May 23-27th, attendees were met with a new venue, new and exciting education classes and a full array of new products were on display at the Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, RI. Professionals of various trades (including plumbing, HVAC, and chimney services) gathered for education and networking. This year's theme was Superheroes of Service - a tribute to the men and women who make our industry shine.

the Convention hosted 3 unique charity events. The first was held on Sunday and Oil Heat Cares partnered with Honeywell and the local rep agency, EDOS to clean-up and rehab the YMCA Sheppard Reservation Day Camp in Smithfield, RI. You can check this out by visiting our YouTube channel found on our website. Monday kicked off with two charity events. Golfers participated in the Annual Dave Nelsen Golf Tournament at Triggs Memorial Golf Course. This event, led by the Rhode Island Chapter's George Fantacone, raised funds for the Dave Nelsen Scholarship. Hole Sponsors and others need to be recognized for helping us reach our goal. This scholarship assists students planning to further their education in the oilheat industry. The golf tournament was a huge success, raising over $10,000.00.

While the golfers were doing their part, other Convention participants were walking, running, biking, and motorcycling for another good cause at the Care to Ride event for Oil Heat Cares. Oil Heat Cares is a non-profit foundation that assists needy persons and organizations with the replacement of their oil heating equipment. Many thanks to Kevin Bowman, Mark Chaffee, Taco and Don Farrell for organizing the routes. We are delighted to announce that this year's event raised over $58,000. The top fundraisers by category are: Team: Team Connecticut; Walking: Judy Garber; Biking and Overall: Roger Marran and Motorcycling: David Bessette. The heat seemed to be turned on – with more folks getting into the competition – the Long Island Rough Riders put in a good showing as well as others.

Just prior to our Care to Ride event, thanks to John White, Taco, we had an opportunity to bring in a supporter of our industry, Senator Jack Reed. We presented him with a special recognition award.

Participants gathered on Monday evening for NAOHSM’s Opening Reception – special thanks to our food sponsors and Wilo for sponsoring the cocktail party. Awards for the Care to Ride event were presented as a well as a special Lifetime Achievement Award went to Bob Craig for his outstanding service and commitment to the industry.

Education is our mission and this year's program was packed with courses on resets, condensing boilers, steam, ECM motors, solar, propane, new technologies, and more! Attendees could attend any classes at no cost thanks to our many Sponsors of Education. John Barba, Dan Holohan, Dave Yates, and other industry experts led seminars that entertained and informed. George McQueeney, National President of NAOHSM, emphasized the importance of continued education, saying that the seminars "covered subjects that are pertinent not only to our industry, but also to the emerging-alternative energy market."

Exhibitors showcased their products and services at a widely attended trade show and students and technicians had a lively competition, testing their skills.

The ladies who attended this year's conference were in for a special treat. After a day of sightseeing in Providence, they gathered for a cooking show presented by local celebrity, Chef Terranova. The event featured Rhode Island cuisine and raised money and plenty of gently worn shoes for Dorcas Place, an organization that gives low-income Rhode Islanders educational opportunities.

NAOHSM's Awards Banquet took place on Tuesday and honored the many superheroes of service to the industry. The Garden State Chapter turned the Cup over to the New York City Chapter for their work at the Lawrence F. Keene American Legion Post in the Bronx. Led by Angel Gonzalez, students from the Alfred E. Smith Vocation Career School had the opportunity to work side by side with professional installers on this project. The renamed Lou Ehrlich Award (previously known as the Associate of the Year Award) was given to Robert O’Rourke, Westchester Chapter. The Technician of the Year Award was presented to Wayne Lawrence, Petro, who remarked that "this industry is all about family." The Manufacturer of the Year Award was given to Hydrolevel. The Rhode Island Chapter honored Judy Garber by presenting her with a basket of products from Rhode Island. Ed Frazier was honored with the Instructor of the Year Award and Al Breda, Sippin Energy, member of the Fairfield County and New Haven Chapters received the Service Manager of the Year Award. Hugh McKee Award winner, Scott Hinkley, said, "This Association has meant the world to me, as does this award."

The recipients of the Dave Nelson Scholarship were also honored at the Awards Banquet. Twelve students were awarded $2,000 scholarships. These students are Michael Foley, Benjamin Forst, Matthew Fulmer, David Gidron, Ryan Gombert, Michael McMahon, Ronald Mannino, Joseph Manzo, Alrick Crowe, Bradley Rydbom, Jesse Sutherland, and Nathan Higgins.

And of course no NAOHSM event is complete without our closing event. This year’s popular Clambake co-sponsored with Grundfos and Viessmann was a sell-out. The band, Way-Back Machine was a sure fire hit – so much so, they’ve been invited to Hershey. One of NAOHSM’s members, Paul Fredericks, is one of the band members.

NAOHSM's 57th Annual Convention and Trade Show succeeded in its goal of strengthening our industry through education. Matt Spink, Co-Education Chairman of NAOHSM, said, "We are a group of concerned individuals who get together and stay together for the betterment of our industry as a whole. We pride ourselves on the comfort we provide to our customers. We do that by constantly educating ourselves on the new products and technologies that are available to us today and we are proud to pass this knowledge on to the next generation."

Our show reaches out to those that install and service heating and cooling equipment. Our focus is on state of the art oil-fired products and supplies but we welcome alternative energy products as well. We represent the men and women that keep our customers warm in the winter and cool in the summer while at the same time concerned about the environment. If you want to reach over 3,000 of these professionals, send us an e-mail – jgarber@naohsm.org – our next event will be May 22-26, 2011 in Hershey, PA!