One could argue that Halsey Cook, president, North America-Residential, Carrier Corp., may have been the bravest soul present, as he had to face some tough questions regarding his company’s relationship with Sears at both an open forum and a closed-door session with ACCA members. (See sidebar below.)
Yet, there’s no doubt that the man who stole the ACCA show was keynote speaker and economist Dr. Lowell Catlett, who outlined for contractors the changing demographics that will impact their businesses. The futurist had the 1,200-plus HVACR professionals laughing from start to finish — due mainly to his one-of-a-kind, animated presentation, complete with, as one person put it, “facial expressions like Red Skelton.”