Illinois contractor Mechanical Inc. was made the mechanical contractor of choice for Sherman Hospital’s $310 million replacement hospital in Elgin, Ill. Scheduled to open in late 2009, the hospital will be mainly heated and cooled by geothermal energy from a 15-acre artificial lake next to the facility.

Ferguson Heating & Cooling announced the opening of two new branches for the northern Ohio market. The branches will be located in Cleveland and Akron - and each will be more than four times the size of Ferguson’s existing Cleveland and Akron branches that were part of the acquisition of United Automatic.

McAfee Heating and Air Conditioning, a NEWS’ 2007 “Best Contractor to Work For” winner, was recently honored for “Outstanding Safety” by the National Air Duct Cleaner’s Association (NADCA). To receive such an award, a company must have little or no instances of injuries or accidents over a three-year period.

Five Iowa State University students majoring in Construction Engineering with a mechanical emphasis will be sharing $3,500 in scholarships from the Ed Lord II/Sheet Metal Contractors of Iowa Scholarship Fund.

Here is a list of Website URLs of HVAC contractors in the North Central region who participated in The NEWS’ article titled “Bragging Rights for Contractor Websites” (May 19, 2008 issue).

After a 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck the Illinois-Indiana state line on April 18, the Indiana Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (Indiana PHCC) took the lead on providing consumers with after-earthquake safety tips.

Nicor Services, Naperville, Ill., announced that it has been awarded the Carrier 2008 President’s Award, one of Carrier’s highest honors for its dealers. Nicor Services is the only HVAC company in Illinois to receive the honor.

The Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) announced the names of members who were awarded RSES Certificate Member (CM) and Certificate Member Specialist (CMS) status in March 2008. Several Midwest members passed a CMS exam and were awarded CMS status.

Ron Clutter, president and owner of Nordic Air Inc., Geneva, Ohio, has been named by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Cleveland District Office, as the winner of the Small Business Person of the Year Award for the state of Ohio.

Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, the largest commercial building in the world, has signed the first project development agreement in the United States under the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI). Under the agreement, TAC will implement energy reduction initiatives as part of CCI’s Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program.