AABC Annual Meeting – Meeting Program
THE BEGINNING
1965
1975
GROWTH AND
INNOVATION
ACHIEVEMENTS
1985
1995
HORIZONS
NEW CHALLENGES
2005
2015
TRANSFORMATION
60 YEARS OF AABC
2025
Arnold Pearl
Founder
William Bogner
1966
Ralph Phillips
1966
Decade Highlight:
1965 – AABC was officially launched by founding members, establishing the organization’s mission and foundation.
1966 – AABC holds its first Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, NV, bylaws are adopted, dues are set, and the first Board of Directors is elected.
1967 – AABC publishes the first edition of the AABC National Standards for Total System Balance, a major milestone in industry standardization.
1968 – A new industry fund is created to support organizational growth and development.
1969 – The first official TAB course is presented, marking the beginning of AABC’s educational programs.
1970 – The National Examining Board is formed, implementing formal testing requirements for members.
1971 – AABC votes to create an official training program and establish its first Canadian chapter.
1972 – AABC publishes the second edition of the National Standards and navigates union negotiations.
1973 – Regional director roles are created and 47 agencies are represented at the Annual Meeting in Acapulco, Mexico.
1974 – AABC continues growing its national presence with the Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL.
Annual Meeting Locations:
- 1966 – Las Vegas, NV
- 1967 – Miami Beach, FL
- 1968 – Los Angeles, CA
- 1969 – New Orleans, LA
- 1970 – Las Vegas, NV
- 1971 – Miami, FL
- 1972 – Biloxi, MS
- 1973 – Acapulco, Mexico
- 1974 – Chicago, IL
- 1975 – Los Angeles, CA
John Neinas
1980
Larry Johnson
1981
Decade Highlight:
1975 – AABC holds its Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, CA, continuing to expand its national presence.
1976 – A new management structure is introduced with Chuck Perry serving as Executive Director under AMI.
1977 – AABC introduces zones and elects zone directors; discussions begin on the Guarantee Program.
1978 – Annual Meeting is hosted in Atlanta, GA, fostering further member collaboration.
1979 – AABC publishes the third edition of its National Standards for Total System Balance.
1980 – AABC holds its first seminar-style meeting at Chicago Airport Hilton and begins exhibiting at ASHRAE to promote the association.
1981 – A new edition of the National Standards is released with a major technical team behind the effort.
1982 – The fourth edition of the National Standards is published and a new TBE exam is prepared.
1983 – AABC formalizes new branch policies to support consistent organizational standards.
1984 – A new member agreement and probationary period policy are developed to uphold membership quality.
Annual Meeting Locations:
- 1975 – Los Angeles, CA
- 1976 – Washington, DC
- 1977 – Palm Springs, CA
- 1978 – Atlanta, GA
- 1979 – Las Vegas, NV
- 1980 – Montreal, Canada
- 1981 – Orlando, FL
- 1982 – Waikoloa, HI
- 1983 – Orlando, FL
- 1984 – Las Vegas, NV
Ted Cohen
1991
Woody Philhower
1994
Ralph Meacham
1994-98
Decade Highlight:
1985 – AABC holds its Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico, expanding member engagement through its first international gathering.
1986 – A committee is appointed to redevelop the TBE exam, including the first discussions about computer-based testing.
1987 – The Annual Meeting at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas sees the highest attendance to date.
1988 – Technician Certification Program development begins, with efforts led by Walt Green and Chuck Fant.
1989 – AABC publishes the 5th edition of the National Standards, launches the Apprenticeship Training Manual, and debuts a redesigned Balance Report newsletter.
1990 – Membership requirements are updated to include submission of a bond and a recent TAB report; industry magazine and CSI collaboration efforts begin.
1991 – AABC publishes the first issue of the TAB Journal and helps establish the National Coalition for Indoor Air Quality (NCIAQ).
1992 – AABC hosts its first National Conference on Indoor Air Quality and launches educational IAQ workshops for facility owners and managers.
1993 – Continued focus on publishing and awards as the Annual Meeting is held in Palm Desert, CA.
1994 – AABC adopts a new Quality Assurance Program and unveils its SpecWriter tool at the 30th Annual Meeting in Bermuda.
Annual Meeting Locations:
- 1985 – Puerto Rico
- 1986 – Lexington, KY
- 1987 – Las Vegas, NV
- 1988 – Scottsdale, AZ
- 1989 – Tampa, FL
- 1990 – La Jolla, CA
- 1991 – Leesburg, VA
- 1992 – Hawaii
- 1993 – Palm Desert, CA
- 1994 – Bermuda
Ralph Meacham
1994-98
Willian K. Thomas, P.E.
1996-98
Rick L. Cox
1998-2000
William A. Derse
2000-02
Patrick Kelly
2002-04
Robert Conboy
2004-06
Decade Highlight:
1995 – AABC’s SpecWriter launches, promising a “new, easy-to-use software that will revolutionize the way you write TAB Specifications!”
1996 – AABC launches its first website, opening up a new avenue for marketing and connecting members with the latest updates in testing, adjusting, and balancing.
1997 – AABC establishes the requirement that each branch office must have a TBE.
1997 – The updated AABC Test & Balance Procedures are published and distributed to members.
1999 – In response to a member survey, the Board undertakes a strategic planning session to improve the Quality Assurance Program.
2000 – The new commissioning guideline is developed and presented to membership.
2001 – The 6th edition of the AABC National Standards for Total System Balance is published.
2002 – The Technician Certification Exam is completed and updated to be computer generated. All eligible technicians are required to be certified by the end of 2003.
2003 – AABC reaches 150 member companies.
2004 – The AABC Commissioning Group (ACG) officially launches.
Annual Meeting Locations:
- 1995: San Antonio, TX
- 1996: Orlando, FL
- 1997: Scottsdale, AZ
- 1998: Cancun, Mexico
- 1999: Monterey, CA
- 2000: Charleston, SC
- 2001: Lahaina, HI
- 2002: Tampa, FL
- 2003: Rancho Mirage, CA
- 2004: Naples, FL
Robert Conboy
2004-2006
American Air Balance Co., LLC
Mike Young
2006-2008
Test and Balance Corporation (TABC)
Joseph Baumgartner
2008-2010
Baumgartner, Inc.
Michael Renovich
2010-2012
RSAnalysis, LLC
Jay Johnson
2012-2014
Thermal Balance, Inc.
Dan Acri
2014-2016
Flood and Sterling Inc.
Decade Highlight:
2005 – Trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for AABC, AABC National Standards, Associated Air Balance Council, TBE, Test and Balance Engineer, and TAB Journal.
2006 – Walter and David McCauley created four training DVDs, which were made available for purchase to enhance industry knowledge. AABC was accredited as a standards developer by ANSI, paving the way for submitting the next edition of the AABC National Standards for approval as an American National Standard.
2007 – A new policy required every branch office to employ a Test and Balance Engineer (TBE) to maintain consistency and quality. Honorary memberships were introduced to recognize and honor retired AABC members for their contributions.
2008 – Work began on the Energy Management Guideline, a collaborative effort between AABC and ACG.
2009/2010 – A strategic plan led to the creation of committees focused on marketing, quality assurance, training, and more. New resources included a marketing folder, pocket manual, quality assurance guide, AABC specifications, Member Handbook, and the first Lunch and Learn presentation.
2011 – Discussions about an NEBB-ASHRAE merger were met with criticism, leading AABC to invite ASHRAE presidents to future Annual Meetings for better collaboration.
2011/2012 – AABC hosted its first regional meeting in Nashville, TN, gathering over 80 attendees to discuss “Optimizing HVAC System Performance.”
2012/2013 – The second regional meeting was held in Baltimore, MD, and due to its success, regional meetings replaced the semi-annual meetings with declining attendance.
2014 – AABC launched Total System Balance Weekly, an e-publication to promote TAB Journal articles and encourage Lunch and Learn requests. AABC zones were reallocated to serve members better and streamline operations.
Annual Meeting Locations:
- 2005: San Francisco, CA
- 2006: Savannah, GA
- 2007: Lahaina, HI
- 2008: St. Petersburg, FL
- 2009: Scottsdale, AZ
- 2010: Palm Coast, FL
- 2011: San Diego, CA
- 2012: Austin, TX
- 2013: Miami, FL
- 2014: Palm Springs, CA
Annual Meeting Locations:
- 2005: San Francisco, CA
- 2006: Savannah, GA
- 2007: Lahaina, HI
- 2008: St. Petersburg, FL
- 2009: Scottsdale, AZ
- 2010: Palm Coast, FL
- 2011: San Diego, CA
- 2012: Austin, TX
- 2013: Miami, FL
- 2014: Palm Springs, CA
Dan Acri
2014-16
Flood and Sterling Inc.
Michael L. Delcamp
2016-18
National Precisionaire, LLC
Benjiman Link
2018-2020
United Testing & Balancing, Inc.
Michael Kelly
2020-22
American Testing Inc.
Gaylon Richardson
2022-24
Engineered Air Balance Co., Inc.
Decade Highlight:
2016 – AABC achieved accreditation as a Standards Developer by ANSI, paving the way for the publication of the 7th edition of the National Standards for Total System Balance as an official American National Standard.
2017 – AABC released an updated version of the Technician Training Manual, featuring new and revised content. This manual remains an essential resource for TBEs and TBTs. Additionally, AABC held its first TAB Seminar session in conjunction with CxEnergy 2017, offering it as a pre-conference educational event for members.
2018 – The updated TBE exam was introduced.
2019 – AABC launched a new member portal, providing easier access to resources such as certification information, publications, and dues payment options.
2020 – Amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, AABC transitioned to a virtual annual meeting and introduced innovative ways to engage members, including offering LUs by reading TAB Journal and completing a quiz.
2021 – The AABC Hall of Fame was established, with George Ebert as the first modern inductee. Historical nominees included Arnold Pearl, Walter Lipski, and Taylor Kahoe.
2022 – AABC rolled out an updated technician exam.
2023 – Updated the AABC Policies & Procedures and various membership forms, in part
to better protect AABC’s greatest differentiator, independence, during an era of significantly
increased merger and acquisition activity.
2024: Completed an important revamp and update of the AABC Bylaws, in part to protect AABC from future lawsuits after reincorporation in Washington, D.C., from California.
Annual Meeting Locations:
- 2015: Los Cabos, Mexico
- 2016: Orlando, FL
- 2017: Lahaina, HI
- 2018: Naples, FL
- 2019: San Antonio, TX
- 2020: Virtual – COVID
- 2021: Miramar Beach, FL
- 2022: Hilton Head Island, SC
- 2023: Scottsdale, AZ
- 2024: Lost Pines, TX
Doug Meachem
2025
Decade Highlight:
1985 – AABC hosts its first international conference, expanding its global presence.
1989 – Membership reaches 10,000, marking a significant milestone in the organization’s growth.
1993 – Introduction of the AABC Annual Awards, celebrating excellence within the community.
1989 – Membership reaches 10,000, marking a significant milestone in the organization’s growth.
1993 – Introduction of the AABC Annual Awards, celebrating excellence within the community.
Annual Meeting Locations
