April 25, 2018

We are excited to welcome Ron Pison, our new Senior Technical Engineer, to Epstein!

Ron has been involved in the plumbing and fire protection industries for about 25 years. Hes mainly worked on commercial projects, though he has some experience with educational and institutional projects, as well. To date, his favorite assignment was the Ford assembly plant in Louisville. As part of the process group, Ron was tasked with determining solutions for avoiding stoppage in the assembly line.

He went to a few city colleges, including Harold Washington and Wilbur Wright, but ended up earning his Associates Degree from the College of Automation (go Bots!) in computer programming.

This is back when the computer was about the size of a small dining table and a one-megabit chip was a supercomputer, Ron quipped.

He was born in the Philippine Islands around a sugar milling company. Growing up, he never knew much about the city, as he and his family were always in the company compound. He equated the milling company to that of a small town, one with about 5,000 workers, including their families! One of his favorite childhood memories was making his own toys, as he was surrounded by engineers and chemists who treated the local kids as their toy testers.

His family is now scattered around the county, with about a quarter residing in the Houston area. As for himself, Ron is currently living in Chicagos Uptown neighborhood. Hes liking it mostly because it is comparatively quiet, a short walk to Target (The Mothership) and just a few blocks from the lake. During the summer months, Ron can be found on the lakefront; everywhere from Hollywood all the way down to the Museum of Science and Industry.

Ron bikes everywhere, racking up roughly 3,000 miles a year! Hes got it down to a science, and knows he cant bust out the bike until the wind chill temps are above 45 degrees. Additionally, Ron has participated in some triathlons, and was able to complete the Ironman Louisville before the cutoff time! Add it to the skills section of the résumé, Ron.

He also served in the Army. At the time, he wanted to be a pilot, likely from watching too much Top Gun weve all been there. Back then, Ron said the Army was the only service that guaranteed occupational specialty and Ron, well, he wanted to fly. He had the need for speed. However¦

Apparently, I have a hard time distinguishing between light green and light brown. So, I ended up as part of the Bradley Crew [which is an armored personnel carrier] running around the German countryside, which made me realize I needed a desk job.

Once again, welcome to Epstein, Ron!