The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) held its Annual Meeting at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Arizona, during which it elected its new officers and presented awards to industry leaders.

“We are honored to recognize very deserving individuals and also to welcome these innovative leaders,” said AHRI President and CEO Stephen Yurek. “We are very grateful to them for their service to AHRI and the HVACR and water heating industry.”

AHRI's new Chairman is Chris Drew, executive vice president of Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Burnham Holdings, a manufacturer of heating equipment.

The officers are: Vice Chairman: Chris Peel, president and COO, Rheem Manufacturing Co.; Treasurer: Ron Duncan, president, Magic Aire; Immediate Past Chairman: Doug Young, president and COO, Lennox International, Inc.

The Executive Committee members are:

Dennis Appel, executive vice president, Heat Transfer Solutions, Luvata

John Galyen, president, Danfoss North America

Nicholas Giuffre, president and CEO, Bradford White Corporation

Chris Nelson, president, North America HVAC, Carrier

Chris Peel, president and COO, Rheem Manufacturing Co.

Earle Pfefferkorn, president, Cleaver-Brooks

Dave Regnery, president North America, Climate Solutions, Trane

Rod Rushing, vice president and general manager global products,  Johnson Controls

Brent Schroeder, president, Air Conditioning, Emerson

Mike Schwartz, CEO, Daikin Applied

Bill Steel, President and CEO, Bard Manufacturing

Kevin Wheeler, President, North America, Europe, and India, A.O. Smith

The Richard C. Schulze Award is given for distinguished service and commitment to AHRI and the industry's goals and objectives. AHRI congratulates: John Bade, Johnson Controls, Inc.; Matthew Friedlander, RenewAire; John Galyen, Danfoss; Ron Passafaro, ECR International; Tom Troyanek, Trane.

In 2016, AHRI honored two individuals with Distinguished Service Awards, AHRI's highest honor, which recognizes individuals who are leaders in the industry and who have made significant contributions  throughout their careers.

AHRI honored Peter Alexander, senior vice president at Goodman Manufacturing, who recently retired after 59 years in the HVACR and water heating industry.

AHRI also honored Bill Root, vice president and general manager of Laars Heating Systems.  Root, who will shortly retire from the industry, has been active since 1986 in a variety of positions prior to joining Laars in 1998. 

To learn more, visit the AHRI website.