By / Jeremy Hallman, Executive Director, SMACNA-BC
Spring has been busy around the SMACNA-BC office. Leanne put countless hours into planning for our 55th Annual AGM & Convention at the Penticton Lakeside Resort, which was an overwhelming success. She planned some great activities, from golf and wine tours to a bike tour and a climbing wall. This was our best attended AGM & Convention to date, and we are very grateful for our sponsors, who made the event the success that it was.
2024–2025 Board of Directors
Our board of director elections took place at the AGM and saw two incumbent board members re-elected and one new director joining the roster. Our 2024-2025 board members are:
- President: Mark McLaren, Ridge Sheet Metal
- President elect/director: Al Benning, Ames Metal Fabricators 82 Ltd.
- Past-president/Secretary-treasurer: Mark Kuelle, Austin Metal Fabricators
- Directors: Phil McDonald, Summit Sheet Metal (re-elected), Aaron Smith, Smith Sheet Metal (re-elected); Dan Taillefer, Viaduct Sheet Metal; Paul Charbonneau, Cascade Metal Design; Angelo Paris, Apollo Sheet Metal; and Dave Brown, Vets Sheet Metal Ltd. (elected)
- Northern BC Regional Chair: Brad Popoff, Equity Plumbing & Heating Ltd.
- Executive Director: Jeremy Hallman
Looking Ahead
Economically, it’s starting to look like we may accomplish the “soft landing” and not fall into a recession as was thought. At one point it looked like interest rates may curb projects and bring the economy to a crawl, but it appears that this hasn’t been the case. Overall, inflation has been steadily decreasing and there is talk of a possible interest rate drop in Q2 or Q3 of this year. Time will tell but we are cautiously optimistic.
Dinner Meetings
We recently held two dinner meetings in January and March. Our January 18 speaker was Katie McFadden from Armacell Canada. Unfortunately, due to weather, her flight was cancelled but the group at Armacell didn’t miss a beat and provided the presentation via Teams, which was very well received. Despite the snow that night, 35 of the 45 registered guests, braved the elements and attended the meeting. Congratulations to Martin Rachel of Crosstown Metal Industries who won the custom knife prize package. A special thank you to Rob Nofield of Crossroads C&I who also provided support throughout the evening. See page 21 for Katie’s article on choosing the right insulation for duct efficiency.
Our March 21 speaker was Amy Duncan from DMCL Chartered Professional Accountants. She provided a brief overview of the 2024 tax incentives, with a focus on contractors. Amy also has an article in this issue. See page 20 where she talks about the benefit of cloud accounting. Congratulations to Kent Van Heuveln of Boston Sheet Metal Ltd. for winning the Whitecaps tickets vs Austin FC. Thank you to Peter Sung from Equipco Ltd. for providing this generous prize.
Our next dinner meeting was scheduled for April 18 and featured Mike Bailey of Mestek Machinery out of Cumming, Georgia. He spoke about some of the new sheet metal equipment available and industry trends that he is seeing. We are hoping Mike will contribute an article to our summer issue, so watch for that in August.
If you have any ideas for future dinner meetings, please contact Jeremy Hallman at the SMACNA-BC office.
SMACNA Inc Annual Convention
Mark your calendars to join us at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, California, for the 2024 SMACNA Annual Convention. Registration for the October 27–30 event opened on April 23.
Currently, information online is somewhat limited, but some details are below. Please check back on the convention link at smacna.org for more details.
- Monday PAC Fundraiser has been replaced with a Beatles tribute band along with a selection of desserts.
- College of Fellows golf tournament
- (NEW) Pickle ball tournament
We encourage members to take advantage of the early registration discount. Please contact the SMACNA-BC office if you have any questions.
Welcome new SMACNA-BC Contractor members
- Kendall HVAC Ltd. kendall-hvac.com/back-to-home-page
- CrimsonRidge Sheet Metal Inc.
- Rocky Point Commercial HVAC Inc. rpchvac.com
- Walker Sheet Metal Ltd. walkersheetmetal.com
Welcome new SMACNA-BC Associate members
- Raider Hansen raiderhansen.com
- Master Group master.ca/consumer/hvac ■
Several SMACNA-BC members attended the BC Insulation Contractors’ Association annual golf tournament fundraiser for mesothelioma in May. This event is hosted to help raise awareness and funds for mesothelioma research.
Mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer caused primarily from exposure to asbestos. The impact on affected individuals in the insulation industry and their families is profound.
The BCICA is proud to have raised over $550,000 to date for the Western Canada Mesothelioma Fund at BC Cancer. In fact, the BCICA was instrumental in connecting with Dr. Stephen Lam at BC Cancer and funding the first pre-screening program for lung cancer in all of North America.
The golf tournament continues to be the main funder for this program and continues to raise awareness and funds for groundbreaking research. This year’s tournament raised $115,000 for the program.
Dr. Lam and Dr. Renelle Meyers are conducting a Lung Health Check Pilot program using low dose CT scans to screen eligible individuals for lung cancer.
If you are between the ages 45-74 (women) or 50-74 (men) and have never vaped or smoked more than 100 cigarettes in your life time, please scan the QR code to check your eligibility for this study. ■
