Local section visits
By Kevin Delaney, STLE President | TLT President's Report December 2025
STLE is making a concerted effort to be more relevant to its local sections through site visits.
One of the things I get to do as president is visit local sections. I was formerly involved with the leadership of the STLE Connecticut Section, but unfortunately it has not held meetings for quite some time. STLE has several active sections, some of which I will be visiting during my tenure, and I recently attended the “new” STLE Pacific Northwest Section for their meeting in Seattle. I put “new” in quotes because it is a combination of the former Seattle and Tacoma sections with some added areas. Both of them were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and this was the first either of them have had a section meeting in five years. Post-COVID, STLE Sections have adapted in different ways. Some have primarily virtual meetings, some have hybrid meetings with in-person and remote attendees, some have changed the dates and times and some have just resumed their regular schedule. The point is that they (and we) have survived, and it is evident that there is still a need for the interchange of information and ideas that the society provides.
As I mentioned in a previous TLT column, we are making a concerted effort to be more relevant to sections, and this is an example of that effort starting to pay off.
As part of the visit, the STLE Executive Committee made site visits to Boeing and PACCAR. Our intent was to hopefully increase participation from OEMs. Our membership demographics will benefit by adding people from companies like these, and the fact that they are present should also increase interest from companies that supply them. Members can benefit from insights that OEMs provide, whether from research and unmet needs or collaboration opportunities. I am happy to say that we have since added Boeing as an OEM member.
The section and OEM visits took place over several days in the Seattle area. I had no idea that Seattle was a hilly city—I complained a lot about the uphill walking. It seemed like wherever we went for dinner, etc., it was always downhill going and uphill returning. I think they need cable cars like San Francisco. That being said, it was a very picturesque place.
I will be visiting several more sections in the coming months, and I look forward to hearing more about how STLE headquarters can make their volunteer jobs easier, help us to become more relevant to people in the industries we touch upon and ultimately increase membership.
Kevin Delaney is global sales director for the Petroleum Group at Vanderbilt Chemicals, LLC, based in Norwalk, Conn. You can reach him at kdelaney@vanderbiltchemicals.com.