TWO SETS OF TWINS
Larry Good, CEM
AEE Director of International Development

AEE has many international chapters now, and a few of them are "twinned" with American chapters. This short report highlights two successful, international twins I visited this year.

1. Armenian + National Capital Chapters (NCC) The Armenian Chapter celebrated its 5th anniversary by conducting the 2nd Armenian International Energy Conference. Foreign delegates from Syria, the US, Kazakhstan, England and the Republic of Georgia presented papers. The Georgian presence was heavy, with all three Georgian AEE chapters represented.

Four Presidents in the Caucasus Mountains - from left:
Otar Vezirishvili, Georgian Chapter President
Jemal Kikava, Ajarian AEE Chapter President
Zohrab Melikyan, Armenian Chapter President
Larry Good, AEE Director of International Development
Gia Chakvetadze, West Georgian Chapter President

Zohrab Melikyan leads the Armenian Chapter's 86 members. Most are Certified Energy Managers (CEMs). This was the first AEE chapter in the former Soviet bloc founded without USAID assistance. Formation was a grass roots effort with modest financial help from NCC in the first three years. Since then, the Armenians have won awards for Overall Chapter Performance (1998), Best Chapter Program, International (1999) and Best Overall Performance, International (2000).

2. Cluj Napoca + Baltimore Chapters Just last fall, at the AEE World Energy Engineering Congress, the Baltimore Chapter and the Cluj Napoca Chapter struck up a friendship and decided to twin. Cluj is a major city in northern Romania in the area historically known as Transylvania. Few spots in the world are richer in folklore. The Cluj Chapter is a dynamo of activity, constantly training local energy professionals and aggressively pursuing business opportunities. The key founders, Vasile Grasin and Georgetta Padureanu never rest. This chapter needs no help forming, so the Romanians and Baltimorians are considering other activity options that will benefit both.

Cluj Napoca Chapter Officers; President Vasile Grasin (2nd from r.)

More international chapters are forming. The latest initiatives are in Singapore and Hong Kong. They would welcome American sister chapters. To inquire, contact Barbara Stroup at barbara@aeecenter.org or me at lgood@erols.com. Think globally.