Congratulations on Retirement and the Next Steps for Elite’s MIL/Aero Leader, Sr. EMC Engineer, Industry Expert, and Star Employee.
Successful businesses, much like perennial championship sports teams, share many common characteristics. They both have ownership and leaders that set the foundation for success and then they go after and populate their teams with the very best star players and personnel, from top to bottom.
On Friday, April 5th one of Elite’s most recognized star team members, Pat Hall, began his well-deserved retirement. Pat’s forty-seven-year career at Elite will leave a legacy of his excellence, passion, and dependability for those who follow. His impact on Elite is seen throughout the lab and his exemplary professionalism will remain the benchmark for his proteges for many years to come.
Pat Hall retires as Elite’s Team Leader for military and commercial aviation EMC testing, but this is only one of his many contributions and accomplishments while at Elite.
He is a well-recognized industry expert for MIL-STD-461 military EMC testing and for commercial aviation RTCA-DO-160 testing. He has tested an incredible range of important and challenging products at Elite’s laboratory as well as on-site at customer facilities. His knowledge, poise under pressure, and professionalism have served our clients and Elite very well.
His technical contributions include bringing highly specialized RF mode stirring online at Elite. He’s a shielding effectiveness expert for techniques including mode stirring, triaxial fixture, and SEED methods. He is the first person we turn to for HIRF tests, RF power handling, and many other unique and challenging engineering tests. Pat Hall is one of the main reasons we often hear from customers and other labs, “…this is a difficult test, and we can’t do it, better talk to Elite”.
Look around at Elite’s lab and you can’t miss the many contributions in which Pat has been involved. He’s been a key person in the transformation of Elite’s Downers Grove lab, from a half-size building with its collection of early-era copper rooms to today’s state-of-the-art facility that is the pride of the Klouda family, and all of us who work in this space.
Our laboratory’s AC and DC power services are in place through Pat’s efforts. He’s commissioned nearly all our highly sophisticated MIL-AERO equipment and other specialized instruments. LISNs, RF filters, and feed-through panels used throughout our lab are Pat’s design and his manufactured craftsmanship.
In addition to his technical skills, he is also a mentor to many and a valued manager who leads by example. Pat was trained by Elite founder Jim Klouda, as well as early pioneers Norm Wehling and Don Schmit. Since then, he’s paid it forward in multiples leveraging all he knows to help dozens of other Elite employees learn, mature, and grow in their profession.
He’s someone who puts pride in everything he does. Throughout his career, he’s looked for ways to make Elite an even better place to work. He’s encouraged employees to think about others, to care about the equipment and instruments they use, to clean up after their work, and to pay attention to details.
Ask Pat and he will tell you about his proudest accomplishments. They include being instrumental in encouraging employee benefits like disability coverage. He designed and built dozens of wooden tripods and other lab support equipment that saved the company money. He regularly accepted the toughest and most complicated projects, and setups, and worked to improve test reports for our most demanding customers to win the client’s trust.
The common thread for each is they include initiatives that help co-workers, clients, and the company. All are examples of a humble man whose pride is centered on helping others, and not about the spotlight being on himself.
From his beginning at Elite on July 6, 1977, cleaning shelves and building power line filters, Pat has risen to the top of his profession in a challenging engineering field. He is a unique individual who brings together a strong engineering mind, the skill sets of a machinist, electrician, and craftsman, and a personable warm attitude to lead others by example and character.
In the future, Pat envisions Elite continuing to grow and perform at a high level. In retirement, he, and his wife Jodi plan to enjoy their beautiful lake house in Michigan. Pat’s attention will be on home improvement projects, a little traveling, and plenty of family time, albeit at a slower pace.
From all of us at Elite, we congratulate Patrick E. Hall for a highly respected professional career, on all his accomplishments, and on being an Elite leader whose legacy and impact lives within the Elite company culture, making us successful today and well into the future.
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