SMACNA Southern California chapter Executive Director Kevin O’Dorisio has been named Chapter Executive of the Year.

The award, formally known as the Petersen-Dunn Award, is presented annually to the SMACNA chapter executive who has made a substantive contribution to their local association and to SMACNA as a national group. 

In announcing the award, 2015-16 SMACNA President Guy Gast said O’Dorisio was instrumental in navigating the complicated task of joining two chapters into a single entity. 

“Two neighboring SMACNA chapters, SMACNA-Los Angeles and Orange Empire SMACNA, called on Kevin’s expertise and collaborative skills to merge them into one cohesive organization earlier this year,” Gast said. “The result is the second-largest chapter in SMACNA.

“Admittedly mergers can be chaotic,” Gast added. “However, Kevin, found the middle ground that would make the merger a reality and skillfully led a collaborative effort on all fronts. Thanks to his expertise, the members of this new SMACNA chapter, SMACNA Southern California, are the benefactors of a stronger more united group as a result of his unselfish efforts. And most notably, all of this was accomplished in an incredibly short time frame.”

O’Dorisio began working for the association as a field representative for the SMACNA-Los Angeles chapter in 1977. In 1985, he became executive director. Twenty-five years ago, he was also named as Chapter Executive of the Year for boosting local and national member involvement.