By SCOTT LYNCH, President & CEO, ABMA
From June 24-27, ABMA and its members convened for the 2022 Summer Meeting at The Ritz-Carlton-Amelia Island in Fernandina Beach, FL. Based on the initial feedback, the meeting was a big success and offered attendees an experience that far outweighed the investment.
The meeting officially kicked off on Friday with the Associates' Group Meeting presentation, "Business Insurance for Boiler Manufacturers, What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You" by Colin Donovan and John Kerr from STICO Mutual, followed by a Welcoming Reception, sponsored by the National Board of Boiler & Pressure Vessel Inspectors (NBBI).
Saturday morning started with a Member Breakfast sponsored by Power Flame and a presentation from the Rental Group featuring Robert Sutton from BNSF Logistics about supply chain challenges, solutions and trends. The next session was the Professional Development Workshop sponsored by Warren Environment. Megan Patton from Mastering Midsized conducted the presentation about how the best companies recruit top talent.
The final Saturday presentation was for the Alternative Energy Group, "Repurposing Wastewater for Usable Steam" presented by Ron Swanson with Sustainable H2O Technologies, followed by the Group Lunch sponsored by Superior Boiler. The members enjoyed eating lunch together while networking.
Saturday ended in the Oceanfront Lawn with lots of fun and playful competition during our 2nd Annual Cornhole Tournament & Social sponsored by Frederick Cowan Products by ICI. The winner of the Cornhole Tournament was Team "Don't Mess With Texas!"Congratulations to the Shippy's on their big win.Sunday morning kicked off with the Spouse Breakfast & Sea Glass Art Activity sponsored by Preferred Utilities Mfg Corporation. The spouses and guests had a fun time coming together, visiting, and making a sea turtle art project out of sea glass in the Courtyard.
ABMA member attendees enjoyed their own breakfast Sunday morning sponsored by Webster Combustion followed by a presentation from the International Group, "Doing Business in China - Significant Opportunities and Navigating Challenges for Success" by Manny Menendez from ClearSign Technologies.
The day continued with an Industrial Group Meeting presentation by Bob Bessette, former CIBO President discussing the future of steam and thermal energy. The Sunday sessions ended with the Controls and Instrumentation Group (pictured), presenting on"Efficiency Improvements, Technologies & Their Effect on Decarbonization: A Panel Discussion." Panelists included: Bill Gurski, Zeeco; Jason Howard, Power Flame; Jamie Tighe, E-Tech; Dave Reinink, Johnston Boiler; Jesse Coffee, Oilon; Rich Simons, Laars Heating; and Jeremy Zellmer, Industrial Steam.
The attendees had a magical Sunday evening watching magic tricks by Chris Herrick Magic while networking and enjoying delicious desserts with friends. Thank you to Industrial Steam for sponsoring Sunday's Dessert Social and Magic Show.
Our final day of the Summer Meeting began with the Monday General Session Breakfast sponsored by Umicore Catalyst USA, followed by the Closing General Session sponsored by RENTECH. The session consisted of a virtual economic Q&A with Connor Lokar from ITR Economics and ABMA's President, and concluded with a motivating and high-energy presentation by Dana Cavalea, former performance coach for MLB's New York Yankees, on "Howto Build a Championship Team," to close out our Summer Meeting sessions.During the General Session, ABMA presented Distinguished Service Awards (DSA) to John Viskup from Victory Energy, and Earle Pfefferkorn from Cleaver-Brooks, for their hard work and dedication to the boiler industry.
Gene Tompkins, ABMA's Technical Consultant and Shaunica Jayson, ABMA's Marketing Director were recognized during the General Session for their service to ABMA. Tompkins will be retiring at the end of 2022 and was recognized for his service and dedication to ABMA and the boiler industry. Jayson was recognized for her 5 years of service to ABMA.
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Mark your calendar for the 2023 Annual Meeting, which takes place January 13-16 at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, CA. More details on this event will be posted in the coming months and registration will open by September. We look forward to seeing you in California!