In May 2019, Dave Such was awarded this very cool cutaway stage 1 bucket trophy for his service on the 7F Steering Committee.
In August 2022, Dave Such was awarded the Combined Cycle Users Group “Individual Achievement Award.” See this article in the Combined Cycle Journal for details: https://www.ccj-online.com/ccug-honors-dave-such-with-its-individual-achievement-award/
In May 2025, Dave Such was awarded the Power Users “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the Annual 7F Users Conference in Birmingham, AL.
Here I stand surrounded by the 7F Steering Committee and my favorite GE turbine guru.
Dave says… I am overwhelmed, honored, humbled, and “flabbergasted” by all this recognition. In retrospect, I just thought I was doing my job. But let it be clear that early on, I had a boss (Marty Block in the early 2000s) who gave me free range to explore third party vendor options for refurbishments and new parts, take ownership of overhauls, tinker around tuning the DLN 2.6 combustion systems, and basically do what most engineers would love to do if they had an opportunity (and permission).
I know that the United States has a long history of honoring “rugged individualism,” but that’s not where it’s at. In the power industry, as in other areas of real life, “individual accomplishments” are usually the result of big group projects with extensive collaboration with fellow users and vendors. Emphasizing cooperation over competition, the Power Users family of power industry users has been the catalyst for countless achievements. The way these users groups operate is the way the rest of the world is supposed to work.