attending. Note: The 90% attendance waiver will not apply to be eligible for the incentive payment. You must attend the entire seminar to obtain the incentive payment.
- You must stay at the seminar hotel under the MCA room block and your room expenses must be at least $525. (You can be reimbursed a lesser amount of up to $175.00/day for the room only).
- You will be required to pay the fees up front and then fill out an expense voucher with seminar and hotel receipts to be refunded. At the conclusion of the seminar and when credit for attending is obtained, your receipt for the seminar fee and the hotel will be submitted for up to $925 in reimbursement. Please email copies of the documents to dvraff@comcast.net and a check will be sent out.
- If you sign up late and are not able to get into the MCA room block you must stay at the same hotel (Hyatt Riverwalk) to obtain a refund. Stays at other properties will not be reimbursed for the hotel portion.
- You must make your own arrangements.
A summary of the events follows.
On Sunday night (7/17/22) registration will be held from 5:30 to 7:00 pm in the hospitality suite. (Entertainer suite, Room 116). Drinks and light food will be provided to all who have registered. Hosts Eric and Jenny Moore, aided by Toby Turcotte, will be working hard to ensure you enjoy the suite.
On Monday morning we will have our welcome breakfast in the Chula Vista room starting at 8:00 am which will include a welcome to San Antonio speaker. At 10:00 am the spouse/friends tour will begin on the Riverwalk and the MCA business meeting will start in the Rio Grande East room.
This year our spouse/friends tour will start with a river barge picking you up on the Riverwalk behind our hotel. From there you will be given a narrated tour up to the Pearl District where there are historic shops and restaurants. Once at the Pearl there will be another narrated tour of the area, followed by lunch at the Southerleigh restaurant inside the Emma Hotel. Following lunch and time permitting there may be free time to browse the shops in the area. This will conclude with a ride back to the hotel in an air-conditioned bus. You can elect to stay and obtain your own transportation back to the hotel. which is less than a 10-minute drive.
Monday evening will be a free night for everyone. The hospitality suite will be open for socializing and any food or drinks that remain will be available.
Our annual social event will be held at the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum on Tuesday night from 5:30 to 9:30. The Buckhorn contains an eclectic mix of exhibits along with a saloon. We will have a card shark and a person doing rope tricks along with a line dance instructor for some group fun. Cocktail hour is from 5:30 – 6:30, followed by a buffet dinner. You are welcome to tour the museum at any time.
On Wednesday our farewell lunch will be at 12:30 in the Chula Vista room.
On Tuesday and Wednesday breakfast will be provided to chemists in the meeting room starting at 7:00. A light breakfast will be available in the hospitality suite from 9:00 – 10:00 for spouses/friends.
Additional information will be available in the brochure issued during registration.
Our website contains links to register and book a room. www.marinechemistassociation.com
As far as technical topics for the chemists this will be an instrument seminar with manufacturers presenting on their portable gas detection instrumentation. A draft schedule follows.
Monday, July 18, 2022
- 0800-1000 Welcome Breakfast
- 1000-1200 MCA Business Meeting
- 1200-1430 Insurance Luncheon
- 1430-1445 OSHA Overview (TBD)
- 1500-1515 Marine Gas Hazard Control Program Overview (Joe Cox)
- 1515-1530 Marine Chemist Qualification Board Overview (Terry Guidry)
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
- Chemist Breakfast 0700-0800
Instrument Manufacturer Presentations
- 0800-0900 Drager Portable Instrumentation (Jason Godfrey)
- 0915-1015 Honeywell Portable Instrumentation (Yan Kublo)
- 1030-1130 MSA Portable Instrumentation (Chris Stark)
- 1130-1230 Lunch on your own.
- 1230-1330 Industrial Scientific Portable Instrumentation (Dave Wagner)
- 1345-1445 RKI Portable Instrumentation (Kevin Wilson)
- 1500 – 1600 GFG Portable Instrumentation (Bob Henderson)
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
- Chemist Breakfast 0700-0800
- 0800-1000 Portable Instrumentation Sensor Interferences (Bob Henderson)
- 1015-1115 Alternative Marine Fuels (Joshua Padeti , ABS)
April 24, 2022 BOD Meeting Summary
Your BOD is as follows;
- Executive Committee (BOD)
- Michael Schmidt, Chairman, Term expires 7/22
- Brian Axelrad, Past Chairman, Term expires 7/22
- Philip Giles, Chairman Elect, Term expires 7/22
- Donald Raffo, Secretary/Treasurer
- Board of Directors (BOD)
- Peter Raffo, Atlantic, Term expires 7/22
- Austin Montanti, Atlantic, Term expires 7/23
- Bryan Berna, Pacific, Term expires 7/23
- Vince Pempeit, Pacific, Term expires 7/22
- Tom Govey, Gulf, Term expires 7/22
- Toby Turcotte, Gulf, Term expires 7/23 (absent)
- Guests
- Larry Russell
- Future Sectional Alternate Directors (Not present)
- Lucas Kuebler, term starts 7/22 after annual meeting
- Brent Campbell, term starts 7/22 after annual meeting
- Brian Axelrad, term starts 7/22 after annual meeting
- Pacific alternate Jeff Hanson
- Atlantic alternate Robert Albert
- Gulf/Inland alternate Gary Snell
Member Comment Period at Meetings
The BOD has shifted from virtual to in person meetings. All regular members are welcome to attend. At the start of each meeting time will be provided to members who wish to address the board. There will be a 3 to 5 minute time limit per speaker. A sign up will be available prior to all meetings.
