ASHRAE Journal - August 2022 - 11

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
(Above) My father and me in 1971. (Right) I was
the chief engineer of the InterContinental Hotel
in Dhaka in what was then East Pakistan.
me. He charged me with restoring the damage from the
bombing. I promised him that I would, on the condition
that, once I had fi nished the job, I would be transferred.
He agreed. As part of the plan, I immediately sent my
family ahead, along with our possessions, while I worked
on the restoration project. Upon fi nishing my work, I
joined my family in West Pakistan.
In the weeks that followed, civil war ensued and many
of the West Pakistanis who did not leave East Pakistan
ended up in prison and many were
killed. Refl ecting back on that experience,
I can see the series of events that
were critical in securing my personal
and professional future.
First, it was relationships. Over the
years, I fostered diverse and trusted
relationships within both East and
West Pakistan. Second, it was knowledge.
Because of those diverse and
trusted relationships that I had
formed, I had access to important,
accurate, and relevant information. This insight pointed
me in one direction: to get out. Third, it was change.
Ultimately, the relationships and knowledge weren't
enough. I had to act. That required a willingness to
embrace change and get me and my family to safety.
Securing the Future of ASHRAE
The same strategy that secured my family and me in
1971 will secure the future of ASHRAE going forward.
It's imperative that we foster diverse and trusted relationships
within our Society and with our associate societies
and industry. We need to arm ourselves with the
knowledge that comes from seeking important, accurate
and relevant information about our industry and the
world around us. We must be willing to embrace change
to ensure we do more than just survive-that we thrive.
We are experiencing times of great change. Over the
last two years, everyone on the planet has been impacted
by the COVID pandemic on many
levels, and it is unlikely that this era
of unpredictability is going to go away
anytime soon. The pandemic has
upended our lives and accelerated
change in how we live, work, shop and
even dress.
My fi rst wife, Shaheda, and our three sons.
But the future does not belong to
those who sit and watch. A meaningful
and powerful future will not come to
us. Instead, we must collectively seek
it, create it and secure it. And that's
what we'll do because that's who we are-this is in our
ASHRAE DNA.
ASHRAE was born out of a realization that a platform
for the exchange of ideas and experiences among
HVAC&R professionals was needed for the profession
to fl ourish. This, along with having the ability to fund
and conduct independent research was essential to
develop, validate and disseminate technical knowledge.
This was central to the success of our members
A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 ashrae.o rg ASHRAE JOURNAL
11
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ASHRAE Journal - August 2022

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