ARLINGTON, Va. — The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) will hold its 41st annual ACCA Conference & Indoor Air Expo in Fort Worth, Texas, Feb. 24-26, 2009. The association reports that, despite the economic downturn, the 2009 event is set to break records, as advance registration is up more than 166 percent over the same time last year. This year’s conference features a new educational program built around topics selected by ACCA’s contractor members.

Leading HVACR contractors from around the country will present 25 breakout workshops, including:

• Hiring the Right People

• Managing Your Company with Team Leaders

• Commercial Service Agreements: Key to Success

• The Green Consumer: Who They Are, What They Want, How to Sell to Them

• Implementing Quality Installation

• Strategies for Reducing Callbacks

• Managing Your Vehicles for Lower Costs

• Identifying & Selling Energy Savings in Commercial Buildings

• The HVAC Career Path: Building One for Your Employees

• (Almost) 50 Ways to Find & Keep Great Employees

New this year will be a special pre-conference session at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 24, “Open Season on HVAC Marketing.” ACCA says this “open consulting” session will offer participants the chance to ask direct questions — and get straightforward answers — from two of the HVACR industry’s leading experts on marketing, Adams Hudson and Brian Kraff. This pre-conference session is open to ACCA conference registrants only, and limited seating is available.

Kicking off the conference will be nationally-known speaker Eric Chester, an expert on working with younger generation workers. He is the author of Employing Generation Why and Getting Them to Give a Damn: How to Get Your Front Line to Care About Your Bottom Line.

The CEO/Contractor Forum allows contractors to dialogue with the CEOs of leading HVACR equipment manufacturers, and ACCA’s “I’ve Got an Idea” session will return to offer contractors access to dozens of ideas they can put to use right away.

Registration for the 2009 ACCA Conference is available online at www.acca.org/conference or by calling Vickie Ellis at 703-824-8856.

Publication date: 01/19/2009