HVAC contractors from across the country got "The Big Picture" from the perspective of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America, during ACCA's 42nd Annual Conference and Indoor Air Expo, Mar. 7-9, Tampa, FL.

The event was co-sponsored by the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA), which also held its 13th annual meeting at the same time.

The conference included educational seminars, general sessions, and an product exhibits.

"I've heard many great things about the magic that happened this week," said Paul Stalknecht, president and CEO of ACCA. "We can always expect great things when we gather ACCA contractors together, and this 'Big Picture' event has exceeded expectations."

During the three-day event, attendees took part in general sessions, and had the opportunity to select from more than 30 focused learning labs. The workshops covered many residential and commercial HVAC business management and technical topics.

During the annual Chairman's Banquet, outgoing Chairman Stan Johnson thanked his officers and ACCA staff, and encouraged members to continue the hard-fought political battle he waged during his tenure.

"We can’t stop now," he said. "We must make our voice heard in Washington. We're not going to stop everything bad from happening, but we won’t stop anything if we sit on the sidelines."

Johnson passed the gavel to incoming chairman John Sedine. New ACCA officers appointed for 2010-2011 are:

• Chairmen: Joe Nichter, Tommy Castellano, Dave Kyle, and Mark Swepston
• Secretary: Bobby Ring
• Treasurer: Laura DiFilippo
• Chair of the ACCA Advisory Council: Ray Isaac.

The ACCA Residential Contractor of the Year award was presented to Conditioned Air, Naples, FL.

TAG Mechanical, Syracuse, NY was named Commercial Contractor of the Year. ACCA also presented its Distinguished Service Award to Ellis Guiles of TAG Mechanical, for his continued commitment to serving the association and industry.

TAG Mechanical received a ContractingBusiness.com Quality Home Comfort Award in 2009; see: http://bit.ly/tagcbaward.