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The first New England Quality Control Conference was held Thursday, January 22, 1948, at the Boston City Club. It was sponsored by the Boston, Hartford, Western Massachusetts, and Southern Connecticut sections of what was then the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) and the Boston Chapter S.A.M. There were four clinics each with four speakers and a luncheon and dinner speaker.
The second conference was held in Boston in conjunction with the second National ASQC conference.
The officers of these early conferences were:
Other pioneers were (according to Mr. Goldthwait's memory):
Dorian Shainan, Warren Purcell, Len Seder, Cliff Kennedy, Ed Harrington, Bob Jones, Bill Carter, Warren Grosjean, Chester Hoffman, Bob Selig, Bill Adam, Charles Hudson, Erv Schiesel, and Forrest Fales
The third annual conference was held in conjunction with the third annual convention of ASQC at the Copley-Plaza Hotel, Boston, May 5 and 6, 1949. There were four series with twenty speakers. The afternoon of the 6th was occupied by clinics and round table discussions.
In 1950 the fourth conference was held at the Hotel Kimball, in Springfield, MA. The dates were November 4 and 5. Mr. G. H. Cassady of U. S. Rubber was the chairman. There were twenty sessions and fifty-two exhibitors. The six sections sponsoring were: Boston, Southern Connecticut, New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Hartford.
On Friday and Saturday, November 9 and 10, 1951, Bridgeport, CT, was the scene of the fifth conference, whose theme was "Yankee Ingenuity in Quality Control." The general chairman was Mr. E. E. Schiesel. There were three series on Friday and four on Saturday.
By 1952 the conference had nine sponsoring sections, Albany, Buzzard's Bay, and Worcester having been added. This sixth conference was held in Worcester, MA, on the 3rd and 4th of October. Mr. A. U. Sternloff was chairman. There were four series with twenty speakers and an educational program.
The New England Quality Control Council was formed on September 3, 1953, at a meeting held in conjunction with the annual banquet of the University of Connecticut Statistical Quality Control Institute.
The Council was created to act as a continuing body between conferences.
The second meeting of the Council was held on November 5, 1953 during the seventh conference at Providence, RI.
The officers elected were:
At this meeting the Council designated Albany as the site of the eighth conference in 1954 and Hartford was granted permission to host the ninth conference in 1955.
Providence, RI, was the host section for the seventh conference on November 5, 6, and 7, 1953. Mr. C. W. Kennedy was chairman. The program consisted of four tracks with eighteen speakers, an educational program with four instructors and a panel discussion on the subject of Quality Control Administration.
By 1954 the conference had twelve sponsoring sections, the new sections being Burlington, Mid-Hudson, and New Haven. The conference was held in Albany, NY, on October 21, 22, and 23. Mr. R. R. Jones was the general chairman. The program for this, the eighth New England Conference, had four tracks with twenty-two speakers and an educational track. It also featured an all day seminar on the Quality Control Function.
In 1955 the ninth conference was held on November 4, and 5 in Hartford, CT.
The co-chairmen were George Selig and Chester Hoffman. There were four series of five sessions and seminars on Management, Vendor Relations, and Quality Control and Marketing.
In 1956 R. Shaw Goldthwait was elected chairman of the Council. Mr. Carl 0. Bauman was elected secretary and Mr. Samuel A. Oliva was elected treasurer. These officers served through 1959.
The host section for the tenth conference was Western Massachusetts. The conference was held in Springfield, MA, on October 4 and 5, 1956, under Chairman C. W. Carter. Records show that there were five hundred twenty registrants.
On October 17 and 18, 1957, Southern Connecticut was the host of the eleventh conference, under the guidance of Chairman Howard Levenson. There were four full tracks, two seminars, and thirty-six speakers.
Fred C. Hartwell was chairman when Pittsfield held the twelfth conference, October 30 and 31, 1958. There were four tracks of eight speakers, an educational series, and a seminar on Quality Control Administration.
On November 5 and 6, 1959, the Rhode Island Section held the thirteenth conference in Providence, RI. Chairman of the event was Alpine M. Cummings, Jr.
At the Council meeting the following officers were elected for 1960-61:
Mr. Fran Olson was chairman of the fourteenth conference, which was held in Worcester, MA on October 19, 20, and 21, 1960. At the Council meeting R. Shaw Goldthwait, Carl W. Nickerson and Douglas A. Slingerland were re-elected.
Hartford was the scene of the fifteenth conference on October 26 and 27, 1961. Mr. Kenneth Martin, Jr. was conference chairman. Twenty-seven speakers presented a well-balanced program.
The Merrimack Valley Section was admitted to the Council on October 26, 1961. The council officers were re-elected.
The conference returned to Boston, MA on October 24, 25, and 26, 1962, when Mr. Shant Chebookjian headed the sixteenth conference.
Mr. Saul Twicken was chairman of the seventeenth conference, which was held in Poughkeepsie, NY, October 25 and 26, 1963. There were four tracks and a two-day education series on the Design of Experiments and Analysis of Variance. Upon this, the occasion of his retirement, Mr. R. Shaw Goldthwait was honored for his long service to the Council and conference.
The officers for 1963-64 were:
Chairman - Francis Olson
Vice Chairman - Douglas Slingerland
Secretary - John Sigmann
Treasurer - Shant Chebookjian
During this year the following events took place:
- The Constitution was revised and approved by all twelve sections
- The Section Services Committee was established.
- The New England Council established an award to "honor R. Shaw Goldthwait for his many years of unselfish devotion to the New England Quality Control Council." This award is now presented annually to the individual who has made a significant contribution in promoting Quality interest and activities in the North East area.
- Mr. Shant Chebookjian was the first recipient, the award being given to him at the conference dinner.
- For the sake of allocating future conferences, the Council designated five zones with the following sections in each zone:
- Albany and Pittsfield
- Rhode Island and Worcester
- Western Massachusetts and Hartford
- Southern Connecticut, New Haven, Poughkeepsie, and Danbury
- Boston, New Hampshire, and Merrimack Valley
In 1964, the eighteenth conference was hosted by the Pittsfield section. It was held at Eastover, Lenox, MA. The Administrative Applications Division, ASQC, sponsored part of the program, including an educational series. Mr. Norman W. Cheever was chairman.
The Council officers for 1965-67 were:
Chairman - Donald S. Holmes
Vice Chairman - John A. Sigmann
Secretary - Alexander J. Vincze
Treasurer - Wesley S. Gahaga
The nineteenth conference was held in Providence, RI, on October 13, 14, and 15, 1965. There were four tracks of eight sessions each.
The first Section Officer's Training Seminar was held on June 24, 1966. It was attended by seventy-nine officers.
The twentieth conference was under the direction of Chairman Lou Louraine. It was held in Chicopee, MA, sponsored by the Western Massachusetts section, October 19, 20, and 21, 1966. There were four tracks of six sessions, two luncheons, and a banquet. - The Section Officers' Training Seminar was held in Chicopee, MA, June 23, 1967.
Officers for 1967-1969 were:
Chairman - Robert Phelps
Vice Chairman - Wes Gahagan
Secretary - Anthony Scalise
Treasurer - John Sigmann
Bridgeport CT was the scene of the twenty-first conference on October 18 through 20, 1967. Chairman Isadore Levine produced a conference with four tracks, six sessions per track and a panel discussion.
The Officers' Seminar was held June 14, 1968, at Chicopee Falls, MA. Mr. T. McDermott, ASQC President-elect, was guest speaker. A total of seventy-one section officers representing all thirteen sections attended.
The twenty-second annual New England Quality Control Conference was held October 16, 17, and 18, 1968, at Wentworth-by-the-Sea, Portsmouth, NH. The chairman of the event was Mr. John Pizar. Merrimack Valley was the host section. The program consisted of three groups of six sessions each, a two-and-a-half hour panel session, and a training program of six sessions.
The Officers' Training Seminar was held under the chairmanship of Shant Chebookjian at Chicopee, MA on June 13, 1969.
A revised Constitution and By-Laws was approved by the Council's member sections and became effective on July 1, 1969.
Officers for 1969-1970 were:
Chairman - Wes Gahagan
Vice Chairman - Anthony Scalise
Secretary - John A. Sigmann
(resigned January 1970, replaced by James Flaker)
Treasurer - George Mason
The twenty-third conference was held in Albany, NY, October 15, 16, and 17, 1969. Mr. Don Holmes, the original chairman, was unable to complete his duties and was succeeded by Mr. Lew Gamache. But he too was forced to resign and the conference was brought to a successful conclusion under the direction of Mr. Robert Mapes. There were three groups of seven sessions each, an education track of seven sessions, and a panel discussion.
The Council officers for 1970-71 were:
Chairman - Wesley Gahagan
Vice Chairman - Anthony Scalise
Secretary - James Flaker
Treasurer - George Mason
Naugatuck Valley Section was admitted to the Council.
The Section Officers' Training Seminar was held June 12, 1970, at Chicopee Falls, MA. ASQC president-elect, Russ Medlock, addressed the gathering at lunch.
The host of the twenty-fourth conference was the Worcester Section on October 14-16, 1970. The chairman was Mr. Edward Dudek.
The conference theme was "Quality Control Critique." There were seven sessions in each of the three series as well as an educational series.
The Officers' Training Seminar was held at Chicopee, MA, on June 11, 1971.
The Council elected the following officers, who served 1971-73:
Chairman - Anthony Scalise
Vice Chairman - James Flaker
Secretary - George Mason
Treasurer - Alexander Vincze
Pine Tree and Thames Valley sections joined the Council in 1971.
Edward M. Stiles was chairman of the twenty-fifth conference, which was held in Hartford, CT, October 13, 14, and 15, 1971. There were twenty-seven technical sessions and nine sessions devoted to Quality Control Education. The theme of the conference was, "You Make/Buy/Sell/Manage Better Now."
The Council officially changed the name from New England Quality Control Council to North East Quality Control Council at the meeting of February 11, 1972, the change having been ratified by the member sections.
The Section Officers' Training Seminar was held at Chicopee, MA, June 9, 1972.
The Bob Selig Award was instituted by the Hartford Section to honor the memory of Bob Selig. The plaque was to be given to the small section which made the best percentage gain in ASQC Berg Competetion points. The first presentation was made at the twenty-sixth conference.
The second quarter century was started by the twenty-sixth conference, sponsored by the New Haven Section, October 18 through 20, 1972, under the guidance of Chairman Anthony Raucci. This conference featured twenty-six technical papers and nine educational sessions.
The theme was "Quality, Cost, Consumer, and YOU."
The North East Council acquired the Japanese Quality Control Circle Slides in January 1973. They were shown at conferences and Officers' Training Seminars, and were loaned free of charge to member sections and to industrial companies.
At the Officers' Training Seminar the guest speaker was J. B. Van Cronkite, editor of Quality Progress Magazine. The seminar was held June 8, 1973, and had ninety-one attendees from fifteen of the sixteen member sections.
Tappan Zee Section joined the Council in 1973.
The Council officers for 1973-1975 were:
Chairman - James H. Flaker
Vice Chairman - George F. Mason
Secretary - Alexander J. Vincze
Treasurer - John Pizar
October 24 - 26, 1973 saw the twenty-seventh conference, sponsored by the Boston section under Chairman Richard E. Aldrich. The theme was "Customer Quality Control - the Revolution." It featured four tracks of seven speakers and initiated a Management Seminar.
The Officers' Training Seminar was held in Chicopee, MA, on June 14, 1974. All member sections were represented.
Mr. Martin Nellhaus was chairman when Albany, NY hosted the twenty-eighth conference on October 16 - 18, 1974. There were four series of six speakers, a management seminar of six sessions, and a panel discussion.
Many thanks go to George Lee and others for keeping the memory of the Council alive. Please keep watching these pages for the rest of the story of the New England Quality Control Council. Whoops, the North East Quality Control Council. Actually, I guess I mean the North East Quality Council.
In any event, stay tuned.
And, if you have any information to add to this story, please forward it to Roger Keller.
NEQC Past Chairs
| Dates |
Past Chairman |
Section |
| 1953-1956 |
Ervin Schiesel |
Southern Connecticutt |
| 1956-1963 |
R. S. Goldthwait |
Rhode Island |
| 1963-1965 |
Francis Olsen |
Worcester |
| 1965-1967 |
Donald S. Holmes |
Albany |
| 1967-1969 |
Robert Phelps |
Hartford |
| 1969-1971 |
Wes Gahagan |
Northern New England |
| 1971-1973 |
Anthony Scalise |
Western Massachusetts |
| 1973-1975 |
James Flaker |
Southern Connecticutt |
| 1975-1976 |
George Mason |
Boston |
| 1976-1977 |
Al Vince |
Southern Connecticutt |
| 1977-1978 |
John Pizar |
Merrimack Valley |
| 1978-1980 |
Edward M. Stiles |
Hartford |
| 1980-1981 |
Edward P. Dudek |
Worcester |
| 1981-1983 |
Walter Blonski |
Danbury |
| 1983-1985 |
Geroge B. Lee |
Thames Valley |
| 1985-1987 |
Arthur W. Derbyshire |
Southern Connecticutt |
| 1987-1989 |
S. Ken Wiley Jr. |
Pine Tree |
| 1989-1991 |
Daniel J. Keating |
New Haven |
| 1991-1993 |
Patricia Audette |
Rhode Island |
| 1993-1995 |
Anthony Martinez |
Mid Hudson |
| 1995-1997 |
George Cohen |
Boston |
| 1997-1998 |
Joseph A. Trowbridge |
Hartford |
| 1998-1999 |
Rick W. Macri |
New Haven |
| 1999-2001 |
Roger Keller |
Boston |
| 2001-2002 |
Lewis Derby |
Granite State |
| 2002-2003 |
Jay P. Patel |
Worcester |
| 2003-2005 |
Woody Cashman |
Springfield |
| 2005-2006 |
Diane Dixon |
Worcester |
| 2007-2008 |
Jay P. Patel |
NEQC |
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