COLUMBUS, Ohio — Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) recently announced the hire of Kara Martens to its newly created Events Coordinator position. With the growth and improvements to HARDI’s events, Martens will support the added capacity and complexity of the events and strengthen the Networking pillar.

“Adding Kara to the team was an essential step forward for our event capabilities,” said Eileen Mantel, manager, Networking & Conferences, HARDI. “Among other improvements, her background and skills are going to help us streamline registration for both the member experience and internal processes. All of our members will enjoy the value of Kara’s support from the day they register for an event to the day they attend.”

“I couldn’t be happier about joining the team. Seeing an event through from conception to a flawless execution is both a challenge and a very rewarding experience for me,” said Martens.

One of Martens’ first major responsibilities will be to manage all aspects of the Booth Program for Annual Conference. She will also assist with evaluating venues and negotiating discounts for HARDI members. Martens also plans to migrate more of HARDI’s events processes to electronic systems, resulting in greater efficiency and increased accuracy.

Martens comes to HARDI from a national lending firm, where she was responsible for coordinating functions and activities for executive level guests. Prior to that, she managed events for Thirty-One Gifts, supporting registration processes for their 15,000-person annual conference. She also worked closely with the company’s highest-level revenue earners to problem solve and ensure fulfillment of their needs.