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12 AUGUST 2017 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 56, NO. 8 VIEWPOINT Erik Olexa, Johnson, Mirmiran, & Thompson (JMT) From Doorman to Chairman: A Volunteer is Born "Sure I'll collect money at the door for the local section meeting," I said with a bit of naivete. Little did I know; those 12 simple words uttered so effortlessly would spark a 10-year career—and still counting—of volunteerism for NACE International. Unbeknownst to me, my experience as doorman lent itself perfectly for a role as member- ship chairman. I failed to see the connection at the time but in retrospect I do. You see, I was willing to do it, and that is what qualified me. After a busy year of learning and understand- ing the inner workings of NACE, and meeting a bunch of new people, my term had ended. At our last meeting of the year a vote was cast. I can't say for sure that I knew we were voting but when the officers stood side by side and everyone took a quick step back except for me, I heard the following words, "The aye's have it" and I was elected secretary of the Pittsburgh Section. After another year of serving in my new role as secretary, I began to fully grasp the benefits of volunteering for NACE, which included great networking opportunities and access to some of the brightest minds in the business. Most important to my job was that the network of folks I could call on for technical support began to grow exponentially. Elections for year three came and by now I had a vested interest in moving on. I began feeling an obligation to give back to an organization that helped provide me with a career. My time serving in a volunteer role for NACE allowed me to hold numerous titles such as chairman and trustee of the Pittsburgh Section and multiple roles on the Eastern Area Board of Trustees (where I currently serve as the incoming chairman while concurrently serving the first of many years on the NACE International Nominating Committee). Volunteering is not easy with the increased demands on our time and greater expecta- tions on our production. It has become hackneyed to say, but few companies provide the support—and even fewer employees display the will—to participate in professional societies today. That being said, I can say with great clarity that the last 10 years working as a volun- teer for NACE with all of the additional work, travel, and time investment has provided an immeasurable return on investment for myself and the companies I have served. It's a labor that has far wider implications than just a few meetings or a title. Since the days of 11 engi- neers sitting in a room trying to discern the best way to improve quality for the nation's infrastructure to today's NACE that boasts 35,000 members from 140 countries, the organi- zation has been successful because of the hard work and dedication of the volunteer. We the volunteers represent a wide range of diverse cultures and backgrounds, from engineers and academics to laborers and CEOs. We come from Japan, Venezuela, Nigeria, and Pittsburgh. We share a common goal and that is to improve quality, safety, and help mitigate the destructive properties of corrosion on our shared planet. The journey of a volunteer through NACE International is a productive one. You will learn to wear many hats helping to inf luence policy, write standards, and understand the economics of running a not-for-profit organization. Your circle of friends and colleagues will widen and your perspective will become global. The first step is always the hardest (and scariest), but it's those difficult choices and chances you take that inevitably become the most fruitful. ERIK OLEXA, CCM is the Coatings Practice Director at Johnson, Mirmiran, & Thompson (JMT) (Sparks, Maryland) where he heads the structural steel coatings division for JMT's construction management group. He is a graduate of the NACE Leadership Program and is a NACE-certified Coatings Inspector—Level 3 with Bridge Specialty. He is the incoming chairman of the NACE Eastern Area and is a voting member on NACE's Nominating Committee. Editor's note: NACE International offers a program, Volunteer Manager, that provides its members with a way to find volunteering opportunities that support the activities of the association. For more information, see p. 72 or visit volunteer.nace.org. THICKNESS MEASUREMENT OF PROTECTIVE COATINGS Coating Thickness Material Analysis Microhardness Material Testing (860)683-0781 www.fischer-technology.com info@fischer-technology.com Robust, fast and reliable For ships, bridges, off-shore plat- forms, pipelines and structures Measures in accordance with SSPC-PA2, IMO-PSPC and others From basic "readings only" to stats and detailed inspection plans Surface Profile Measurement Easy and affordable ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ Accurate and precise measurement of coating thick- ness with the Fischer FMP Series