Message from the Chair

I would like to take this time to welcome you to the Holston Section of ASME Website and/or monthly Newsletter.  My name is Chris S. Slaughter and I am the incoming Chairman of the Holston Section of ASME.  I am a 1990 graduate of Tennessee Technological University and Professional Engineer in Tennessee and South Carolina.   I am employed by Eastman Chemical Company, since 2002, and an ASME member since 1991.  I have held four (4) chair positions and two (2) executive positions within Holston Section and attended two (2) LTC and two (2) Section F Meeting.  I am married with two daughters, one a sophomore in college and the other a sophomore in high school.

The Holston Section has been serving several counties in Upper East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia since 1967 as a full section of ASME and has continued to provide leadership opportunities, industry tours, Professional Development Courses, and monthly meetings as venues to promote the Mechanical Engineering profession.  As Chairman of the Holston Section for 2009-2010, I expect to continue in the footsteps laid down by those who traveled the road before me.  ASME is ever changing, but the Holston Section will continue to provide a stable foothold to my fellow Mechanical Engineers.

Locally, the Holston Section  hold 5 or 6 Monthly meetings at either Lunch and Dinner.  Our goal is provide an interesting technical topic, given by an expert in a variety of fields of which may relate directly or indirectly to Mechanical Engineering.  The Holston Section also organizes low cost Professional Development Courses each year to promote education and advancement in the Mechanical Engineering field.  We also promote the science and engineering field to local high school students via our Educational Initiatives program which awards grants to middle school and high school teachers.  We also plan to hold the 4th Annual Egg Drop Competition in the spring.  Each year, the Egg Drop has increased in participation and excitement with over 150 drops (teams and individual) combined.  Holston Section has also endowed scholarship at Northeast Tennessee for pre-Engineering Students.

The Holston Section meetings, Professional Development Courses, and Industry Tours are open to all interested parties (engineers or non-engineers).   Typically meetings and tours are free, unless a meal is provided and Professional Development Hour (PDH) Certificates are handed out to ASME members at no cost, but available to all other for a nominal $5 fee.  Keep an eye on our updated Website to see the next exciting topic of industry tour coming up each month.

If anyone is interested in becoming more involved in ASME, in the local section or nationally, feel free to contact me at cslaughter@eastman.com or my office phone (423) 229-5287.  We are always looking for new and interested ME’s.  We look forward to having another successful year with ASME and the Holston Section.