ARLINGTON, Va. - North American Technician Excellence (NATE) announced the first group of winners in the inaugural NATE Bowl contest that kicked-off on Feb. 1. These monthly winners were awarded prizes for a variety of accomplishments, including the contractor with the most new certifications in a given month; the contractor with the most re-certifications in a given month; and the contractor or technician with the highest NATE certification score for the month. February’s Tools of the Trade prizes were supplied by JB Industries through the efforts of Johnstone Supply.

The February division leaders are: Division 1, AC/DAC LLC, Nashville; Division 2, Peaden Air Conditioning, Panama City, Fla.; and Division 3, Bryan’s United, Gretna, La.

The most new NATE certification winners are Brothers Air & Heat, Rock Hill, S.C., and Southport Heating & Cooling, Kenosha, Wis. The most NATE re-certifications are Wendland Air Conditioning and Heating, Portland, Texas, and AC/DAC LLC, Nashville. The highest NATE certification score went to Michael Nuzzo of Southport Heating & Cooling, Kenosha, Wis.

“We congratulate this round of NATE Bowl winners and look forward to announcing many more as the contest goes on through October,” said Rex Boynton, president of NATE.

“It’s our hope that all HVACR contractors will get involved in this good-natured competition to leverage their commitment to excellence in a fun way.”

In addition to monthly prizes, the five contractors at the end of the contest with the most NATE Bowl points in each of the three divisions will be entered into a grand prize drawing for a Super Bowl package to be announced in early November. Teams can get points for every NATE-certified technician they have on staff.

Additional points can be earned each time a technician gets certified (or re-certified) or earns additional NATE credentials. All points accrue during the NATE Bowl season, which lasts through October 2008.

For more information, visit www.natex.org.

Publication date: 04/14/2008