The Ammonia Refrigeration Foundation said that it recently welcomed three new trustees and board members.

The three new members, Donal Ballou, Peter Spellar and Walter Teeter have all held leadership positions within IIAR.

ARF, which serves as the research arm for industrial refrigeration, funds research projects and awards scholarships to support the growth of the industry.

The foundation’s trustees are individuals who have made contributions to ARF of $50 thousand dollars each, and serve on the ARF Board of Directors.

“The ARF trustees play a very important role in making the goals of the foundation into a reality,” said ARF Executive Director Tim Facius. “They are dedicated to the work of this industry and passionate about its future. All three of these men are respected leaders, and we’re very excited to welcome them to ARF’s Board.”

Currently, ARF is focused on bolstering its funding efforts so that it can continue to support its two primary initiatives, research and education.

That’s a goal the three newest members of the ARF Board will be engaged in meeting, as they bring their own experience and dedication to the organization as leaders.

Donal Ballou said he made his contribution to ARF because the challenge of solving interesting problems was what kept him in the industry for an entire career.

“ARF is very close to the work of industrial refrigeration, because it allows us to solve problems, and as engineers, that’s what we do best,” he said. “This was my livelihood for my entire working career. It was always challenging, there were very few projects that were identical to other projects, and that presented all kinds of opportunities when it came to design. I loved it.”

Ballou, who owned Refrigeration Systems Company, said his ARF contribution was a way to continue supporting an industry that provided him with such a rewarding career.

“I’ve always felt that people are in touch with each other in this industry,” he said. “Nobody is cautious about discussing how to do something better. That’s good for the industry and it’s the way we educate each other.”

Peter Spellar, president of SGS Refrigeration, Inc., said he made his decision to become an ARF trustee because he felt it was important to invest in the future of ammonia refrigeration, and ARF was a great way to make that investment.

“I felt like this was a great place to put my money,” he said. “ARF is the place we can go to make funds available so that when there are valid projects that will have a real impact; we have the resources to do them.” Spellar, who recently assumed the role of chairman of ARF’s Board of Trustees, said the idea of giving back was most important to him.

“There are some active programs that ARF is working on now, and we want everyone in this industry to know that they are able to make an impact by supporting them,” he said. “We will encourage more contributions to ARF below the trustee level and raise awareness that ARF is a collective effort that anyone can join.” The fact that ARF represents a collective effort is the main reason to make a contribution to the foundation, said Walter Teeter, President of Republic Refrigeration, who added that he became a trustee for the same reasons cited by Ballou and Spellar.

“This industry has been a very important part of my professional life,” he said. “Everything that has been addressed by ARF was at some point in time a challenge for all of us. I contributed to ARF because I want to see the foundation continue to tackle the issues that arise in our industry.”

“There’s always going to be a need for ARF, I don’t foresee a shortage of things we’ll need to look at in the future,” he said.