ASQ Tappan Zee History

 Prepared by Emil Muccin, Section Historian

The American Society for Quality (ASQ) was formed shortly after World War II in 1946 from a  mixture of separate and distinct regional sections throughout the United States.  Shortly thereafter  the Metropolitan Section was formed to serve the New York metropolitan region.  In 1969 the Tappan Zee Section was formed as a subsection of the Metropolitan Section and commenced running regular meetings in October of the same year.  Originally the Metropolitan Section gave Tappan Zee the Bronx, Westchester and Rockland, however no meetings were ever held in the Bronx.  August (Gus) Mundel, a founding member and first  Chairman of the Metropolitan Section also became a founding member and first Chairman of the Tappan Zee Section in 1972.   

Current section membership is approximately 200, which makes us a relatively small section of the ASQ.  However, even though we are small we maintain a full calendar of events, activities and courses.  General membership meetings are typically held once a month from September through May.  Periodically joint meetings are held with other groups and organizations, including the Hudson Valley Council of Technical Societies (HVCTS) and American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS), and American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).  Executive Committee meetings are held monthly, year round.  Since our membership is on both sides of the Hudson River we make an effort to split our meetings between Westchester and Rockland counties.

Full details of all Tappan Zee Section activities can be found on this website. It is updated regularly by our webmaster and contains the latest information for the program year.

Along with the above, the Tappan Zee Section is an active member of the North East Quality Council (NEQC) which includes 21 sections of ASQ from Maine to New Jersey. The Tappan Zee Section NEQC Representative participates in the quarterly council meetings as well as the bi-annual NEQC Conference.

The Tappan Zee Section runs certification preparation training, workshops and all-day seminars. We continue to offer Education Programs two semesters per year as well as holding continuing education seminars on a variety of subjects. Certification examinations are proctored by the section at a local site for each of the four exam dates annually.  Presently the section is using Pace University in Pleasantville, NY. 

In 2002, the Tappan Zee Section celebrated its 30th Anniversary.  At the December 2002 meeting, a celebration was held and in attendance was the Chair Emil Muccin as well as several prior Section Chairs, including: Gus Mundel, Dave Mendell, Jim Krueger, David Levy, William Hennig, and Kathy Biehl.

In 2007, the Tappan Zee Section celebrated its 35th Anniversary. At the October 2007 meeting, a celebration was held and the Section Historian, Emil Muccin, provided an overview of the formation of the section as well as a slide show spanning the first 35 years of the section. In attendance was the current Chair Herb Goldstein, as well as former Chairs Emil Muccin, Linda Sroka, David Levy, and David Mendell.

ASQ celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2006, which was a statistical milestone and a time to reflect on the many changes that have occurred not only in the industry but in the society. The theme for the year was "60 Years of Quality".

In the 35+ years since the section's inception many changes have occurred in the quality industry not the least being the name change of our organization from the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) in 1946 to the American Society for Quality (ASQ) in 1997.  It is truly amazing how our section has maintained its focus and has been able to survive and prosper for over a third of a century of major changes.

While several of our member leaders including August Mundel and James Kruegger have passed away, they are remembered through annual events such as the August Mundel Memorial Scholarship and the James Krueger Quality Award.

We additionally offer annually the David Mendell Leadership and the David Levy Meritorious Service Awards

Many significant changes have occurred within our section during the last few years and much of it is due to our current Leadership Committee. Our 22nd chair is Wally McLeod.  The Tappan Zee Section 309 is one of the ten sections comprising ASQ Region 3.  Herb Goldstein is the Regional Director, with and Emil Muccin and David Levy serving as Deputy Regional Directors.

The Tappan Zee Section has achieved Awards every year for the Quality Management Process (QMP) and the latest include: Gold Excellence Award, 2008-2009, Section Planning Award, 2009-2010 and Total Quality Award 2008-2009.

CHAIRPERSONS OF ASQ TAPPAN ZEE SECTION 309

1.      1972-1975          August Mundel

2.      1976-1977          Walter Young

3.      1977-1978          Marjorie Keshmiri

4.      1978-1980          Griffin Fitzgerald

5.      1980-1981          Debra Bing

6.      1981-1983          Pablo Cue

7.      1983-1984          David Berman

8.      1985-1986          David Stevens

9.      1986-1987          Dana Coleman

10.    1987-1988          J. Scott Farley

11.    1988-1989          Martin Dachs

12.    1989-1991          David Mendell

13.    1991-1993          James Krueger

14.    1993-1995          Charles Butler

15.    1995-1995          Peter Babiak

16.    1995-2000          David Levy

17.    2000-2001          William Hennig

18.    2001-2002          Kathy Biehl

19.    2002-2004          Emil Muccin

20.    2004-2006          Linda Sroka

21.    2006-2009          Herbert Goldstein

22.    2009-Present      Wally McLeod

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Last modified: 08/18/10