The Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International has promoted Jonathan Melchi to director of government affairs.

Melchi has been with the association since September 2010.

“Jon has been a tremendous addition to the HARDI staff and has grown the ranks of HARDI members actively engaged in the association’s advocacy efforts to new heights in a short amount of time,” said HARDI’s 2011 president, Bud Mingledorff of Mingledorff’s Inc.

Prior to joining HARDI, Melchi worked for with Franklin County Recorder’s Office in Columbus, Ohio, where he directed government and public relations.

“This promotion is well-deserved and even in light of Jon’s relatively brief tenure with HARDI, probably overdue,” said HARDI Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Talbot Gee. “Jon has an invaluable gift of making very complicated issues easy to understand and engagement in HARDI’s efforts fun; both of which are vitally important when the members we serve already have demanding full-time jobs that don’t include government affairs.”

In his new position, Melchi will take over HARDI’s federal and state legislative and regulatory affairs, and its efforts to maximize utility company and government energy-efficiency initiatives.