We are officially three months away from the 2016 IIAR conference, and while most people are busy getting ready for the holidays, the IIAR team is also hard at work adding the final touches to our annual conference programming.

I am happy and excited to report to you that we are looking forward to delivering another outstanding and record-breaking event next year. IIAR will be hosting the 2016 Industrial Refrigeration Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, FL on March 20-23, 2016.

I believe this year’s conference will reflect our drive to incorporate your insights and suggestions into our conference program.

This year, I’m especially pleased to announce that we’ll be releasing a new member benefit, the IIAR app which is totally new, written specifically for us. In today’s world of fast-paced communications, mobile technology has become more important than ever. With the release of this app, IIAR is making the vital technical resources and member services we depend on as an industry even more accessible. Watch in the next several weeks for the release. I personally cannot wait!

Meanwhile, we’ll be debuting another installation of the popular Sunday educational program in 2016, the IIAR-2 Education Program. This event will give attendees an overview of how recent updates to the IIAR-2 standard will impact plant and equipment design as well as regulatory compliance expectations, and we expect it to be one of our most valuable and useful programs yet.

Here in this column, I’d like to draw your attention to the one member benefit that fuels every major task we accomplish on behalf of this industry, and that is the hard work and dedication of our volunteer committee members.

As you may know, IIAR-2, the industry’s first comprehensive safety standard, has been released. To accomplish this task, the Standards Committee members and IIAR staff spent countless hours completing the exhausting work of carrying the standard through an arduous ANSI review process.

Their work highlights the initiative and focus that every IIAR committee displays when our volunteer committee members go to work to create something special from which we all benefit.

We highlight the IIAR-2 here but it is not the only work done in the committees. There are many other achievements, too numerous to list. Each committee is focused on different initiatives; collectively they are making the ammonia refrigeration world safer and our effort stronger by ensuring all of us have access to the best resources available.

As IIAR members, your involvement and input within this industry is the sole force that moves us all forward.

Our committees move our ideas and initiatives from abstract goals into reality. And at the same time, our Board officers and voting members bring so much vitality and substance to our organization as they direct the goals of the IIAR committees.

If you are an IIAR member and have not yet had a chance to get involved in the work of your industry, I urge you to take a look at how your expertise might help an IIAR committee further its work goals.

I’m looking forward to welcoming you in Orlando in 2016 to learn, share and build our knowledge base together. While the official conference dates extend from March 20th to the 23rd, our committees will meet over the previous weekend and all members are welcome to attend committee meetings on the Sunday morning preceding the conference.

I would like to extend a special welcome in advance to new members and first-time conference attendees. New attendees are one of the key markers of the success of our conference programming and we want to do all we can to get you involved and provide to you a great conference experience.

As we close out 2015 and look forward to a new cycle of growth for our organization, I’d like to extend a special thank you – to our sponsors for their support, and to you, our members, for the incredible engagement and dedication that you bring to this organization.

Please accept my very best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season and a prosperous 2016 in your business activities and family life. I look forward to seeing you in sunny Orlando in March.