Lochinvar Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high-efficiency water heaters, boilers and pool heaters, recently awarded twelve participants in its VIP Contractor Program with an all-expenses-paid trip to Tennessee for the third annual Nashville Experience. As a sign of appreciation for the winners' outstanding sales of the KNIGHT Heating Boiler, the industry’s most advanced fully modulating/condensing boiler, Lochinvar invited each winner and a guest of their choice to enjoy an action-packed, three-day getaway in the company's hometown.
This year, twice as many winners were chosen to experience Nashville, with one group of six visiting for a long weekend in early June (Thursday, June 5th through Sunday, June 8th) and another in mid-July (Thursday, July 10th through Sunday, July 13th). Over the course of each of the two trips, the VIP Contractors were given a taste of Southern hospitality by Lochinvar executives and a chance to experience Nashville's most exciting attractions.
To kick off their stay, each group visited the Lochinvar World Headquarters for an Open Forum with Engineering, Product Development and Service personnel, where they shared their opinions and ideas for the future of Lochinvar products and had the chance to ask questions about the KNIGHT Boiler and other Lochinvar products. After touring the facility and having lunch with the Lochinvar team, guests attending the festivities in June were given the choice of several evening entertainment options, including tickets to the CMA Music Festival for performances by some of country's hottest stars, a dinner cruise aboard the Opryland Hotel’s General Jackson Showboat or an evening at the world famous Grand Ole Opry. Those attending the events in July had the opportunity to choose from a similar list.
On Saturday of each of the two weekends, the VIP Contractors and guests were escorted to the main event: a trip to the Nashville Superspeedway. For the June attendees, this meant a chance to take in the Federated Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series Race, while the July group had the opportunity to join the crowd for both the Firestone 200 IndyCar Series Race and the Sunbelt Rentals 100 Firestone Indy Light Series Race.
The winners of the 2008 Nashville Experience included the following VIP contractors:
Group 1 (June 5th through June 8th)
- Tom Dolan, Garden City Plumbing and Heating, Missoula, MT
- Cliff Kelley, Kelley Plumbing and Heating Services in Sandy, UT
- Greg McCall of Greg’s Service Heating and Cooling, Maryville, IL
- Gordon Nadorozny, Weinkauf Plumbing and Heating, Alpena, MI
- Dave Petroelje, Royal Radiant Heat, Inc., Holland, MI
- Dave Kellermeier of Kellermeier Plumbing and Heating in Haskins, OH
Group 2 (July 10th through July 13th)
- Shad Powers of Smitty's Plumbing Heating in Bozeman, MT
- Jay Dorsey of Jim Dorsey Son in Taunton, MA
- Rollin Shuck of R Professional Services in Lee's Summit, MO
- Jack Murphy of A-Jack's Plumbing Heating in Sandy, UT
- Donal Crosen of Mukogawa Fort Wright in Spokane, WA
- Mike Waldman of Waldman Plumbing Heating in Lynn, MA
Lochinvar invites all premier contractors who install KNIGHT Heating Boilers to enroll in the VIP Contractor Program. In addition to being listed on Lochinvar's online Contractor Locator, VIP Contractors receive exceptional sales support and incentives. For the 2007-2008 heating season, participating contractors also had the opportunity to compete on a monthly basis to showcase their recent KNIGHT installations; each monthly winner was awarded a $250 gift card to Cabela's or Bass Pro Shop, and the most impressive project of the heating season was rewarded with the choice of a free KNIGHT Boiler or a Dell Laptop Computer complete with KNIGHT Boiler PC Software.