In a time when the HVAC industry is facing a shortage of skilled workers, Pennsylvania College of Technology (Penn College, a Penn State affiliate) and Johnson Controls are teaming up to attract and groom the next generation of HVAC technicians.

The most striking feature of the new $60 million Flushing Meadows Corona Park Pool & Ice Rink is its 20-foot-high wall of windows that affords a panoramic view of the surrounding New York City urban oasis of natural beauty, but it wouldn’t be possible without the project engineer’s HVAC design.

The Kerner Group was recently recognized as one of the “Fantastic 50” by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. The award program recognizes the state’s fastest-growing private companies with sales between $200,000 and $100 million.

Members of the New Jersey Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association recently were involved in a “Homes for Our Troops” project to build a specially adapted home for a severely injured war veteran and his family. Chapter members donated key supplies and financing needed to complete the home.

Carrier Corp.’s Residential and Light Commercial Systems business honored longtime leaders in the HVAC industry with its Dealer Hall of Fame Award. Honorees included Mitchell Cropp of Cropp-Metcalfe, Fairfax, Va.

The Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) announced the names of several Eastern region members who were awarded RSES Certificate Member (CM) and Certificate Member Specialist (CMS) status in April 2008.

EMCOR Services’ New England Mechanical (NEMSI) was recently named one of the Best Places to Work in Connecticut - again. The annual program to recognize the state’s top employers is sponsored by the Hartford Business Journal, Connecticut Better Business Bureau, and Best Companies Group.

Honeywell announced a $6 million energy-efficiency and building modernization program for the Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA) in Wilmington, Del. The program centers on a variety of facility improvements that will help the housing authority decrease energy and water consumption, and reduce its environmental footprint.

The Mechanical Service Contractors of America (MSCA) recently announced that W.E. Bowers Inc., a full-service mechanical construction, service, and plumbing company, is the first MSCA STAR contractor to qualify for the organization’s environmentally oriented GreenStar designation.

EMCOR Group Inc., a leading mechanical and electrical construction, energy infrastructure, and facilities services firm, has announced that its EMCOR Government Services business will perform a major overhaul of a seven mile steam tunnel in Washington, D.C., that serves more than 100 government buildings.