Highlights: HARDI 2022 Annual Conference Ignite

In December, we were pleased to welcome more than 1,840 attendees to Houston, including 536 wholesaler attendees from 187 companies and a sold-out Booth Program featuring 250 vendors to our 2022 Annual Conference, IGNITE in Houston, TX! This was the highest number of attendees in the history of HARDI’s Annual Conference and a testament to the appetite the HVACR industry has for networking and educational content regarding trends, tools and practices that impact growth.

Our event featured six keynote speakers whose presentations aligned with the conference’s four main themes: Business Growth, External Impacts, Organizational Development and Personal Advancement. HARDI welcomed Billy Beane, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations of the Oakland A’s, whose engaging and informative presentation Moneyball: Lessons for Life & Business from Baseball’s Best General Manager was highly attended and praised. Anirban Basu, Chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group returned to the HARDI mainstage with a witty analysis of major factors shaping economic outcomes. Comedian and actor Dion Flynn wrapped the show with a fun and interactive improv-centered keynote presentation which was rife with lessons about the art of connection.

IGNITE featured 26 breakout sessions, many of which showcased valuable insights and benchmarking data made possible by HARDI’s Market Intelligence team. Four Regional Forecast sessions examined how economic and regulatory factors will impact specific regions of the country in the coming months. The Voice of Supplier, Voice of Contractor, and State of the Channel sessions gave attendees a look at the association’s yearlong research initiatives.

We leveraged our time together with members to make important announcements regarding changes to our Board of Directors. In 2019, HARDI adopted a bold new governance model designed to take the growing association to yet another level of sophistication and scale. One of those changes included instating two-year Chair terms. It was announced that Rhonda Wight, Refrigeration Sales Corp, will become the first ever HARDI Chair to serve a second year in 2023.

Our outgoing Board Members Scott Weaver, APR Supply and Carlton Harwood, Ferguson Enterprises were thanked for their exceptional and dutiful service. Additionally, HARDI’s new slate of directors were unanimously approved by general membership, and will serve three-year terms, concluding at the 2025 Annual Conference: Lauren Roberts, cfm Distributors, Kansas City, MO (2nd term); Steve Roe, Heating and Cooling Supply, Waterloo, IA; and Kevin Baxter, Munch’s Supply, New Lenox, IL.“ A key attribute of our governance model is a very strategic nomination process in which we inform the membership what kinds of skills and talents the Board is prioritizing for the next class. This results in multiple exceptionally well-suited nominees and ultimately makes for a difficult nomination process, which we think is a great problem to have. Kevin, Steve, and the return of Lauren for a second term, are perfect expressions of the process and are already making valuable contributions to the Board and HARDI”, said CEO, Talbot Gee.

Each year, Annual Conference provides a platform for our HARDI LATAM members to connect with the greater HARDI membership and staff. We were thrilled to have them on-site.

Finally, HARDI recognized 20 graduates from its Emerging Leaders program. “Program participants from distributor and supplier member companies have worked incredibly hard over the course of a 3-year curriculum to develop their executive skill sets, and we’re honored to be able to recognize them for their achievements in front of a large audience of their colleagues and friends,” said Nick Benton, Vice President of Operations, HARDI.

Be sure to save the date for next year’s Annual Conference which will be held in Phoenix, AZ at the beautiful JW Marriott Desert Ridge, December 2 – 5.

For questions or further information, please contact Allison Greene at agreene@hardinet.org.