NDT 2000
Association

Annoucements

The 50th Anniversary of the Canadian Forces, Non-Destructive Testing division was held July 3rd to July 5th, 2009 at SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary, Alberta. This event was a tremendous success, largely due to the efforts of George Gavelis, former Canadian Forces member and current senior instructor at SAIT. Thank you George, your efforts ensured that this was an enjoyable event for everyone.

George spent over a year getting the details of this event in place. He paid attention to even the tiniest detail to the most visible component to ensure that it went without a glitch. He insisted on having it the first week of July to coincide with the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the Calgary Stampede. He wanted the reunion to be fun for everyone and thought that the Stampede would make it even more memorable for the out-of-town visitors. Many attendees did take the opportunity to make a memorable week long holiday that included the reunion and the Stampede.

George spent tireless hours organizing registration, accommodations, entertainment, bus tours, the Tech show, food and venue. All these preparations paid off and the event was successful, as apparent by all the smiles, laughs and good times. Many attendees had not seen each other for some time and they enjoyed the opportunity to reminisce and catch up on recent events. One highlight of the evening, which got everyone laughing, was when George almost got hung by the gunslingers. Once he was able to get out of that, he transformed into Elvis and sang us a song. Maybe it was the other way around, George sang then the gunfighters tried to hang him. George, perhaps it would be safer for you to stick to NDT instruction instead of Elvis impersonations.

Throughout the time that George was arranging all the details for this event, I received record numbers of e-mails and had multitude of conversations surrounding the progress of the arrangements. The success of the event made all those calls and e-mails worth it, but George, you can’t arrange the next reunion.

Lastly, I would like to thank all who attended and the volunteers that took their time to make the final details flow so seamlessly. I would also like to extend a special thank you to Bernard Coles for being such a key player in making NDT what it is in this country. None of this could have happened without all attendees, volunteers and of course George. Thank you George.



Tracey Cunningham
NDT, Manager of Operations
SAIT Polytechnic