MISSISSAUGA, Ontario - Warren Heeley, president of the Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI), presented the HRAI CMS Award for educational achievement to two honorees at the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society Canada (RSES Canada) Annual Meeting in Toronto.

Gary Struhar of Belle River, Ontario, obtained the highest mark in Canada for the 2008 CMS dynamic compression examination.

Mike Podd of Scarborough, Ontario, obtained the highest mark in Canada for the 2009 commercial refrigeration examination.

Struhar is a refrigeration mechanic at Honeywell Ltd., and he has been a member of RSES since 1981 and has held several positions in RSES Canada. He is directly involved in the new Ontario ODP upgrade, in conjunction with the HRAI and Local 787 (Refrigeration Workers of Ontario), and is currently the ODP chairperson for RSES Canada.

Podd began his apprenticeship at Neelands Refrigeration in Burlington where he gained experience on installing and commissioning supermarket refrigeration equipment. He began his current technical support/sales position at Sporlan Valve in September 2003. Besides achieving CM status in 2007, Podd also obtained his C tech designation with OACETT.

Publication date: 06/07/2010