BECKMAN ON BOARD!

Q&A with the New Secretary of the NETA Board

Congratulations to our Vice President of Operations Eric Beckman who earlier this year was elected to the board of directors of NETA and who has subsequently been elevated to the position of Secretary.

Q: How did you find out NETA was interested in having you as a board member?
A: It was a phone call from the chair of the committee in charge of appointing new board members.

Q: How did you feel when you got that call?
A: Really good! NETA is such a highly respected organization, to be asked to a part of that board is a pretty high honor.

Q: So you didn't have to think too long?
A: No, not really. It was pretty much a no-brainer.

Q: What do you think drew them to you?
A: I've made it a point over the last year or two to become more involved with NETA so that National Field Services is viewed as experts in the industry and to show that we like to give back to the testing industry. I participated in anything they needed volunteers for. I volunteered as a subject-matter expert reviewing and writing questions when they were revamping their technican certification testing.

Q: Speaking of which, you are one of the few NETA Level IV certified technicians in the industry, and one of two here at National Field Services, right?
A: Now that Ross Smelley has retired, I am the only one. We need to get some more!

Q: How do you see NETA changing in the years ahead?
A: I see NETA as a whole becoming much larger and more spreading the word about NETA to engineering, consulting and construction firms who aren't aware that there are standards out there for electrical testing. I also see a lot more involvement from younger generations.

Q: What would you say to younger colleagues about NETA?
A: Get certified. I'm always trying to promote to younger guys that you can do the job for however long and gain experience, but once you have those credentials no one can take them away from you. If somebody comes across as a NETA Level III certified technician, pretty much everybody in the industry has an understanding of where that person fits in terms of technical expertise. A NETA certification is the best identifier of where your expertise is at what we do.

Return to Fall 2016 Field Notes