Business View Magazine November-December 2018

140 141 THE AMERICAN BOILER MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION The Association represents boiler manufac- turers in the commercial, industrial, institu- tional, and utility sectors. “These are boilers that are going into large shopping centers, hospitals, power plants, food processing facil- ities, college campuses, and anywhere steam and hot water is necessary,”explains Lynch. The ABMA has three tiers of membership. The Active Members are boiler manufactur- ers and suppliers of major boiler room prod- ucts – the boiler itself, the burners that go on them, and the deaerators for water treat- ment, for example. Associate Members are organizations and companies engaged in the production and/or distribution of products or services for use by an Active Member, or a boiler owner, operator, or user, such as en- vironmental equipment, control panels, and fans. Professional Affiliate Members include any combustion or mechanical engineering student, teacher, professor, recognized in- stitution of higher learning (including trade schools), individual consultants (not affiliat- ed with an established firm or corporation), or industry retiree who wishes to maintain an informational connection to the Associa- tion. Currently, the ABMA has 107 members. Lynch believes that ABMA membership has many advantages. “For a supplier or an Associate Member, the leaders in the boiler industry are all members of our organiza- tion. So, if you’re selling product into the boiler industry, to be able to access these individuals and network with them at our events is a huge benefit,” he notes. “For Active Members, it’s about leading through the ABMA and addressing issues as an organization with our advocacy efforts that they can’t do individually. ABMA represents our members with boiler code setting bodies; we have relationships at the De- partment of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lobby for our members’ interests. Our meetings offer all attendees the opportunity to learn about the latest trends in the industry - what’s changing and what’s going to impact them.” The ABMA staff is relatively small, with only three full-time staff people. “I’m the President and CEO,” says Lynch. “I manage the day-to-day oper- ations of the Association along with overseeing the implementation of our strategic direction. Cheryl Jamall, our Director of Meetings, handles the execution of our events, which includes two large membership meetings a year. She also handles logistics for exhibiting at two industry trade shows where many of our members are also exhibiting and where we’re flying the flag for the boiler industry. Finally, Shaunica Jayson is our Membership and Marketing Manager. She han- dles all of our marketing and promotion efforts including our social media presence, along with liaising with the membership in terms of their