Gareth Vaughan succeeded to the presidency of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors Association (HVCA) at its annual general meeting on 10 July 2008. At the same meeting, Graham Manly of Gratte Brothers Ltd was elected HVCA president elect. Retiring president John Miller, of J H Shouksmith & Sons Ltd, will serve during 2008/09 as immediate past president.

Mr Vaughan started working in the sector with a UK ductwork specialist in 1973 and is now its Managing Director since 1989. Throughout his career, he has shown a commitment to vocational education and training and, during his period as managing director, Poppleton has won a number of prestigious awards. Gareth Vaughan was chairman of the HVCA North West Region from 1994 to 1996 and has since then participated in HVCA’s management, having become president elect of the HVCA in July 2007.

According to the association’s press release, the new president feels the time is right for HVCA members to emphasise the very positive contribution they make to life in the first decade of the 21st century. Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Association, Mr Vaughan pointed out that the growing demand for a sustainable built environment – for low and zero-carbon technologies and renewable energy sources – was contributing hugely to their status as highly qualified professionals, capable of original thinking and genuine innovation”. He went on to explain that the HVCA was already committed to the development of skills and competences across the sector. “We can all make a difference – in a global context – by doing our jobs to the very best of our ability, and by using our knowledge, and our expertise, for the good of all,” Mr Vaughan concluded.