There was a time, believe it or not, when vocational education was important. According to Marc Bridgens, associate professor of hvacr at Pennsylvania College of Technology, vocational education can be traced back to the 1600s and it hit its height in the 1970s.
Over the years, as the number of employees increased at J & J Air Conditioning Inc. in San Jose, CA, owner Jerry Hurwitz felt a need to keep his mechanics up to date and on the “leading edge.” Hurwitz put his love of education and his years of professional teaching into practice by developing a series of in-house training classes. This eventually led to the establishment of Air Conditioning Instructional Research (AIR) in 1983.
When it was time for Lyman Lockwood, a Unico contractor with George Haney & Son, to upgrade the current heating system in his home, he didn’t have to shop around.
What would an industry association meeting today be without a discussion about mold? At the Air Conditioning Contractors of America’s (ACCA’s) recent conference, a seminar titled “What Today’s Hvacr Contractor Needs To Know About The Mold Issue” drew an overflow crowd of anxious contractors thirsting for knowledge and answers.
Larry Taylor experienced Sept. 11, 2001 during his term as chairman of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA). Jim Hussey now takes over as the association’s 2002-2003 chairman.