“I love the challenges every day,” McGuigan said.

He didn’t grow up planning to be in the HVAC industry, but rather sort of tripped and fell into one day, he said.

His daily tasks include service calls, dealing with any upset customers, and training the younger techs so they can one day advance in their careers. Not only does he install the most difficult applications, but he follows up on many service jobs that other technicians at the company can’t figure out.

“Our customers love James,” said Erin Joyce-Brady, director of marketing and communications at Accurate Baker, noting that often customers even ask for McGuigan to be assigned to their appointment.

“He gets so many requests that we have to tell some customers that if they would like their problem solved sooner than later, they probably don’t want to wait for when James is available.” Joyce-Brady said.

McGuigan’s job as an HVAC technician is more than a job to him. He’ll work into the late hours of the evening whenever a customer is in need. He’ll squeeze a customer into his busy schedule if they ever find themselves with an emergent issue.

“He dedicates a lot of time to his job and never complains. He truly enjoys it every day,” Joyce-Brady said.

Recently, during a heat wave, Accurate Baker had a no-cool call from Bellingham Medical Associates, which in a healthcare facility is a dire emergency. When McGuigan arrived, he saw that the compressor was leaking and almost completely out of refrigerant. They needed a new compressor and they needed it fast. McGuigan was able repair the leak temporarily and charge the system up with refrigerant so patients and staff wouldn’t have to be without a/c while they waited for their new compressor to arrive and be installed.

McGuigan received the compressor on a day he’d been working until 4:30 p.m. But he went to Bellingham Medical Associates anyway and installed the new compressor himself. And he did it after hours to ensure he wouldn’t cause a disturbance amongst the staff and patients.

“By 8:30, he finished the job and the new compressor was up and running,” Joyce-Brady said. “They were able to return to the medical building the next day with working a/c. I think this is a great example of how James takes his job one step further than I think most would. He always shows up to work and works harder than asked for.”

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