The Air Conditioning Contractors of America announced Oct. 14 the launch of anew Radiant & Hydronics Council within the group. A new Radiant & Hydronics educational track will be added to the 2012 ACCA Conference, to be held March 5-8 in Las Vegas.
The RHC will be guided by an Advisory Committee; the first chairman will be Dan Foley, president of Foley Mechanical in Lorton, Va. Others serving on the committee are:
- John Abularrage, Advanced Radiant Design, Stone Ridge, N.Y.
- Mark Hottel, Harvey W. Hottel Inc, Gaithersburg, Md.
- Greg Jannone, William Jannone & Son, Bound Brook, N.J. (past chair, RPA).
- Bob “Hot Rod” Rohr, Caleffi, Milwaukee (past chair, RPA).
- Bill Shady, P.E., Sustainable Design and Product Management, Santa Cruz, Calif.
- John Siegenthaler, Appropriate Designs, Holland Patent, N.Y.
- Brian Stack, Stack Heating & Cooling, Avon, Ohio
- Dave Yates, F.W. Behler Inc., York, Pa.
This announcement came two days after the Radiant Professionals Alliance (formerly the Radiant Panel Association)said it was in talks to merge with the International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials.
“In an attempt to meet our members’ needs, the RPA Board has been grappling with difficult decisions,” RPA PresidentDorothy Briggswrote in a letter to members. “Our desire to support our membership, and promote our segment of the indoor environmental industry, has been hampered by the need for more sophistication in our professional management.
“Our current structure is not suited to supported the better communication tools, expanded outreach methods and professional staffing levels that you deserve. In short, a change must be made.”
RPA expects the details of its merger to be completed by the end of the year. But with some of well-known hydronic design and contracting companies moving to the ACCA group, one wonders what this new version of the RPA will be like.
