2020 Year in Review Highlights

2020 TACCA Year-in-Review Highlights

by Devorah Jakubowsky, CAE, Executive Director

During this unprecedented time of COVID-19, TACCA has seen challenges for members, the industry, and our organization. There is no doubt this year, with its shelter-in-place orders, mandatory business closures, and economic uncertainty, has derailed plans and goals for the association. No one could have foreseen or been prepared for the last nine months, so when we look at this year in review, our focus is on what has been accomplished despite the challenges put before us. In 2019, TACCA established seven priority goals for 2020 and hired me as its new executive director to help lead the organization in achieving these goals. With the help of Emily Valdez-Moore, TACCA Education Coordinator, and a dedicated Board of Directors and Executive Committee, I am proud to report the accomplishments made toward each of the goals.

Leadership Training/Development - Strengthen the leadership of TACCA through leadership training and development. In September, our board of directors participated in leadership training conducted by consultant Cathi Hight with Hight Performance Group and we have developed a new board orientation for future elected board members.

Affinity Programs - Develop a portfolio of vendors to provide discounted products and services to members. TACCA has been identifying products and services that would be of most value to its members. Our recent member benefit survey validated some of the options we are considering. We recently launched a new healthcare initiative and are very excited to bring this offering to our members.

Governance Infrastructure – Assure infrastructure is solid and identify any areas of weakness that need to be addressed. We completed an exhaustive review and subsequent amendment of the organization’s bylaws that was approved by the Board of Directors in August. Other governing documents were reviewed and found to be in order.

Committees - Create committees, identify chairs and solicit volunteers. The best work of any association comes when volunteers with a passion for their industry work together to make their profession better. TACCA created several committees including membership, chapter relations, legislative, TACCAPAC, and education/training. Committee chairs were selected, committee members were appointed to each committee, and committees have started meeting. We created a process document and are working on an orientation for committee chairs. More information about TACCA committees can be found here.

Chapter Growth/Training – Strengthen chapter relations and membership. We met individually with chapter directors and board members and organized a chapter staff retreat in February. We have been working diligently to help address the challenges that a few chapters have faced.

Communicate Value – Effectively communicate the value of membership. In an effort to communicate the value of membership more effectively, we completed a redesign of the website including the addition of new pages with key information people are searching for. We reviewed most of our programs including the continuing education (CE) and exam prep course. Training continues to be an essential and successful part of TACCA’s programs and are critical to the financial health of the association. In preparation for the 2020 CE class, we reviewed class evaluations from 2018 and 2019. Taking the more commonly requested topics, we surveyed class participants from the last couple of years to determine the topics that may be of most interest, settling on Manual J theory and managing humidity with a small dose of business. In addition to offering the CE class in-person and online, this year we added several virtual class dates that allowed participants and instructors to stay home and still have an interactive experience. We have received positive feedback from participants of this course. Looking ahead, the 2021 course which will include building science and the newly adopted codes. This year TACCA had planned to host an annual conference after taking a four-year hiatus. However, due to COVID-19, that had to be postponed until October 2021.

Membership Development - Membership growth and retention. Membership development is of great importance, not only for the health of the association, but is also vital for the profession as a whole and its legislative impact. It is critical to have a strong, united voice that speaks for the HVACR industry in the legislature and regulatory agencies. We have started several initiatives toward membership growth and retention and have put a focus on regular messaging through Facebook and Twitter and created LinkedIn and Instagram accounts.

If you have questions or would like more information about any of TACCA's goals or activities, please contact me by email or by calling the office at 512-320-0616.