In the last couple of years, The NEWS has added some new blood to its editorial staff. This is usually good for any business. And, while we have added some experience to our staff, a few of the new editors are in that under-40-years-of-age category.
This has worked well for us. These folks have brought different talents and thought processes to our organization. Sure, they don’t get my 1980s baseball and sitcom references (What do you mean you’ve never seen “Night Court?”), but, they make up for that with knowledge in areas such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media, and podcasts. In this multimedia world we live in, this comes in handy. It has allowed The NEWS to offer industry information in the added forms of videos, blogs, and ebooks.
I am sure everyone reading this realizes the HVAC industry is more than 50 shades of grey. The last I heard, the average service tech is 52 years old. I assume contractor owners are not that far behind. This industry needs to get younger as the baby boomers will be retiring in droves over the next 10 years. The industry needs talented, forward-thinking individuals to take those positions.
Personally, despite the pessimism, I see the industry getting there. With technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), and smart homes — suddenly the HVAC industry has gotten more hip. When corporations like Apple and Google begin sticking their noses into our industry, it shows HVAC is headed in the right direction. HVAC is no longer looked at like a Commodore 64 — a reference that is lost on my millennial employees.
If your organization is short on these folks, make an effort to recruit them. If you have young talent on staff, consider nominating them for our new contest — The NEWS’ Top 10 Under 40 Contest.
I was going to honor the Top 40 under 40, but, frankly, I was unsure how many young people collect checks in the HVAC industry. Show me how wrong I was by stuffing the ballot box like a Chicago mayor’s race.
Our goal is to highlight some of the great young people proud to call this industry home. Winners will be announced and profiled in a future print issue.
Do you know someone under 40 who is doing great work in the industry? If so, nominate them at www.achrnews.com/top40. It doesn’t matter what aspect of the industry they are associated with. They can be a contractor, technician, teacher, distributor, employed by a manufacturer, etc. They just have to being doing a great job and have a fuzzy memory of cassette tapes.
Perhaps a technician is a customer favorite and goes above and beyond what is required. Maybe this millennial started his own HVAC company and is killing it. Perhaps he is the sharpest engineer driving innovation at a respective manufacturer. I am excited to see who gets nominated, so, send in your applications now.
Disclaimer: ACHR NEWS employees are not eligible.
Publication date: 4/13/2015
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