Carlson’s Election to Board of Trustees, Service Awards Highlight Meeting

The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors held its Members’ Meeting on October 7-10 at the Training and Conference Center at NBBI headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.

Mike Carlson, chief boiler inspector for the state of Washington, was elected as the newest member of the NBBI Board of Trustees. Carlson will complete the Member at Large term of retired New York chief Matt Sansone, with his tenure set to expire in May 2026.

Mike Carlson (center) is pictured alongside NBBI Executive Director Joel Amato and NBBI Board of Trustees Chair Rob Troutt.

Several members were honored for their service. John Burpee (Maine), BOT Vice Chair and a former Chair, received his 25-year award. Ron Spiker (South Carolina) received his 15-year service award.

John Burpee

Ron Spiker

Caslav Dinic (Ontario), Steve Frazier (City of Seattle), Jeff Oliver (Nevada), Patrick Polick (Illinois), and Bill Ross (Pennsylvania) were recognized for five years of service.

Jeff Oliver, Pat Polick, and Bill Ross receive five-year awards from NBBI Executive Director Joel Amato and NBBI Board of Trustees Chair Rob Troutt.

In addition, several presentations were given.

On October 8, Christopher Cantrell, ASME senior managing director-standards and engineering services; Mark Lower, program manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a member of NBBI’s Advisory Committee; and Melissa Wadkinson, chief engineer with Fulton Thermal, provided updates from ASME.

George Galanes, NBIC Main Committee Chair, and Wadkinson, Vice Chair, provided an update on proposals currently under review or recently approved by the Main Committee.

Howard Berny, chief of Minnesota, and Ross moderated an engaging Members’ Technical Discussion.

On October 9, Lower and Ross returned to discuss ASME exemptions and efforts to update NB-131 and NB-132. 

Nate Klein and Dan Schreck of Clark-Reliance covered level indication and control equipment along with the ASME Section I requirements for power boilers.

Djordje Srnic, chief of Alberta, concluded the day by providing the latest updates to Canadian Standards Association (CSA) B51.

On October 10, Dan Hegyi, president of the Wisconsin Boiler Inspector’s Association (WBIA), discussed the role of inspector associations.

The next Members’ Meeting is May 11-14, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah.