Peter Steffes of Ideal Heating and Cooling Ltd., Windsor, ON, was appointed as chair of the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) at the annual general meeting held last week in Windsor, ON. Steffes served on the contractors division board of directors since 2004 and was a member of the Executive Committee.
Steffes is the owner of Ideal Heating & Cooling in Windsor, ON (a business started by his father-in-law in 1964) where he has worked for more than 35 years. An active 24-year member of HRAI, Steffes has served in many different roles within the organization such as president of the Windsor, Essex, Lambton chapter, on the marketing committee, renewable energy task team, and Ontario regional council, among others.
What he enjoys most about being an HRAI member is the ability to give back to the industry that has treated him so well. “The inside knowledge one gets when things are happening…you are able to maybe steer the HVAC industry in some small way,” he said. “The old saying goes, ‘leave it a little bit better than it was when we found it.’”
During his tenure with HRAI, Steffes has met many different people from all areas of the HVAC industry. He is constantly learning, sharing ideas and problem solving with members from all over Canada. “You meet a lot of great people and you can bounce a lot of things of them,” he said.
He is always challenging his fellow contractors to become more involved within HRAI. “I think the biggest goal is to get our name out there to the general public and use HRAI as a source of their needs,” he said in a previous interview with HPAC.
Look for more details on the HRAI annual conference in HPAC October 2015.
