< Previouscandidates have done or are doing and the im- pact of those efforts. If there is someone you think should be added, let us know who they are and why they are influ- encers. Send me your “nomination” via email at ncilink.com/ContactMe. So, without further ado, here is the 2022 class of influencers who directly impacted the High-Per- formance HVAC Industry. SCOTT JOHNSON One of the strongest propo- nents for HVAC system testing in California is Scott Johnson. In fact, Scott spent decades working to bring a level of re- alism to system testing. In the 1990s, he was president of Action Now, located in Costa Mesa, CA, a company that tested thou- sands of homes during the early years of govern- ment-regulated testing. He was on a mission to influence how not only contractors viewed HVAC systems, but how regulators, inspectors, and oth- er entities viewed it as well. In that effort, over several decades, he served on many government and utility committees, in- cluding the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission. He was a member of the Institute of Heating & Air Conditioning Industry (IHACI) in California and became its Education and Training Chairman. IHACI has a longstanding Southern California program that trains more than 5,000 technicians each year. In his position, Scott managed a crew of trainers and spent more than seven years de- veloping the organization’s training curriculum. In the earlier days of his career, Scott focused on the blower door and duct blaster approach E very industry is served by people who significantly impact it — whether from the invention of technology or process- es, or sales and/or marketing techniques. Because of their experience, knowledge, position in that industry, and relationship with others, these are people who impact its development. They make a difference in the industry’s direction and its future. The high-performance segment of the HVAC industry is no different. These influential people are not only mem- bers of the High-Performance HVAC Contracting community, but they work to help others be more successful. In fact, their actions contribute to the High-Performance HVAC Industry’s growth and acceptance throughout the greater HVAC Indus- try and among consumers. Influencers believe in education and training and continually seek better ways of doing things. They lead by example. They take what they learn and implement it successfully into their business- es, then take the time to share what they learn during that process with others. How did they make our list? Over the years, members of the NCI team have traveled the coun- try, visiting and working with many contract- ing firms, manufacturers, distributors, utilities, and trade associations. They worked together on evolving beyond selling equipment to an ap- proach where a system is more than a set of boxes. The NCI team met people who believed in the te- nets of testing duct systems, equipment, and even the overall building itself. They measure airflow, temperature, and more, then calculate their im- pact on delivered comfort and energy efficiency. The following four are the 2022 “influencer inductees.” We don’t consider the time or era in which they served. We look at what inductee 10 JUNE 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY Class of 2022 High-Performance HVAC Industry Influencers By Michael S. Weil COVER STORYHVACR Industry. Laura Howell never had a career in HVAC on her radar as a young woman. She worked as an account ad- ministrator for an investment firm and dreamed of a career as a musician and actor. She originally pursued a career in musical theater. But then she met a young man named Vincent DiFilippo, and every- thing changed. The two fell in love and were married. She began helping him out in his family HVAC business and made that her career over the years. Today she is vice president and co-owner of DiFilippo’s Service Com- pany. For more than two decades, she’s been instrumental in running all the company’s operations, including HR, financials, marketing, and supervising the management team. Vince credits her for much of the company’s growth and the recognition it has earned over the years. DiFilip- po’s Service is an NCI member and a participant in the High-Performance HVAC Contracting approach to serv- ing customers. But her influence expands well be- yond the confines of her family’s HVAC business. She has always been the type of person to get involved. This drive led her to join the local chapter of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA). She began attending ACCA’s Qual- ity College classes with Vince. Later, they joined a group of fellow ACCA members to counter unfair competitive practices brought upon the HVAC mar- ketplace by local utilities. Her passion for helping HVAC con- tractors grew from there. Laura served on the Board of Directors of the Del- aware Valley Chapter of ACCA for 14 years, holding all officers’ positions, including Chapter President for five years. This involvement led to a path of becoming active with ACCA national- ly. She has served as a National ACCA Board Director since 2003. She is the first woman to serve as an officer of the national association, be- ing Secretary, Treasurer, Senior Vice Chairman, and ultimately Chairman of ACCA for 2012-2013. Her passion for ACCA and the industry is evident in any industry meeting or event she par- ticipates in. If you talk to her, Laura will tell you that such involvement helps not only fellow contractors but also custom- ers. She has been quoted saying that no matter what, HVAC contractors are the front line to consumers and are the critical component of the overall sup- ply chain. Her industry involvement and influ- ence expanded both within ACCA and out to other organizations – local and national. Some would say Laura Di- Filippo opened many doors for other women to become leaders in the indus- try. It also led to her being named the 2013 Woman of the Year by Contract- ing Business magazine. In 2016 she became a board mem- ber of North American Technician Ex- cellence (NATE). She eventually be- came the chairman of that organization as well. JOHN GAROFALO John Garofalo spent more than 30 years working in the HVAC in- dustry after serving in the US Navy. His expertise was in business opera- to testing, but that evolved after be- coming active with National Comfort Institute. He attended one of the first NCI training events in the early 1990s, where he was introduced to test- ing instruments like balancing hoods and manometers. These tools and the high-performance approach that NCI was teaching showed him that the government and utility side of our in- dustry had a long way to go to accu- rately rate the performance of homes. It reinforced his belief that they un- derstood very little about what makes HVAC systems tick. His influence reached beyond train- ing, however. Scott became involved with the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) and their Quality Installation Standard. Some say that Scott has single-handedly tested more QI systems in Southern California than have been tested across the U.S. Eventually, Scott joined the NCI team and focused his efforts on train- ing contractors throughout South- ern California via NCI’s current Los Alamitos and Southern California Ed- ison’s Tulare training facilities. Unfor- tunately, due to serious health prob- lems, Scott has had to step back from active teaching and testing. For these and many other reasons, Scott Johnson has positively influ- enced the HVAC Industry in Southern California and beyond. LAURA DIFILIPPO It’s a safe bet that anyone who knows anything will tell you that Laura DiFilippo, vice-president of DiFilip- po’s Service, Paoli, PA, is one of the key influencers who opened the door to leadership for women in the JUNE 2022 11HVACTODAY.COMCOVER STORY ness development division. Her work evolved to creating tools and pro- grams for High-Performance HVAC contractors across the country to help them improve and implement better processes to keep their businesses successful. During her career with NCI, Nita embraced many roles: Preferred Vendor Program Manager, Business Coach, Course Instructor, Business Curriculum Development, and Busi- ness Product Development. Over time, Nita developed educa- tional webinars, wrote articles, and blog posts. She worked tirelessly with the rest of the team at NCI to create tools to continue helping contractors evolve and grow in terms of profes- sionalism, craftsmanship, and the de- livery of High-Performance Contract- ing techniques to members. She was one of the early members of Women in HVACR, an organization to help attract and advance more wom- en to the HVACR trades. She became a board member of that national orga- nization and then became its president in 2011. She actively served her term and then as a member of their advisory board until her passing in 2017. Her influence is still felt through the webinars and other training tools she developed and are still used in the HVAC Industry today. mentorship helped their companies thrive, grow, and better serve their HVAC customers. In 2016, John Garofalo lost his battle with cancer. John invested the last five years of his career as a Business Coach and mentor for many NCI members. NCI created the John Garofalo Imple- mentation Excellence Award to hon- or his legacy and positive influence on the High-Performance HVAC Indus- try. This award is presented to a con- tractor who regularly delivers mea- sured performance in every aspect of their business. It is presented annu- ally during NCI’s High-Performance HVAC Summit conference. NITA BROOKS Though her ear- ly background was outside the HVAC Industry, it focused on the administra- tion, development, and support of business processes in the manufactur- ing arena. Her goals were to accurately report company profitability while pro- moting business practices. She brought those skill sets to the HVAC Industry in 2000 when Nita joined Contractor’s Success Group – an organization dedicated to improv- ing the business practices of heating and air conditioning contractors across North America. That business went through a few owners and name changes, but Nita was one of the constants. One of that group’s name chang- es was International Service Leader- ship (ISL), which became part of the National Comfort Institute family in 2008. ISL’s team became NCI’s busi- tions, marketing and advertising, finance and plan- ning, acquisitions, and service. In ad- dition to his years of consulting to the HVAC industry, he demonstrated how to deliver atypically high profit- ability in various job functions. He always focused on the impor- tance of leadership, accountability, and implementation, which he learned as a Navy Seal. How? John taught contractors about how to be Servant Leaders. Servant Leadership means having regular benchmarking with up-to-date perfor- mance results posted where everyone in the company can see them. He emphasized the need for strong leadership with humble ethical and business standards. And most impor- tantly, he taught contractors the vital importance of embracing change. He helped contractors to constantly look for and implement ways to improve their teams and processes. He preached high-performance leadership, account- ability, and implementation. John was all about having sincere care for people, “gettin’ er done,” and living with integrity. He always rec- ommended contractors look at the de- cisions they had to make through the lens of whether “the juice is worth the squeeze.” He took training to a personal lev- el and mentored thousands of con- tractors across the country. His teach- ing centered not only on how to create processes and implement quality into a company, but he also taught many lessons on life and living. Many contractors say that John’s Mike Weil is the Director of Communications for National Comfort Insti- tute, Inc. (NCI). He also serves as editor-in-chief of High-Performance HVAC Today magazine, the only trade publi- cation that targets the High-Performance HVAC Contracting commu- nity. He can be reached via NCI’s contact page at ncilink.com/ContactMe. 12 JUNE 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY14 JUNE 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYJUNE 2022 15HVACTODAY.COM do this with just 28 employees. Being diverse is a huge saving grace, especial- ly in these times. To do this requires a culture of learning and training. That is where we saw the advantages of approaching our work as High-Per- formance HVAC contractors. We added technical training from National Comfort Institute more than 10 years ago and became members of that organization in 2013. Read more about our history at ncilink.com/ DASpotlight. My vice president, Henry Sterling, and I are very deep into implementing performance into every aspect of what we do. We both have taken classes and are certified in several disciplines. We took what we learned and now teach these disci- plines to our technicians. Several of our top tech- nicians are also trained and certified to teach our younger guys airflow diagnostics and combustion analysis. BEST PRACTICES FOR STATIC PRESSURE Over the years, static pressure testing has be- come the basis of how we do preventive mainte- nance and service. In fact, static pressure is inte- gral to our contracts. Static pressure testing is supposed to be on ev- ery service call. It is part of our residential service checklist whenever we’re out on a diagnostic call. We make exceptions, especially during summer when we face unending no-cooling calls. We con- sider those calls emergencies and try to get the HVAC system working as quickly as possible. On commercial jobs, we do static pressure test- ing or conduct a duct traverse to make sure econ- omizers are set up correctly. Training for commissioning is an ongoing pro- cess for us. We make sure to do static pressure I n High-Performance HVAC Contracting, cre- ating processes that follow best practices is simply the best way to work and be successful. From a construction standpoint, you wouldn’t dream of doing a large HVAC system installation without having a set of blueprints for the home or building. The good thing is that the “blueprint is already created,” thanks to the research and study done by National Comfort Institute (NCI) over the years. These blueprints will standardize your ap- proach, create better opportunities to solve cus- tomer problems, and help make your business some money. But one company’s approach to best practices won’t always work for another. You have to make processes and practices that work for your com- pany, co-workers, and customers. At DiMarco and Associates, High-Perfor- mance HVAC contracting always starts and ends with training. I’m not only talking about technical training, there is much more to it than that. WHO ARE DIMARCO AND ASSOCIATES? It makes sense to know a little about us to un- derstand our best practices. Located on the east side of Cleveland, OH, DiMarco and Associates is a commercial and residential HVAC compa- ny that focuses primarily on service and replace- ment work. The company offers a wide variety of services and disciplines to help customers be safe, comfortable, and healthy in both their com- mercial and residential environments. One of our secrets to success is being diversified – not all our eggs are in one nest. We perform service, installations, some new construction, retrofit, Design/Build, and system optimization and retro-commissioning. And we Create Static Pressure Testing Best Practices By Ben DiMarco MANAGEMENTbuilt to produce 30 miles per gallon, but you are only getting 18. So here are a few things we recommend you do to go from 18 to 26 mph. You can get better energy efficien- cy, better comfort throughout your home, better indoor air quality, and fewer breakdowns. SHOWROOM MARKETING Part of communications is doing what I call show-and-tell. In addition to explaining things in laymen’s terms, having a way to physically show cus- tomers what we mean is even better. So we are renovating and changing our laboratory showroom. We have working systems that we can show customers. Our guys can train on this same equipment, plus this is the equipment that heats and cools our buildings. This showroom laboratory is like a car dealership. It lets custom- ers see what we are talking about. CHEERLEADERS ARE REQUIRED One of the best practices we use at DiMarco and Associates is having dedicated cheerleaders. Cheerlead- ers help inspire and drive the team to- ward High-Performance HVAC con- tracting success. They help remind technicians about the importance of taking the time to test and measure, balance systems, and present the facts to customers in ways they will easily understand. And cheerleaders help keep the mes- sage consistent. Cheerleaders don’t have to be management (though our two cheerleaders are). And this works. Twenty years ago, when I first started on the path to performance, the HVAC Industry was so different than it is now. Today the industry recognizes the importance of testing and measuring, and more people are aware of high per- formance than ever. People talk about the importance of proper airflow today, whereas 20 years ago, that wasn’t even part of the conversation. And NCI is the driving force behind this. Talk about cheerleaders! In summary, here are some best practices that can help you be consis- tent in your static pressure testing and how you report results to customers: z The more static pressure testing you do, the more you will help in- crease awareness of what it is and what it means to consumers zIt would be best if you had a cheer- leader or two zExplain to customers how static pressure testing makes air visible, and why that is important zEducate customers how their HVAC system impacts their lives. Talk about how indoor air quality and airflow make all the difference zStatic pressure testing is a disci- pline. It is one of the essential skill- sets your technicians need. In the end, we want to use our test- ing and measurements to help ad- vise customers on the best way to solve their comfort and efficiency problems. Being comfort advisors is what all the best practices we talked about here lead to – that and satisfied customers. testing as part of every installation start up. This is our commissioning process which we do on both residential and commercial jobs. The takeaway is that we always em- phasize testing and balancing (TAB). Some TAB is embedded in the gen- eral work we do and some is part of our duct renovation work. We average around $500,000 a year in commis- sioning work. GOOD COMMUNICATION IS VITAL One of the best practices is the abil- ity to communicate to customers in a way that educates them so they can make the right purchase decisions. Communication starts with testing and measuring, then being able to in- terpret the results, so customers know what you are talking about. The NCI mantra, “If You Don’t Mea- sure, You’re Just Guessing™,” is the basis of our communications. For those of us who do measure, this is a tremendous opportunity. And it’s not all technical. You have to be able to walk customers through the process to help them buy. This means being more consultative. In other words, static pressure test- ing and airflow issues themselves are just part of the puzzle in discussing is- sues with the customer. How do you explain and advise them on optimiz- ing or retro-commissioning their sys- tem? Most customers have no idea what any of this means. For example, you can say, Mrs. Jones, we just finished testing and measuring your system and found that you have a great base. The only issue is that all the different parts ar- en’t dialed in correctly. Your heating and air conditioning equipment is Ben DiMarco is the CEO of DiMarco and Associates. He’s served in the HVAC Industry since 1986 and is a proponent of both the high-performance and Design/Build methods of doing business. You can contact him at ncilink.com/Contactme. 16 JUNE 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYJUNE 2022 17HVACTODAY.COM NCI UPDATE landscape of the credit card industry while keeping your costs low. Plus it is simple to run transactions. If interested in exploring ways to not only lower your credit card processing costs, but also earn NCI Bucks, go to their partner page at http://ncilink.com/SF . To sign up with them and get credit for NCI Bucks, go to http://ncilink.com/ SFSignUp. Welcome New Members National Comfort Institute is a mem- bership organization with the goal of helping HVAC contractors onto the High-Performance HVAC path. People who join are committed to the testing, measuring, and diagnosing approach to solving customer comfort and energy issues in their homes and businesses. This commitment has an extraor- dinary impact on your business, your team, and your customers. It is our great pleasure to welcome the following companies to who have recently joined the our ranks: z Air Butler Heating And Cooling, LLC, Deaver, WY z Air Doctors Heating and Cooling LLC, South Field, MI z Clear Heating & Air Inc. , El Cajon, CA z Energy Management and Com- missioning, LLC , Bay St. Louis, MS z Reliance Energy Services, River- side, CA z The Maintenance Department , Louisville, KY. We look forward to working with each of you. Did You Know … NCI’s Member Reward Program can really help when it comes to offsetting your company’s training costs. By taking advantage of the services offered by our Training Incentive Partnership Program (TIPP) members earn bucks that are held for them to use to offset training costs. TIPP was introduced 10 years ago and has been well-received and well-used by many NCI members. This is the only pro- gram of its kind in the HVAC Industry. Last year, 170 NCI members earned a total of $420,000 in NCI Bucks with 80 of them earning $377,000 in training funds – an average of more than $4,700 per company! The top three earners of 2021 are: z All-Pro Plumbing ($34,103) z Viccarone Heating and Air Condition- ing ($25,666) z Comfort Master Heating and Cooling ($20,017). The question is … are YOU taking ad- vantage of this member benefit? The key difference between the NCI program is that other programs typically just offer cash rebates. The biggest ben- efit is that you can use NCI Bucks to re- duce your training costs and keep your team on the cutting edge. Click here to learn more about NCI Bucks and how they work. If you have any questions, contact NCI Customer Care at 800-633-6017. Welcome New NCI Partners National Comfort Institute is pleased to welcome two new partners to our Member Rewards Training Incentive Partner Program (TIPP). They are Mosaic and Service First. Mosaic is a financing company that specializes in home improvement com- panies, including HVAC contracting firms. Their modus operandi is to make it easi- er for consumers to do business with your company by bringing costly improve- ments like replacement HVAC equipment, air upgrades, and duct renovations down to affordable monthly payments. The cool thing is that you can close and manage any sales deal on any device. They offer near-instant pre-approval de- cision, an interactive payment estimator, both next day and staged funding, and more. Learn more about our new partner and see how you can start earning NCI Bucks right away. Go to http://ncilink. com/Mosaic and sign up today. Service First is an electronic payment processing company that is offering a special ”members-only” program. This in- cludes a 60-day trial period, a free equip- ment loaner program, free enhanced on- line reporting, and more. They say they help merchants like you navigate the constantly changing 18 JUNE 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYJUNE 2022 19HVACTODAY.COM asked Rob if he would come on board to handle those areas. Rob took to HVAC like a fish to water. Not only did he quickly become an incredibly successful salesperson for the company, he was a sponge for knowledge. He read every industry publica- tion he could get his hands on, and attended ev- ery conference and training he could – both lo- cal and national. As he became more involved in commercial HVAC, Rob learned that many office buildings and commercial properties the company serviced had significant comfort issues. He learned about a device called an air capture hood, and he studied everything he could find on measuring airflow. Rob soon purchased his first hood to help correct significant comfort issues in one of their customers’ buildings. I remember Rob telling me the story. He had learned that an air capture hood cost $2,500. When the customer asked how much it would cost to make his building comfortable. Rob quoted a duct renovation, and then said “for $2,500 more I will guarantee and prove my work in writing.” He purchased the hood, renovated and bal- anced the building’s HVAC, and started on his journey to becoming one of the world’s foremost experts in airflow diagnostics and balancing. In 1986 Rob became NEBB (National Environ- mental Balancing Bureau) certified, and started National Balancing Service, an air and hydronic balancing company serving Central California. THE BIRTH OF RESIDENTIAL AIR BALANCING Then Rob did something truly unique. He start- ed applying his commercial balancing knowl- edge to residential HVAC systems. No one else at O n May 3, 2022, Gregory Robert (Rob) Falke was taken up to his creator. On this sad day, the HVAC industry lost one of its brightest stars and most faithful servant leaders. Those who were fortunate enough to become one of Rob’s many friends knew that he wasn’t just an industry icon and thought leader. He genuinely cared about everyone whose life he touched. He made you feel like the most import- ant person in the world when he was with you. In this tribute, I’d like to share with you who Rob really was, and how he grew up with the HVAC industry over the past 30+ years while helping thousands of others grow with him. THE EARLY DAYS Rob started his work- ing career in real estate in Central California. During the mid-seven- ties and early-eighties he grew from a success- ful realtor to managing an office of 50 agents. He lived through the boom and bust, experiencing both the glee and agony of that era. In 1983, his dad Walter, who had been an HVAC technician for many years, had the opportunity to buy a small HVAC service company in Turlock, CA. It was called Saunders Air Conditioning and it served the commercial and residential markets. Since Rob had significant experience in real es- tate transactions, he helped his dad negotiate the purchase. Soon after the acquisition, Walter realized he now had to run a contracting business and had little customer service and sales experience. He The HVAC Industry Loses Another Great Leader By Dominick Guarino TRIBUTE NCI Founders Rob Falke (left) and Dominick GuarinoNext >