February is a special month for the Southwest Air Conditioning Contractors Association (SWACCA). Annually the association installs its newly elected officers and board members and announces its Pioneer Award recipient. During the February 7, 2023 installation meeting, SWACCA members and guests were in attendance to congratulate Don Condee of Condee Cooling & Electric, Marco Island, Florida as he accepted SWACCA’s HVAC Industry Pioneer Award. Presenting the award was Rick Sims, Johnson’s Air Conditioning and a Past President of both FRACCA and SWACCA. This prestigious award is given in recognition of 40 plus years as a leader and role model and for paving the way for future professionals in the Southwest Florida HVAC industry. Rick shared his personal experiences as a testimonial to Don’s leadership and industry mentoring skills, along with several members sharing their reflections on Don’s impact on the industry as a whole.
SWACCA’s 2023 Officers and Board of Directors elected for one and two-year terms respectively were installed by FRACCA President William Barnes: Marc Labuzienski, President, Air Flow Air Conditioning Systems; Jon Kunz, Vice President, Bethel Products; and Director Michael Porter, Carrier Enterprise. They will lead SWACCA along with the continuing Board members: Jim Britton, Past President, Gulf Shore Cooling and Directors Graydon Bullard, Bullard’s HVAC Services; Ty Copeland, WinSupply of Charlotte County; Rodney Riche, Nx Gen Heating and Cooling and Brian Simon, Alliance Financial Group.
The evening concluded with a valuable presentation from Don Duckworth, Senior Account Executive, Enterprise Fleet Management, who provided an Industry Update – Market Trends, Safety & EVs. Topics addressed included Automotive Industry Disruption, Cost of Ownership Trends, Vehicle Availability Trends, Safety Equipment, Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems and EVs in the Marketplace.
Active for almost 50 years, SWACCA’s goal is to better the HVAC industry for its members, their customers and employees. SWACCA meets the first Tuesday of each month at the Embassy Suites, Ft Myers/Estero on Corkscrew Commons. However, in April SWACCA will meet at the Florida Academy in Ft. Myers to hold its annual Career Night, which includes interview opportunities for students and a special presentation on Equity in the Workplace. This Spring and Fall SWACCA will also hold a series of Flammable Refrigerant Workshops. This Safety Training Workshop and ESCO Certification Exam covers, Refrigerant safety, Introduction to Low GWP refrigerants, among many other topics. For additional information contact SWACCA Executive Director Harris at (727) 209-0890 or charris@sw-acca.org
