STLE thriving after 75 years: What STLE means to me
Ken Pelczarski | TLT Career Coach May 2021
As an STLE member for 36 years, the society has contributed greatly to my business success through education and networking.
The STLE Chicago Section Past Chair’s Night, April 20, 2017. Seated from left to right: Roger Hunz, Rita Mickle, Selim Erhan and Kevin Saunderson. Standing from left to right: Frank Ressa, Ken Pelczarski, Mike Anderson, Brian Holtkamp, Richard Rush, Patrick Brutto, Lewis Rea and Paul Dacko.
I wrote a similar article to this one back in March 2020 to be published in the May 2020 TLT. Then COVID-19 arrived, the STLE 2020 Annual Meeting was canceled, the STLE 75th Anniversary celebration was postponed, the world as we knew it likely changed forever and my article never got published.
Although the STLE 2021 Annual Meeting will not take place in New Orleans, the good news is that an outstanding program has been planned for a virtual conference, May 17-20. STLE continues to celebrate its 75th Anniversary in many significant ways, and I have decided to rewrite my article a year later with some modifications. I also will be describing what STLE has meant to me on a personal level.
First, I would like to congratulate STLE on this milestone. After being founded in 1944 as the American Society of Lubrication Engineers (ASLE)—keeping this identity until 1987—STLE planned its official 75th Anniversary celebration to begin March 3, 2019, and culminate on May 5, 2020 (during the STLE Annual Meeting in Chicago that was eventually canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). To further clarify, STLE is having its 75th Annual Meeting virtually, May 17-20, and also is celebrating the 77th Anniversary of its founding in March 2021 (two different years went without annual meetings because of WWII and COVID-19).
Many special activities were planned for the Diamond Anniversary year in 2020, including at the STLE Annual Meeting in Chicago. The STLE 75th Anniversary Committee, chaired by STLE Past President David Scheetz, was responsible for much of this planning. I was honored and humbled to be a member of this committee along with several other past presidents, STLE headquarters staff and industry leaders including Robert Baker, Lynn Billings, Robert Bruce, Patrick Brutto, Robert Gresham, Rob Heverly, Maureen Hunter, Patrick Kilbane, Piet Lugt, Ashlie Martini, Jack McKenna and Wayne Ward.
Planned special events and activities for the Diamond Anniversary originally included some of the following (plan updates are noted in bold):
•
Three keynote speakers at the STLE 2020 Annual Meeting
(still happening at the 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting with talks and live Q&A with the speakers)
- Dr. Said Jahanmir, National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST): “How Tribology Benefits Technology and Society”
- Dr. Mike Lovell, president, Marquette University: “Inflection Point: A New Paradigm for Tribology Education”
- Dr. Kathy Wahl, Naval Research Laboratory: “Advancing Tribology – How Will We Tackle the Next 75 Years?”
•
Thirty-six-foot wall at the 2020 Annual Meeting (timeline of events, technical advances in the lubrication field, timeline of STLE’s past presidents)
(will be converted into a digital slideshow presentation for the 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting)
•
Worldwide Student Poster Contest
(was held and concluded at the 2020 Virtual Tribology Frontiers Conference last November)
•
President’s Reception at Union League Club of Chicago (site of original ASLE meetings in 1944 as well as informal meetings in 1942 before ASLE was chartered)
(event canceled)
•
STLE Past Presidents book for the 75th Anniversary (former society presidents tell the STLE story from their personal perspective)
(this has been published)
•
Tribology crossword puzzle
(will be in the June TLT)
•
Time capsule for STLE headquarters re-dedication of Park Ridge, Ill. Offices
(was canceled).
The founding fathers of STLE (ASLE in 1944), led by Walter D. Hodson, laid a foundation for an organization that has been bringing industry professionals together for more than 75 years to educate and to facilitate advances in the field of tribology and lubrication engineering. These individuals created a structure consisting of education, membership, governance, technical and administrative committees, publications and awards programs that remains largely in place today.
STLE continues to thrive under the leadership of executive director Ed Salek for the past 25 years. The society has consistently developed education, training and certification programs to keep pace with industry needs. STLE headquarters staff has always provided the encouragement and support to sections and individual volunteers that is necessary for success. In addition, employment longevity of many STLE staff members has had a positive effect on the stability and continuity of services and programs.
The primary reason, though, for continued success of STLE is the outstanding contributions made by countless volunteers over the past 75-plus years. These special individuals have educated and trained others, written articles, presented papers, recruited and mentored new STLE members and became officers and/or committee members at the section and/or national levels.
One of the best decisions I have ever made is to become an STLE member (behind the decision to marry my wife, Sue, of 41 years, and way ahead of my decision to become a member of the Blockbuster Video Club).
As a search consultant in the field of lubricants, when I became an STLE member in 1984, I was not sure how I would fit in and be received by sales, technical and management professionals in the lubricants industry. However, when I first started attending STLE Chicago Section meetings regularly more than 30 years ago, I was delighted to receive a warm reception by current members that helped me feel immediately like I belonged.
Since becoming an STLE member, countless opportunities have been available to me in volunteering and participating in STLE activities. Through my involvement, I have expanded my skill set, built my professional network and been able to share my ideas and experience within the lubrication community. I have invested a lot of time into STLE but feel that I have always received much more back in return.
I would like to sincerely thank STLE (and too many individuals to thank in this article) for a few personal milestones I am celebrating. These milestones include my 10th year as a TLT columnist (this is my 55th published Career Coach article), 36 years of STLE membership, 26 years of STLE volunteering at the local section and national levels and 26 consecutive years of attending STLE Annual Meetings (through Nashville 2019). Education and networking through STLE also have contributed greatly to my business success and being able to celebrate my 36-year anniversary in March 2021 as owner/founder of Pelichem Associates.
My wife, Sue, the most important person in my life, has been 100% supportive of my STLE participation from the very beginning. She has enjoyed attending a few local section meetings, a couple of annual meetings and a number of social outings over the years, but most of all seems to relish the satisfaction I get out of attending STLE functions on my own (perhaps she values time away from me more than I realize).
With self-deprecating humor, Groucho Marx once famously proclaimed, “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.” In all seriousness and contrary to Marx’s philosophy, I do want to belong to any club or society, especially STLE, that would be so welcoming to me as a new member and offer unlimited opportunities to grow personally and professionally.
Here’s to the next 75 years!
Ken Pelczarski is owner and founder of Pelichem Associates, a Chicago-based search firm established in 1985 and specializing in the lubricants industry. You can reach Ken at (630) 960-1940 or at pelichem@aol.com.