Timothy Theriault has been named President of the Florida West Coast Chapter (FWC) of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers for the 2020-2021 term.

A Tampa native, Timothy earned an Associates Degree in Fundamentals of Engineering from Hillsborough Community College and a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Florida. During his time at USF, he was a member of the ASHRAE student chapter of FWC and was a recipient of 4 separate student scholarships that FWC awarded.

Timothy’s road to an engineering career began with a graphics class in 9th grade. “An accident in shop class made me want to switch out of that elective and I got in a graphics class where I drew my first floor plan. From there I took drafting classes all through high school. I was good at creating designs and wanted to do nothing else. I started on the path to becoming an architect after high school but fell in love with engineering instead.”

“My first job after graduating from college was with Colwill Griner Engineering in their St. Petersburg office,” Timothy stated. “I started as a drafter and soon began designing plumbing systems. A few months later I was designing HVAC. I continued at this company for almost 10 years. Learning HVAC on the job allowed me to become a senior mechanical designer at their Tampa office.”

Timothy is currently an Engineer II specializing in healthcare with TLC Engineering Solutions in Tampa.

“I joined ASHRAE FWC in 2000 to improve my performance at my job and help me become a better well-rounded mechanical engineer,” Timothy recalled. “I see the benefit of this society’s efforts and research. ASHRAE is at the forefront of new technologies and has been a leader in addressing situations like Legionella, air quality, and even COVID-19 responses throughout the world. I plan on continuing to develop my skills through ASHRAE’s vast available opportunities and resources.”

Timothy has set some impressive goals for ASHRAE FWC to achieve during his presidency. “We will focus efforts on growing our local group and emboldening the 2 student branches connected to our chapter at USF in Tampa and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. We will also work on building up the Sarasota-Bradenton and Costa Rica sections we have connected to our chapter. Plans are moving forward to charter a new student branch this year at Florida Polytechnic University. We will continue to raise funds for ASHRAE Society research and make ourselves available to our government leaders to advocate for ASHRAE, it’s policies and its vision.”

The Florida West Coast Chapter of ASHRAE was chartered in February 1956 to promote industry standards and best practices at the local level. Its 412 members span the west coast of central Florida, Sarasota/Bradenton, Costa Rica and Peru. The Chapter is supported by robust meeting participation and generates operating revenue through activities like the annual golf tournament, sporting clay shoot, and specialized learning opportunities with visiting lecturers. A large portion of the proceeds from these activities goes to establish and maintain various local college scholarships and to promote further interest in the HVAC engineering profession following graduation.

Contact Timothy by calling 813-281-8428 or emailing timothy.theriault@tlc-eng.com.

More information about AHRAE FWC and its activities can be found at http://ASHRAE-FWC.org.