From the Desk of Richard Putnicki, Executive Director, RMEL

RMEL’s Olympic-Size Offerings – There’s Something for You
There’s “snow” doubt about it…RMEL members are off to a gold-medal start! Sorry!  I couldn’t resist the Winter Olympics pun. It is great to see our events get off to such a solid start. A true gold medal performance with 162 attendees converging in January at the Introduction to the Electric Utility Workshop and Physical and Cyber Security Conference. By the way, special thanks to SRP for helping us host the security event in Phoenix! We always enjoy the opportunity to take our events to our member regions.  Please keep that in mind as you look at your training needs for the rest of 2018 and years to come.   

RMEL Power Play Events Continue This Spring
Next on the calendar, we have our first Safety Roundtable of the year. Thank you Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association for hosting the event on February 23rd. Will Schnyer and Kevin Ripplinger from Western Area Power Administration will kick off the roundtable with a discussion on safety during the Hurricane Irma restoration efforts in St. Thomas. Following the presentation, we will start our roundtable in an open forum discussing the challenges associated with emergency response, followed by the attendees sharing best practices and new programs. Our forum also provides the opportunity to inquire with our attendees on various safety challenges we are faced with in our industry. A former colleague used to tell me, “All of us are better than any one of us!” Please take this opportunity to put our heads together to help find solutions to the challenges we face.

March is when we really get technical, starting with the Power Supply Planning and Projects Conference and Roundtable, March 7-8, to explore current trends, relevant projects and market perspectives of our changing industry. The following week we have the Transmission Planning and Operations Conference, covering planning and project management best practices for operations, reliability and regulatory compliance, March 14-15. Then we’ll look at industry best practices for emerging technologies during the Distribution Overhead and Underground Operations and Maintenance Conference, March 21-22. Safety is paramount in the power industry. It holds no boundaries. No rank. It is not a sometime thing. Safety must be at the forefront in everything we do. Everyone's a Leader, and the 2018 RMEL Safety Conference, March 28-29, will dive into the challenges we face today and safety best practices. I would encourage you to click on the links to get a more detailed summary of our events. The RMEL Section Education Committees, comprised of our membership, keep the content relevant and current. Hats off to them for the work and contribution they provide. Please keep up the good work, everyone! 

First-of-its-Kind RMEL Collaboration to Bring You the Distribution Line Design Workshop You’ve Been Looking For
Look for more details soon on a brand-new RMEL offering…the Best Practices in Overhead Distribution Line Design Workshop is coming to Colorado April 23-26. The Association for Utility Line Design Professionals, also known as UtilityLDPros, in collaboration with RMEL and Collaborative Learning, Inc., is offering a comprehensive, 4-day line design training program that you won’t want to miss. Space is limited to ensure a quality learning experience. We will make sure to keep you all posted as we firm up exact details, and you can sign up for updates about this class here.

Nominate Your First-Place Emerging Leader for an Award - Help Them Reach the Peak of Their Potential
RMEL’s Emerging Leader Award nomination deadline is February 28, 2018. This industry is not short on challenges, and as your team stays nimble and gets the job done – who is the person that really takes it to the next level? The RMEL Awards Program is not just about the award – this program provides an important acknowledgement for your staff as you build your leadership pipeline. The esteemed group of Emerging Leader Award recipients are a valued and respected group at RMEL, and we look for opportunities to engage current and past winners every year to help them meet their potential. For example, 2018 winners, along with past winners, will be invited to a strategy session with 2018 keynote speaker, Kirk Lippold, Former Commander of the USS Cole. This has been an exciting benefit for Emerging Leader Award winners with 2016 keynote speaker Mark Eaton, former NBA All Star, and 2017 keynote speaker Tom Osborne, Former Head Football Coach and Athletic Director, University of Nebraska. Make sure your organization and your best emerging leaders are part of this group.

Keynote Presentations to Give You an Edge at RMEL’s Spring and Fall Signature Events
As RMEL members complete a dynamic line-up of 25+ presentations for the Spring Management, Engineering and Operations Conference, we are excited to announce that Kirk Lippold, Former Commander of the USS Cole, will set a focused and inspirational tone as the 2018 Spring Conference Keynote Speaker. He was in command of the USS Cole when it was targeted by a deadly al Qaeda terrorist attack in 2000, 11 months before 9/11. His team training prior to the attack and unflappable leadership after galvanized his crew to action, resulting in lives and the ship being saved.

The Fall Executive Leadership and Management Convention gives senior leaders a unique opportunity to strategize about industry vital issues of today and what the power industry will look like in 5, 10 and maybe even 30 years from now. Futurist Jim Carroll is going to help you ride critical fast-paced trends in order to achieve dramatic market success. Carroll is one of the world’s leading global futurism, trends and innovation experts, with a massive global blue chip client list that ranges from NASA to the PGA, Disney to Johnson & Johnson, the Swiss Innovation Forum to the National Australia Bank. Over the last 20 years, more than 2 million people have shared his insight with his events on stage, taking in his ability to inspire audiences through a combination of deep insight, on-stage humor and motivational guidance, all grounded in deep observations on future trends.

Special Thanks to a Couple of RMEL Friends
And finally, I wish to express my most sincere appreciation to two Board Directors that have retired.  Anthony Montoya, WAPA,  and Jon Hansen, OPPD, retired from their respective utilities at the end of December, leaving the RMEL Board.  I had the opportunity to work closely with each, as both served as RMEL President (Montoya in 2015-16; Hansen in 2016-17). Tony served the RMEL membership as a Board Director since 2009, and Jon since 2010, over sixteen years of collective RMEL Board experience. On behalf of the RMEL Board, the RMEL staff, and our membership, thank you both for the dedication and commitment to the industry and RMEL. Your contributions will be forever felt! We only wish you the best as you embark on the new chapter of your life! Thank you for a job well done!

With the loss, comes a new beginning. On behalf of the RMEL membership, I wish to welcome Dawn Roth Lindell (Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer, WAPA), and Lisa Olson (VP, Public Affairs, OPPD) to fill the terms of the departing Directors. We are excited to have you on board and look forward to future continued success. 

Go Team USA, and Thank You for Powering Athletes and all Americans
As the 2018 Winter Olympic Opening Ceremonies are igniting exciting competition on the world stage in South Korea, I hope you all take pride in the electric grid that stands solid behind the powerhouse that is Team USA.

Thank you for the service you all provide! We are very privileged to host this forum for your continued sharing with each other as you drive excellence at your company and for the entire industry.