Danny Keating
Editorial

The HVACR Association of Louisiana

April 18, 2020

By Danny Keating, Director of the Louisiana/Mississippi HVAC Insider

Editor’s Note: Thanks to Leslie Davis for providing this information on the HVACR Association of Louisiana.

The Louisiana Heat Pump Association has announced a name change in their organization, voted on by their statewide membership to the HVACR ASSOCIATION OF LOUISIANA. The statewide annual membership meeting held on Friday, March 6, 2020, resulted in a vote by the membership to adopt these changes, and on March 11, 2020, the official name change was accepted by the Louisiana Secretary of State.

Danny Keating

Charles Weckesser, 2020 State President, said, “We are improving our Association by creating a more inclusive environment to embrace all aspects of the HVACR industry, and removing the requirement to install heat pumps. Times change, and we are changing to meet the needs of our membership, and to grow our membership.”

Additionally, the HVACR Association of Louisiana has created a new motto ‘THE VOICE OF THE LOUISIANA HVACR INDUSTRY.’ “We will continue to work towards legislation and industry changes that better serve our HVACR business owners and members such as we did two years ago,” says Weckesser. In 2018, Butcher and Trane dealers in the Association worked to pass Senate Bill 482, which allowed state-licensed air conditioning contractors to work on gas furnaces without having to obtain the state gas pipe fitters license.

Among other highlights, the state board of directors for the HVACR Association of Louisiana were sworn in at their annual state conference in New Orleans on March 6, 2020, by Phil Granier. They include: Charles Weckesser, State President; Angela Menard, State President-Elect; Fernie Soignier, State Treasurer, Jerome St. Pierre, State Secretary; Stith Bynum, State Sgt.-at-Arms; Cisco Gonzales, Immediate Past State President; Troy Broussard, Acadiana Chapter President; Trent Naquin, Bayou Chapter President; Ronnie George, Capital Chapter President; Carlos Cazanas, Lower River Chapter President; Duane Simpson, Northwest Chapter President; Wade Smith, Southeast Chapter President; Paul Moreno, Southwest Chapter President; David Dupuis Jr., and Chris McCaskill, Members-at-Large; Kevin Bernard, Technical Advisor; Wes Swank, and Tammy Briscoe, Corporate Representatives; and the Past President’s Committee which includes Barry Duplechin, Steve Winters, Scott Smith, and Brandon Hunt. Duane Simpson, Ronnie George and Trent Naquin are also recognized as members of the Past President’s Committee.

The HVACR Association of Louisiana is a statewide consortium of HVACR contractors and organizations that work within the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry, formerly known as the Louisiana Heat Pump Association, and founded in 1987.