< Previousapproach from the minute they started training with NCI in 2018. “One of the things that makes this organization truly stand out is they don’t cut corners,” Guarino said. “They test nearly every home they encounter and offer the right solu- tions for each customer’s individual problems.” Large Contractor of the Year: Cardinal Heating and Air Con- ditioning of Sun Prairie, WI. Presenter David Richardson de- scribed Cardinal as a full home-ser- vices company focused on providing the ultimate customer experience. He said, “They focus on CO safety and providing customers with innova- tive solutions. That requires training and education — something that the management team at Cardinal are big believers in. They even have their own university!” Accepting the award on behalf of the company were Luke Wrona and Dan Guttenberg. RECOGNITION AWARDS In addition, NCI recognizes individ- uals for their contributions toward the advancement of the high-performance approach to HVAC contracting. These awards and this year’s winners include the following: z David Debien Award for Tech- nical Excellence – Cliff Dennis, Vassers Service of Richmond, VA z John Garofalo Implementation Excellence Award – Getzschman Heating, Fremont, NE zScott Johnson Training Excel- lence Award – Tom Hearn, Hearn Plumbing and Heating, Madison, OH zHigh Performance Sales Ex- cellence Award – Will Horner, tractor of the Year Awards based on company size: z Small (under $2 million in volume) zMedium ($2 to 6 million) z Large (more than $6 million). Contractor of the Year Awards go to companies that demonstrate con- sistent work in implementing perfor- mance-based testing on every service and installation call. These companies also work to cre- ate a high-performance-based busi- ness culture in their firms, have strong service departments that incorporate high-performance testing into their service agreement programs, and who consistently sell system renovations. Winners accomplish all the above by maintaining a strong training ethic within their overall company culture. Here is a breakdown of this year’s winners. Small Contractor of the Year: JN Electrical Temperature Con- trol of Bowersville, GA. David Richardson, who presented this award to owners Jason and Eliz- abeth Nikkel, said, “This year’s win- ner is known for a focus on craftsman- ship in the community they serve. The founding principles were instilled by Jason’s father and is now being car- ried on with the next generation. “And the great news is that JN Elec- trical saved their customers mon- ey both on repairs and energy sav- ing. How do they know? Because they measure!” Medium Contractor of the Year: Crossway Mechanical LLC, Tomball, TX. NCI CEO Dominick Guarino pre- sented the award to Owner Brian Wright. According to Guarino, Cross- way embraced the high-performance Will Horner (center) of Canco ClimateCare took home the 2023 High-Performance Sales Excellence Award . AJ Simmons (second from left) and Jimmie Vasquez (second from right) represented Daikin Comfort Technologies, recipients of NCI’s Preferred Partner Award . The 2023 NCI Chairman’s Award recogni- tion went to Greg Wallace (center) of Pro- gressive Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing. SUMMIT 2023 REVIEW 20 JUNE 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYprogram is to honor those individuals who dedicate a great part of their pro- fessional careers to help raise the bar in the HVAC Industry. According to Dominick Guarino, the inaugural winner of this award, “has been living and breathing high-per- formance for many years, even before NCI started using this term. “He doesn’t own an HVAC com- pany, nor does he work for one. In- stead he has been working for a util- ity company for decades to help drive high-performance among the contrac- tors in the community he serves.” The first recipient of this award is Tom Turner of Austin Energy, Austin, TX. Congratulations to all the winners and to all the attendees who help make Summit great every year. STAY TUNED FOR SUMMIT 2024 Mark your calendars for Sep- tember 10-13, 2024. Summit moves to Asheville, NC in September. We will have more information on pricing and registration in the very near future at gotosummit.com. Contractor attendees capturing ideas during one of the sessions at the 2023 High- Performance HVAC Summit. SUMMIT 2023 REVIEW Canco ClimateCare, New Market, Ontario, Canada z Preferred Partners Award -- Daikin Comfort Technologies z The Chairman’s Award -- Greg Wallace, Progressive Heating, Cool- ing, and Plumbing, Noonan, GA In addition, NCI introduced two new awards during the 2023 Summit: ROB FALKE SERVANT LEADERSHIP AWARD This new award is named for NCI President Rob Falke who passed away in 2022. Rob represented the epitome of service to others and the criteria for this recognition is based on how Rob lived his life as a servant leader: zAlways ready to help others and en- courage them to succeed zServes the people he manages or leads with humility and grace z Puts others ahead of self in terms of giving credit and praising achievement zFosters leadership in others. “I’ve known our winner for many years, in fact he has been a force of change at every Summit he has attend- ed since 2015,” said Dominick Guarino. “Not only does he continually attend every class NCI offers in his area, he usually drags five or six people along with him. He is a great example for his fellow employees to follow, and would literally give the shirt off his back to help others, which he actually did at a Summit several years ago.” The inaugural recipient of this award is Michael Greany of Aire Rite Air Conditioning & Refrigera- tion, Corona, CA. SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE AWARD This addition to the NCI recognition Robin Falke (second from left) joined David Richardson and Dominick Guarino in pre- senting the inaugural Rob Falke Servant Leadership Award in honor of her late husband and NCI President Rob Falke. The winner was Michael Greany of Aire Rite Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. Dominick Guarino (left) and David Richard- son (right) present the inaugeral Spirit of Independence Award to Joseph Storey and Joseph Mitchell of Austin Energy who accepted the award on behalf of winner Tom Turner. JUNE 2023 21HVACTODAY.COM22 JUNE 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYof the benefits (including the PowerPack), just call 800-633-7058 and talk to one of our customer care representatives. ANOTHER AMAZING MEMBER BENEFIT: NCI BUCKS! One of the best benefits of National Comfort Institute membership is called TIPP (Training Incentive Partner Pro- gram) . This program is unique in that it takes rebates earned from making pur- chases through NCI’s Member Rewards partner companies and converts them into NCI Bucks which members can use at any time to help reduce the cost of NCI training for their High-Performance HVAC Contracting teams. Let’s face it – training is expensive no matter how you look at it. TIPP is de- signed to help NCI members earn money toward training through purchases made with our partners. Many members have NCI Bucks ready to use for training their techs right now. It doesn’t matter if the training is in-per- son, online, online live, or the NCI con- ference. Members have three ways to earn Bucks: z Earn NCI Bucks through TIPP z Buy seats in training classes z Get Bonus Bucks with NCI’s Learning Excellence Member options. A membership with NCI enables con- tractors to take advantage of this pow- erful membership benefit at any time. Do you want to learn more? Call the NCI helpline at 800-633-7058 . WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS Membership in an organization like National Comfort Institute (NCI) is a step toward becoming a High-Performance HVAC Contracting firm. It is a commit- ment that has an extraordinary impact on your business and your team. So, it is our pleasure to recognize and welcome those new members who joined our ranks recently: Polar Bear Air Conditioning, George- town, CI Lickety-Split AC, Plumbing, and Elec- tric, St. Augustine, FL Blue Valley Heating and Cooling, Longmont, CO Sun Kool AC, Ocala, FL Comfort Science Solutions, Oak Island, NC. This month’s PowerPack focuses on the start to the air conditioning season. This PowerPack is only for National Com- fort Institute (NCI) members. So what is a PowerPack? It is a curated package of various downloads of how-to content that provide members help on their High-Performance HVAC journey. Non-members do not have access to these benefits. ALL members can access these tools through this PowerPack portal during the current month. For June 2023 , the PowerPack includes: Expanded Cooling Equipment (1 to 30 tons) Nomenclature Table (Download) NCI Manufacturer’s Data Locator (Download) Generic Cooling Capacity Table (Download) Refrigerant Charging: It’s Not Just Superheat and Subcooling (Article) Advanced Temperature Diagnos- tics (Recorded Webinar). We think members will find these tools and training materials very helpful as they continue to grow their High-Perfor- mance HVAC business. If you are interested in learning more about membership with NCI and/or some NCI UPDATE National Comfort Institute Membership Has It’s Benefits: Welcome to the June 2023 PowerPack JUNE 2023 23HVACTODAY.COMHVAC SMART MART 24 JUNE 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYAD INDEX HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY TM Publisher Dominick Guarino Editor-in-Chief Mike Weil Art Director Judy Marquardt Online Development Director Brian Roseman Circulation Manager Andrea Begany-Garsed To Subscribe to High-Performance HVAC Today: ONLINE: Visit HVACToday.com/subscribe for a FREE digital subscription. PRINT: 1 year/$72; single copy $7. Canada: 1 year/$92; single copy $9. Payable in advance with U.S. funds. Prepaid subscriptions may be sent to: High-Performance HVAC Today, PO Box 147, Avon Lake, OH 44012. Phone: 440-949-1850; toll free 800-633-7058; or visit HVACToday.com/subscribe to order online. Go to ncilink.com/ContactMe with your comments and questions. Arzel Zoning Technology, Inc. | www.ArzelZoning.com ...................................................... 5 Baker Distributing Company | www.BakerDist.com ........................................................... 24 Duct Saddles | www.DuctSaddles.com ..................................................................................... 11 Evergreen Telemetry | www.EvergreenTelemetry.com ........................................................ 2 Goodman Manufacturing | www.GoodmanMfg.com ....................................................... 22 Lazco Corporation | www.Lazcocorp.com ............................................................................. 25 R.E. Michel Company | www.REMichel.com .......................................................................... 16 Sauermann | www.sauermanngroup.com ............................................................................ 12 TEC (The Energy Conservatory) | www.energyconservatory.com ............................... 11 The New Flat Rate | www.TheNewFlatRate.com ................................................................ 24 To Your Success | www.ToYourSuccess.com .......................................................................... 24 Tru Tech Tools | www.TruTechTools.com .....................................................................................8 Advertiser IndexAdvertiser Index JUNE 2023 25HVACTODAY.COMFUTURE OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE PANEL One of the standouts of this year’s conference was the panel discussion featuring five indus- try thought leaders: Jim Bergmann with Mea- sureQuick, Bill Spohn with Trutech Tools, Steve Rogers with TEC, Michael Hyde with Hyde’s Air Conditioning, and Daniel Squires with Vincent’s Heating & Plumbing. The lively panel took a close look at how far the High-Performance HVAC in- dustry has come, and where it is going. Topics included fast-changing testing technol- ogy, and how verifying performance will contin- ue to get easier, faster, and more accurate. The discussion also covered homeowner education, training to keep up with emerging technologies, challenges in testing on service and installation, where the industry will be in five years, and more. NEW NCI AWARD A major highlight of this year’s Summit was the introduction of a new NCI Award: The Rob Fal- ke Servant Leadership Award. This award in honor of NCI’s late president Rob Falke was presented by his widow, Robin Falke to a well de- serving industry professional, Michael Greany. Much like Rob, Michael is all about serving and edifying others within and outside our industry. He is a shining example of a servant leader, and our industry is a better place with him in it. IT’S NOT TOO LATE This column just scratches the surface on Sum- mit 2023. If you didn’t make it this year, NCI is offering the next best thing. Go to ncilink.com/ Summit23Vids to learn how you can watch re- cordings of Summit along with your entire team. Be sure to check out our special offer that in- cludes a seat to our next Summit in Asheville, NC next September 10-13, 2024. C ontractors and other industry profession- als descended on Branson, MO this April to make this year’s High-Performance HVAC Summit one of the best ever. The spirit of Summit was alive and shining as participants connected and openly shared success- es, failures, and their hopes and ideas for the fu- ture. What always strikes me about this gathering are the relationships, both new and existing, that form and intensify during the days of this compre- hensive event. A hard-to-describe feeling perme- ated through every part of Summit this year. WISDOM OF THE GROUP BREAKOUTS As I spoke to participants over the three-day event, many said one of their favorite aspects was how breakout sessions weren’t typical seminars. They said they liked the mastermind-style dis- cussions on specific areas of implementation that drew from the “Wisdom of the Group.” In all there were 16 sessions focused on 4 ma- jor topic areas: Lead Generation Through Air- side Testing, Combustion Testing and Fol- low-through, Generated Testing-Lead Handling, and High-Performance Maintenance Agree- ments. Truly great discussions and ideas came out of these sessions. More later on how you can view them if you missed Summit this year. NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS Several key announcements were made during the general sessions. Especially notable were all the new partnerships formed with instrument and software vendors, a new financing program, and several new NCI classes including System Design, and Refrigerant-Side Performance. We also previewed NCI’s new headquarters and training center in Eastern Tennessee, and so much more. ONE MORE THING... By Dom Guarino Another Amazing Summit Thanks to You! Dominick Guarino is publisher of High-Performance HVAC Today magazine and President & CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at ncilink. com/ContactMe 26 JUNE 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYNext >