President’s Message

Science - Not Just Another Opinion

by Tom Justice, CAFS, NCT

If we have learned anything during this time of social distancing, it has been to become more creative. While change can be difficult for many people and fear of the unknown has a tendency to shut others down, there always seems to be those rare few who, when looking at the same set of circumstances, see only endless opportunity. It is as if they had been granted a reprieve from a life sentence of boredom. Eventually we all learn to adapt to this “New Normal” as it is now called but for some of us it takes a bit longer than others.

My wife and I still like to have an occasional dinner with friends but to do so now, we have to all show up at a designated time, set up our lawn chairs and folding TV tables in a parking lot and pull out our individual meals. On a cool spring evening in Virginia, it’s as close to dining at a five-star restaurant as one can get, minus of course the bill. Only recently did I learn that there is actually a name for this social phenomena. Groups like this are called “COVID Bubbles.”

I do seem to have more time to read lately and am a bit fanatical at cutting out articles of interest from magazines, newspapers, whatever I run across. The most recent was an interview with actor Alan Alda. Not being a big fan, I likely would have flipped past this particular article except that one quote caught my eye. This one excerpt in bold print seemed to jump out as I thumbed through the pages, “we don’t value our ignorance enough...ignorance is really good to have if it’s combined with curiosity.” The point being that the world has been wholly ignorant concerning this most recent pandemic and information about what we know still seems to be changing daily. This particular interview centered around the need for better communication and understanding about how science works…”the importance of evidence, the importance of many trials, of rigorous studies and the idea that we learn a little bit at a time.” And there are still so many individuals who think that “science is just another opinion.”

Over the past five months, NAFA has engaged in a number of webinars and made frequent changes and additions to our website in order to communicate the latest science to our members but also to relate news from NAFA members in the field to the broader scientific community. This two-way communication is essential if we are to grow beyond that which we do not know. A good example would be the recent need for temporary isolation rooms to accommodate the rising number of Coronavirus patients. By the time guidelines were disseminated to those in the field many of you had already contrived your own solutions. Maybe it’s because of this lack of curiosity that we all tend to migrate to our individual silos. The end result is that it then becomes more difficult to communicate outside of our world.

Recently, all of you were asked to provide feedback on programs of interest for the Education & Training Committee. Jim Moran, chair and Joel Swann, vice chair have now compiled a list of programs of interest with an emphasis on education but also on raising the level of communication. Possible programs like ‘What happened to our Supply Chain” where individuals in the field could define the issues and concerns to those who produce filter media, but also learning about the issues facing those same media producers.

As you may or may not know, Will Denton and Brandon Deilgat, chair and vice chair respectively of our Marketing and Membership Committee have been meeting monthly since last year to insure that during this time of isolation, we are communicating with our NAFA family.

I learned a lot this year about the PEOPLE who make up NAFA. While other trade associations went into financial meltdown in early March, we avoided these same pitfalls. We did so for a number of reasons; one, we have a Board of Directors made up mainly of business professionals like Nathan Wittman, Roberta MacGillivray and Mike Corbat and Trey Fly who have seen much tougher times than 2020 could ever hope to throw at us. Second, relates to our committed membership. Not once have we been turned down when asking members to step up to the plate and join a panel, serve as a moderator, write an article, etc. I could highlight individuals such as Bob Wilson and Bill Palmer who penned a well-received article on behalf of NAFA for the BOMA trade journal (Reduction of Airborne Transmission of Viruses in Commercial Buildings). I could also point out the successful panel discussion by Jim Rosenthal, Steve Griffiths, Chris Zaker and Joel Swann on Hospital Air Filtration in the World of COVID-19. Then there was Dr. Siegel’s webcast COVID-19 and Air Filtration Frequently Asked Questions in English and Spanish. The list could go on however its much easier to simply visit our website at www.NAFAHQ.org. Finally, during this epidemic, Michelle’s group brought resources which made it possible to communicate faster, better and smarter with our membership through social media outlets. It took this Pandemic for me to realize the depth of both the resources and inventiveness that we have with AMPED.

A year from now we will look back and see things a lot more clearly but for now the near future is what concerns us most. It is difficult for one to imagine the impact that the coming six months might have on both our personal and professional lives but one thing is certain. It will involve a number of changes and we are still left with a number of unanswered questions; when will a vaccine be made available to the public, when will we see an end to the supply chain disruptions, is this shift to higher efficiency products a permanent reality, how soon can countries expect to return to near full employment, how will rising national debts affect inflation moving forward, and so on.

There is one additional point which affects at least my own personal and professional life. My term as NAFA President is, to use a colloquial expression, officially in “the short rows.” Soon after I started as President, the Pandemic hit and that row seemed to extend forever, however I can now see my future quite clearly and that row is getting shorter.

Thank you again for allowing me to serve as your President. ■

Stay safe,

Tom Justice NAFA President