Leroy Friend wins national HVAC apprentice contest

Three top HVAC apprentices received awards in the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors–National Association (PHCC) Educational Foundation’s second annual HVAC Apprentice Contest, held Oct. 8-9 in New Orleans, La.

The Foundation’s HVACR Apprentice and Journeyman Training Committee members were on hand to set up and judge the contest, which was a highlight of the PHCC–National Association’s CONNECT 2014 Product & Technology Showcase. A portion of the contest was hosted by the HVAC program at Delgado Community College’s Jefferson Campus in Metairie, La.

This year’s awards went to:

• 1st Place – Leroy Friend, Shapiro & Duncan, Inc., Rockville, Md.
• 2nd Place – Tyler Sheppeck, Corporate Mechanical, Minneapolis, Minn.
• 3rd Place – Chris Lighthart, The Lighthart Corp., Los Angeles, Cal.

Foundation volunteers operating this year’s event included:

• Scott Balmer, Chair, ShoffnerKalthoff Mechanical Electrical Service, Knoxville, Tenn.
• Tony DeSantis, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Cal.
• Bill Jones, Raven Mechanical, LLC, Houston, Texas
• Craig Lewis, R.E.C. Industries, Inc., Bryan, Texas
• Joel Long, GSM Services, Inc., Gastonia, N.C.
• Warren Lupson, Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute, Arlington, Va.
• Ron Newman, Lakes  Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, Inc., Spirit Lake, Iowa
• Ken Nielsen, AccuAire, Inc., Reading, Mass.
• Kenny Ripberger, Delgado Community College, Metairie, La.
• Jamie Simpson, Schaal Heating & Cooling, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa

The event was made possible by the following generous industry sponsors:

Headline Sponsors: Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI); Coburn Supply Co.; and Rheem.

Contestant Sponsors: AC Pro; AHRI; Cengage Learning; Coburn Supply Co.; Daikin; Emerson Climate Technologies; Milwaukee Electric Tool Co.; NATE and NIBCO, Inc.

Additional prize and materials sponsors included: Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI); Aireco, Inc.; Channellock; Delgado Community College; Emerson Climate Technologies; Fluke; Greenlee Textron Inc.; Hilmor; Honeywell; Imperial/Stride Tool; Milwaukee Electric Tool Co.; NetBraze, LLC; NIBCO, Inc.; RIDGID; Sioux Chief Manufacturing Co.; and Techsource Tools.