Hardi Promotions 1 October 23, 2010 : Page 1

C O NVE NT IO N D A IL Y SATURDAY October 23, 2010 Houston, TX hardi FORGING NEW FRONTIERS EV E N T S C H E D U L E SATURDAY 7 a.m. Honeywell liaison breakfast meeting 9 a.m. HARDI executive breakfast meeting 10:30 a.m. Johnson Controls liaison 12 p.m. HARDI board lunch meeting Fireye liaison 2 p.m. Belimo liaison 4:30 p.m. C/C chairs prep meeting First-timer conference orientation 5:30 p.m. Supplier members open discussion 6:30 p.m. Opening reception/HALO silent auction 8:45 p.m. Canadian members fellowship SUNDAY 7 a.m. Breakfast, membership and vendor awards 8:30 a.m. Distribution/logistics committee Former presidents advisory committee Guest educator idea exchange Sustainable building committee 9 a.m. HALO board meeting 9:30 a.m. Professional development and training committee 10:15 a.m. Sheet metal committee Supply chain committee Manufacturers’ representatives committee 12 p.m. Luncheon, president’s plenary HARDI Solutions Center opens 1:45 p.m. Membership committee Government and trade relations committee Management methods committee 2:30 p.m. HALO ladies reception 3:30 p.m. Impact committee (formerly Habitat for Humanity) Supplier members Insurance/risk management Future studies 4:30 p.m. HARDI Foundation board meeting 6 p.m. 7 p.m. Vendor hospitality events HARDI’s convention dailies are produced by BNP Media. Sally Fraser, publisher and advertising sales; Michael McConnell, editor; Karen Talan, production manager; Wendy Zaremba-Just, senior art director; and Ally Caruss, art director. Former presidents/presidents reception (invite only) Nardini enjoys her year as association president memory, you might think Chrissy Nardini may have had second thoughts about her decision to serve as 2009-2010 HARDI president. Meeting with association members whose W businesses are struggling isn’t always easy or fun. But you would be ⇓at-out wrong. Nardini, 40, whose regular job is the presi-dent of Spring⇒ eld, Ill.-basedAmericanMetals Supply, said she thoroughly enjoyed her year. “It was great,” she said. “It was a wonderful experience getting to knowmore members and going to regional (meetings).” The travel to places such as Washington, D.C.; Vail, Colo.; and Chicago allowed Nardini to have “deeper conversations” with members about their issues, she said. It also proved the value of the wholesalers group, Nardini added. “I think in tough times it’s evenmore impor-tant to be a part of an association likeHARDI,” she said. “It’s great to see how engaged many of our members are.” From her informal surveys and conversa-ith the HVAC wholesaling industry going through some of its toughest times in recent tions with mem-bers, many are not doing as badly as you might think, she said. “The major-ity are experienc-ing improvement in 2010, but there are some who had (the recession) hit them later” who have not yet bounced back, she said. At least 10 to 15 per-cent ofmembers are still having a tough time. And that was part of the message HARDI Chrissy Nardini members brought to Washington last spring during its Congressional Fly-In, the annual lob-bying event in the nation’s capital that HARDI hosts with the Air Conditioning Contractors of America. Thatwas a particular highlight of her year, Nardini said. With proposals constantly coming from federal lawmakers that could affect members — usually in a negativeway — it’s vitally important for members to meet with their senators and representatives, she added. About 50 HARDI members attended this year’s event. Continued on pg. 4 EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES Try to ‘recession-proof’ your family By Aaron Strickland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 22 HARDI Convention Daily Allied Air to receive booth program award 1

Nardini Enjoys Her Year As Association President

With the HVAC wholesaling industry going through some of its toughest times in recent memory, you might think Chrissy Nardini may have had second thoughts about her decision to serve as 2009-2010 HARDI president. Meeting with association members whose businesses are struggling isn’t always easy or fun. But you would be . At-out wrong. Nardini, 40, whose regular job is the president of Spring. Eld, Ill.-based American Metals Supply, said she thoroughly enjoyed her year. “It was great,” she said. “It was a wonderful experience getting to know more members and going to regional (meetings).” The travel to places such as Washington,D. C.; Vail, Colo.; and Chicago allowed Nardini to have “deeper conversations” with members about their issues, she said. It also proved the value of the wholesalers group, Nardini added. “I think in tough times it’s even more important to be a part of an association like HARDI,” she said. “It’s great to see how engaged many of our members are.” From her informal surveys and conversations With members, many are not doing as badly as you might think, she said. “The majority are experiencing improvement in 2010, but there are some who had (the recession) hit them later” who have not yet bounced back, she said. At least 10 to 15 percent of members are still having a tough time. And that was part of the message HARDI members brought to Washington last spring during its Congressional Fly-In, the annual lobbying event in the nation’s capital that HARDI hosts with the Air Conditioning Contractors of America. That was a particular highlight of her year, Nardini said. With proposals constantly coming from federal lawmakers that could affect members — usually in a negative way — it’s vitally important for members to meet with their senators and representatives, she added. About 50 HARDI members attended this year’s event. Nardini admitted she was not expecting much from her scheduled meetings with Congress members. “I was a little cynical going into it,” she recalled. “But I did get the sense” that many lawmakers are concerned about how legislation affects business owners. “They (Congressional members) like to hear personal antidotes,” she said. As for her company, Nardini said American Metals Supply has been expanding, despite the slow economy. “We’ve been seeing gradual improvement,” she said.“We opened two new locations in 2010.” The new outlets are in Indianapolis — a new market for the company — and an additional location in St. Louis. Nardini called the decision to expand in a down market “a little scary,” but added that so far, it appears to be working out. Perhaps it helps that American Metals was not caught off guard by the slowing economy. “We saw some of the warning signs two years ago,” she said. “It’s making us think and strategize more.” Nardini brings a strong business background and lots of experience inside and out of the HVACR industry to HARDI. Her family has owned American Metals Supply since it was founded by her grandfather, Al Hassebrock, in 1962. His former employer, a building materials distribution . Rm, decided to exit the sheet metal sales business and sent him off with a letter recommending Hassebrock’s company to its former customers when he left Today, American Metals is a multimillion-dollar operation with six Midwest locations and a long history of success. Nardini’s father, Steve Hassebrock — himself a former NHRAW president — is the company’s chief executive of. Cer. But Nardini originally didn’t have any interest in joining her father or grandfather’s legacy in wholesaling sheet metal and HVAC supplies. “I did not have a natural inclination toward registers and grilles,” she recalled. So she decided to become a certi. Ed public accountant.After college, she worked for several years in public accounting as a CPA, which she said was great training for understanding how wholesale distribution works. However, she grew tried of the long hours and not having much of a home life between January and mid-April each year. So she asked her father if she could join the company in 1997. He agreed. Nardini said the years she spent working in other industries as an accountant proved helpful when it came to helping run American Metals. “I’m a big advocate … of getting experience outside” before working in a family business, she said. Nardini was promoted to company president in 2006.

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