Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) is pleased to announce the promotion of Jonathan Melchi to director of Government Affairs effective immediately. Melchi joined the HARDI staff in September of 2010 as manager of Government Affairs and has since expanded and strengthened HARDI's advocacy presence and effectiveness.
“Jon has been a tremendous addition to the HARDI staff and has grown the ranks of HARDI members actively engaged in the association's advocacy efforts to new heights in a short amount of time,” said HARDI 2011 President Bud Mingledorff, Mingledorffs, Inc. In his new role, Jon will also assume greater involvement in association operations and strategic planning.
“This promotion is well-deserved and even in light of Jon's relatively brief tenure with HARDI, probably overdue,” said HARDI Executive Vice President and COO Talbot Gee. “Jon has an invaluable gift of making very complicated issues easy to understand and engagement in HARDI's efforts fun — both of which are vitally important when the members we serve already have demanding full-time jobs that don't include government affairs.”
In his new role, Melchi will expand his leadership of HARDI's federal and state legislative and regulatory affairs, as well as HARDI's efforts to improve and maximize utility and government energy efficiency initiatives.
Melchi came to HARDI after eight years of service with the Franklin County Recorder (Columbus, OH) where he directed government affairs and public relations initiatives. He has served as a representative to the Ohio Recorders Association alongside numerous political and governmental figures. As a member of the Franklin County Combined Charity Steering Committee, Melchi helped establish policies and procedures for the annual combined charitable campaign. His efforts as an Ambassador for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Franklin County, an organization whose mission is to provide a voice in court for the innocent child victims of abuse and neglect, have been far reaching in the community.
Visit www.HARDInet.org for additional information.