AFE July/August 2012 : Page 29

AFE SPOTLIGHT DENNY HYDRICK BY TALISA THOMAS-HALL, WITH BRENCY BERMUDEZ AND ALYSSA KNOSKIE FE interviews Denny Hydrick, CPMM, CFM, Facilities Operations Manager for Lockheed Mar-tin. Denny presently serves as AFE Region 1 Vice President and Facilities America (FA) Education Forum 2012 Planning Chair. DH: Washington, D.C. is the epicenter of the United States even if it’s not the geographical center. Th is is where the ‘movers and shakers’ reside…the folks who can determine in some measure how our careers play out. We need a presence here and this event will help make our name recognizable in this important area. Th e activities we have planned involving government offi cials would not have been possible had we met in any other venue. Lastly, there are many, many places of interest we can visit while in the city. AFE: What are some of the conference’s highlights? DH: (Laughing)…To me the entire event is a highlight. I think each portion is just as important as the next. Some folks will defi nitely say the tour I mentioned previously is a highlight… others the educational opportunities. Yet others will say it is networking and/or speaking and learning from our vendors. Th e highlights are up to each individual. AFE: How does FA Education Forum 2012 differ from past shows? DH: Logistically speaking, FA Education Forum 2012 is no dif-ferent than others. We will have vendors exhibiting, presenters presenting and old friends getting together socially. It diff ers some-what in that we are focusing on educational programming more so than trade show exhibits. However, by having a few select exhibi-tors, we’ve managed to provide product education as well, through our Solutions Expo. AFE is purposely keeping this event smaller, thus more intimate and easier to navigate. Th is venue, the Crystal City Hilton, off ers the perfect footprint. We will have events on diff erent fl oors stacked above each other, so a simple elevator ride or a walk up/down a stairway will allow attendees quick access to a meeting or presentation they want to attend. AFE: Following FA, what do you recommend to members to help them stay connected and maximize the value of their AFE membership? A AFE: As this year’s FA Education Forum Planning Committee Chair, what are your expectations for the conference? Denny Hydrick (DH): First and foremost, I want to welcome everyone to FA Education Forum 2012. AFE is more than just a member organization. We are a community of professionals who share an interest in healthy facilities engineering and operations. When attendees and exhibitors arrive at FA, I want them to feel welcome in this community. My expectation is that this educational forum will be a suc-cess — not necessarily quantifi ed by profi t/loss, but rather by the learning experience of the attendees. Th is includes the networking opportunities they take advantage of and the excitement of the planned extracurricular activities, such as the tour of the Smithson-ian’s Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. I believe this success can be measured by comments made by the attendees and exhibitors that are sure to be overheard during the three-day event. We are entertaining an exit survey for this very purpose. Obviously, I’d like to see every person in attendance come away saying, “We want to do this again next year!” But just as obvious are the intrinsic gains in knowledge of topics germane to our ca-reers and in new products/methods showcased by our fi ne exhibi-tors. On a personal level, I’d like to see our member-attendees meet and converse with our national staff , directors and other national offi cers. Th is is a great way for them to feel they are “part of the team,” to see how these folks are just like they are, and how easy and enjoyable it is to volunteer to make AFE better for us all. AFE: In the recent past, FA was hosted in Las Vegas. What benefi t is there to bringing the conference to the Washington, D.C. area? July | August 2012 ■ Facilities Engineering Journal ■ www.AFE.org 29

AFE Spotlight

Talisa Thomas-Hall

DENNY HYDRICK AFE interviews Denny Hydrick, CPMM, CFM, Facilities Operations Manager for Lockheed Martin. Denny presently serves as AFE Region 1 Vice President and Facilities America (FA) Education Forum 2012 Planning Chair. AFE: As this year’s FA Education Forum Planning Committee Chair, what are your expectations for the conference? Denny Hydrick (DH): First and foremost, I want to welcome everyone to FA Education Forum 2012. AFE is more than just a member organization. We are a community of professionals who share an interest in healthy facilities engineering and operations. When attendees and exhibitors arrive at FA, I want them to feel welcome in this community. My expectation is that this educational forum will be a success — not necessarily quantified by profit/loss, but rather by the learning experience of the attendees. This includes the networking opportunities they take advantage of and the excitement of the planned extracurricular activities, such as the tour of the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. I believe this success can be measured by comments made by the attendees and exhibitors that are sure to be overheard during the three-day event. We are entertaining an exit survey for this very purpose. Obviously, I’d like to see every person in attendance come away saying, “We want to do this again next year!” But just as obvious are the intrinsic gains in knowledge of topics germane to our careers and in new products/methods showcased by our fine exhibitors. On a personal level, I’d like to see our member-attendees meet and converse with our national staff , directors and other national officers. This is a great way for them to feel they are “part of the team,” to see how these folks are just like they are, and how easy and enjoyable it is to volunteer to make AFE better for us all. AFE: In the recent past, FA was hosted in Las Vegas. What benefit is there to bringing the conference to the Washington, D.C. area? DH: Washington, D.C. is the epicenter of the United States even if it’s not the geographical center. This is where the ‘movers and shakers’ reside…the folks who can determine in some measure how our careers play out. We need a presence here and this event will help make our name recognizable in this important area. The activities we have planned involving government officials would not have been possible had we met in any other venue. Lastly, there are many, many places of interest we can visit while in the city. AFE: What are some of the conference’s highlights? DH: (Laughing)…To me the entire event is a highlight. I think each portion is just as important as the next. Some folks will definitely say the tour I mentioned previously is a highlight… others the educational opportunities. Yet others will say it is networking and/or speaking and learning from our vendors. The highlights are up to each individual. AFE: How does FA Education Forum 2012 differ from past shows? DH: Logistically speaking, FA Education Forum 2012 is no different than others. We will have vendors exhibiting, presenters presenting and old friends getting together socially. It differs somewhat in that we are focusing on educational programming more so than trade show exhibits. However, by having a few select exhibitors, we’ve managed to provide product education as well, through our Solutions Expo. AFE is purposely keeping this event smaller, thus more intimate and easier to navigate. This venue, the Crystal City Hilton, offers the perfect footprint. We will have events on different floors stacked above each other, so a simple elevator ride or a walk up/down a stairway will allow attendees quick access to a meeting or presentation they want to attend. AFE: Following FA, what do you recommend to members to help them stay connected and maximize the value of their AFE membership? DH: My message is always the same: for any member of any organization to maximize the value he or she receives by belonging is to GET INVOLVED! The old adage, “You get out of an organization what you put in” is so true. This is why I said earlier that I’d like to see the attendees gain a “belonging to the team” attitude about AFE. That can be done, or at least incubated, by meeting the national officers and speaking to them. Get to know them and share some of their excitement for volunteering and knowing that they are making a difference in the association. The local chapters are the lifeblood of the association and most need volunteers. It really doesn’t take much time and the rewards are great. AFE: You are an active volunteer in AFE. What do you personally gain from staying involved? How has it helped you professionally? DH: Even though I was exhorting our readers in the previous answer to get involved, I realize that not all personalities are such that one can volunteer easily. I have the opposite personality. All my life I’ve gone “all in” in any organization I’ve belonged to. Even though I’m sure I’ve not succeeded many times, I still feel that I can make a difference. I like meeting people and learning as much as I can from each acquaintance. At this stage of my life and career, I feel that AFE is the organization that can help me the most and thus, it is the organization I choose to devote much of my non-working time to. Yes, belonging to AFE, getting a CPMM certification and being seen by my peers and supervision as holding several positions in AFE has definitely helped me professionally. I am looking forward to retirement in less than a year and am excited to be able to devote even more time to AFE. Denny Hydrick is the Facilities Operation Manager for Lockheed Martin IS and GS-ENS. He has held his Certified Plant Maintenance Manager (CPMM) credentials since 2002 and has been an active AFE member since 2001. During this time Hydrick has served as president of the AFE Philadelphia Chapter, Region 1 vice president; presented sessions at FA, and has participated on or chaired numerous AFE committees. Talisa Thomas-Hall is AFE senior director of membership and operations. One of her primary responsibilities is to serve as the staff liaison to chapters and regions. She can be reached at 571-203- 7236 or via email at Tthomashall@afe.org. Brency Bermudez is an upcoming freshman at the University of Mary Washington. She wants to double major in business administration and psychology. Afterward she plans to continue her education to receive her master of business administration (MBA). Alyssa Knoskie is a junior at a Northern New Jersey high school. After high school she wishes to continue her postsecondary education and pursue a career in psychiatry.

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