This month marks one of the most productive and interesting times of the year for IIAR. The March annual meeting is behind us, and we’re at the beginning of the organization’s new leadership cycle. That means it’s time to build on all the momentum we created in the last year, and at the same time look ahead to a few new goals.

Our first priority this year is to keep you informed of the growth and change that our industry is undergoing, as well as the role IIAR is playing in several key arenas.

First, we are excited to report that this year’s Industrial Refrigeration Conference – always a major event that reinforces the vibrancy and growth of our industry – again saw record-breaking numbers of attendees and exhibitors.

We exceeded and surpassed expectations primarily because of the dedication and hard work of our members. On behalf of me and the Board of Directors, we would like to extend special thanks and appreciation to all who contributed their time and financial support to make IIAR’s 2015 show one of our best conferences yet.

We are moving forward with an emphasis on educational and training programs and a continued focus on standards. That theme was on display at this year’s conference, where we again devoted a Sunday afternoon session to specific training.

In the coming year, one of our first priorities is to expand on that Sunday afternoon training effort. Throughout the year we will be developing additional training where our members need it the most – like instructional webinar series and other materials addressing the technical side of our industry.

And of course, no discussion about training is complete without a look at IIAR’s continuing standards development effort. Currently, we’re right on the brink of publishing IIAR-2. This standard has been several years in development, and will represent a major step forward for our industry; the creation of the first comprehensive safety standard dedicated entirely to ammonia. Alongside the release of IIAR-2, we’ll also be completing the publication of our suite of eight standards.

IIAR’s standards program is perhaps one of the most important functions of this organization, so this year we will be very focused on advancing the influence of our standards that our volunteer members worked so hard to create.

Our efforts to promote our standards and pursue code adoption will continue to strengthen our relationships and help us expand our circle of influence within the industry. We see this as a method of continuing support with our relationship organizations like RETA and GCCA, where common advocacy goals exist.

Meanwhile, we’re embarking on an aggressive CO2 educational campaign. As a technology that is seeing increasing application, both in the commercial and industrial world, CO2 is an important area of consideration for IIAR and our members.

In the coming year, our existing CO2 committee will begin to look at opportunities for IIAR to provide additional educational resources for this natural refrigerant. And…IIAR’s standards committee is already evaluating potential opportunities for standards creation.

On the internal organization front, IIAR is in solid financial condition and growing when it comes to the educational and standards programs we’ve mentioned, but several other new initiatives are on the horizon for us this year and years to come.

Your Board of Directors is putting together a long-term strategic plan for the organization that is focused on membership growth, not just here in the U.S., but internationally. The international chapters program started last year has already been successful, with several new active chapters around the world.

Another exciting program is our support for the Ammonia Refrigeration Foundation scholarship initiative which will kick off this year. We hope each member will consider financial participation in this program. This tuition reimbursement program is directed at students with the potential goal of attracting qualified candidates to our industry – a much needed addition.

We are looking forward to accomplishing several goals, and as your Chairman this year, I would like to remind you that none of these things would be possible without your gift of financial support and your time. As members, your ongoing participation makes all of our activities possible. Thank you for continuing to enrich our industry! n