The Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association, Tampa Bay (RACCA) celebrated their 2026 Journeyman graduates on April 14, 2026. The 28th annual ceremony was held at the Pinellas Technical College (PTEC) Clearwater, FL campus.
Guest speaker Director of Pinellas Technical College Jakub Prokop started the evenings events congratulating the graduates and expressing his thoughts that the careers in trades are better positioned than ever for success.
Dr. Gary DeSantis, RACCA Apprenticeship Program Administrator, thanked everyone for helping him transition to the position vacated by Keane Bismarck’s retirement this year. “Things have gone well and we’re well positioned for next year though we’re in need of some instructors to fill in some gaps,” he stated.
Dr. DeSantis and RACCA Apprenticeship Coordinator Jim McCann proceeded with presenting Perfect Attendance and Apprentice of the Year Awards, followed by recognition of the 4th year graduates. A decision was made last year not to offer a 5th year refrigeration class.
Peter Montana of ACprosite recognized Sergey Zinkevitch as the Graduating Apprentice of the Year and presented him a $300 check. Sergey also received an engraved plier in a custom wooden display box from Klein Tools.
Dr. DeSantis introduced and thanked the instructors for their dedication and hard work: Greg Mathis (1st year), Harry Kerry (1st year), JC Jannarone (2nd year), Jason Saylor (3rd year), Wayne Carothers (3rd year), Marc Lamont (4th year) and Mark Bean (2nd year).
The evening concluded with Dr. DeSantis recognizing the sponsors. “Thank you once again to Klein Tools, Tropic Supply for providing $25 gift cards to the 4th year graduates, Victor Distributing for donating $50 gift cards to the apprentices of the year and RACCA for giving those with perfect attendance $25 Outback Restaurant gift cards.”
Find out more about the RACCA Apprenticeship Program and how to participate by visiting https://racca-florida.org.
View and download all the photos from the graduation here: https://acprosite.com/photos. Search for 2026 04 RACCA Apprenticeship Graduation.
