MAHPBA is pleased to announce its slate of five new candidates who have agreed to be placed on the ballot to be elected to the board of directors starting January 1, 2011:

Barbara Andricks, Olympia Chimney Supply - Manufacturer
Rosi Beachy, Hearth & Home Technologies - Manufacturer
Tom Dorazio, JMH Associates - Distributor
Jessica McCloskey, McCloskey's Garden & Hearth - Retailer
Jeff Souther, American Biomass - Distributor

The following are existing board members who have agreed to be on the ballot for an additional two-year term:

Carl Larkin, Fireworks Inc. - Retailer
David Waldman, Dreifuss Fireplaces - Retailer

MAHBPA is also pleased to announce the following officers for 2011 who were elected by the board at the August 2010 meeting:

Shannon Rodgers - President
Carl Larkin - Vice President
Bill Ryan - Secretary
David Waldman - Treasurer
Eiron Scheetz - At Large
Suzanne Turner - Ex-Officio

Look for your member ballot in the mail soon!

HBPExpo 2011 will be back in Salt Lake City! Over the last five years, more participants have attended HPBExpo in Salt Lake City than in any other Expo destination.

The Expo will be held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City from March 3-5, 2011 (Education programs from March 2-5, 2011).

As part of its implementation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued final regulations on April 16, 2010, that set minimum efficiency standards for gas "direct heating equipment." To the shock of all industry participants, the final rule defined most decorative gas appliances as direct heating equipment and therefore subject to efficiency standards if their input was capacity was 9,000 Btu/hr or greater, effectively banning the sale of decorative gas fireplaces.

So, what is HPBA doing about this final rule and its potentially devastating impact on our gas hearth industry?

The EPA is reviewing their certification program for woodstoves, the New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) for woodheaters. After 22 years without reviewing this program, EPA is thinking about 1) lowering the standard for woodstoves, and 2) extending this certification program to include everything that burns solid fuel.

HPBA is not fighting this review (it has been long overdue) but we are afraid that after ignoring this program for many years, EPA is suddenly going to throw something together without careful thought.

The recipient of the Pat Magnotti Award is chosen annually by the MAHPBA Board of Directors and is awarded to "the individual who is distinguished in their commitment to the hearth, patio & barbecue product industries and whose ideas, energy and actions have enhanced opportunities for hearth, patio & barbecue product professionals throughout the Mid-Atlantic."

The MAHPBA Board of Directors has named Rona Kelley the recipient of this year's Pat Magnotti Award.

At this year's Annual Meeting, MAHPBA honored 71 members who have kept their membership continuous for the past ten years. We would like to send a very special THANK YOU to all of those members who have been with us since the beginning!

MAHPBA's Facebook page has been up and running for over a year...have you joined us yet? It's a great way to stay connected and hear about upcoming events, classes, legislation, etc.

We are also utilizing Twitter and Linkedin to stay connected to our online, social networking members. Simply do a search for MAHPBA on any of those sites to find us!

As our busy season approaches and we begin to make our hay as an industry, please keep in mind that politics heats up again. Sometimes its extremely difficult to notice while we are all incredibly busy, but circumstances may arise that require our attention.

Keep your ear to the ground, talk with code enforcement, understand the environment you are working in, and LET US KNOW if you hear rumors.

Remember, legislation is a process and if we are involved early, we can respond for the good of the industry.

Bill Ryan, Government Affairs Chair

It is with a very heavy heart that we inform you that industry icon and educator Dave Pomeroy passed away on September 2nd.

Dave began his career with Heatilator where he was Director of Training until he left in 1990 to start his own training company. He worked for both Copperfield Chimney and Travis Industries in the 90's and since then has run Dave Pomeroy's Signature Training with his wife, Stephanie. In 2004, their daughter Hope joined the team.

Most everyone in our industry has at one time or another had the pleasure of training under Dave. He has attended the MAHPBA Annual Meeting several times.

Please join us in expressing our heartfelt condolences to Stephanie, Hope, and the rest of Dave's family. We are so fortunate to have had him as a part of our industry. We will all miss him.