The Canadian Oil Heat Association’s annual conference featured a number of cleaner heat, best solutions and GreenTECH sessions focusing on new innovations and furthering the goals of the oil heat industry. Held at the Delta Beausejour in Moncton, NB on June 18 and 19, the conference drew more than 175 people from across Canada. Many guest speakers and presenters were on hand, covering a range of topics connected to the Canadian oil heat industry. Thomas Tubman, executive director of the American Energy Coalition, spoke about meeting the challenges in the oil heat industry; John Levey, president of Oilheat Associates, talked about understanding the potential savings and efficiencies offered by new oil heat equipment; Sofie Andreou, author of Your Social Strategy, shared ideas about how to grow your customer base using social media; and Sirpal Randhawa, an associate commercial litigation lawyer with Gowlings, examined court decisions regarding the oil heat industry in Canada. Other presenters included Calvin Bell, owner and operator of Bell’s Oil Burner Service, who spoke on the subject of system inspection logistics; Stephen Hazell, technical services manager at Wilsons Fuel Co. Ltd., who discussed best practices for installation and maintenance of fuel oil storage tanks; and Guy Couture from Granby Industries and Bob Parsons, oil product manager Frontier/Wolseley, who together led a talk about the importance of condensing technology. Jorge Klein, Rick Hineman and William Gould received awards at the “Delivering the Goods” luncheon. All three were recognized for their outstanding leadership, service and technical expertise in the oil heat industry. The annual general meetings for the New Brunswick chapter and COHA national were also held during the conference. COHA’s national board of directors for 2014 includes chairman Robert Fortin from MacEwen Petroleum Inc. and vice-chairman Mario Bouchard from Granby Industries. Prior to the annual conference COHA’s board of directors had appointed Stephen Koch as president of the national association. Koch replaces Veronica Yu who left the organization in March 2013. With the resignation of Constance Wrigley-Thomas, who was executive director of COHA Ontario Chapter, the national board will take over day-to-day operations of COHA Ontario. The 2014 COHA conference will be taking place in Ottawa, ON. Look for more comprehensive coverage of this event in HPAC September/October 2013. www.coha.ca
