Two industry icons were recognized at the AHR Expo in Atlanta earlier this month. David Hughes was presented with the distinguished Carlson-Holohan Industry Award of Excellence. Hughes is the ninth recipient of the award. John Siegenthaler, P.E., was presented with the Legacy of Excellence Award for his contribution and authorship of idronics, a technical journal of design innovation now in its 32nd edition.

Iconic Carlson-Holohan founders and past recipients were on-hand to present the award to Hughes. The ambassadors included Robert Bean, Dan Holohan, David Yates, John Barba (Taco Comfort Solutions), John Siegenthaler (Appropriate Design), John Goshulak (Weil-McLain Canada), Ingrid Mattsson (Uponor North America) and Bob “Hot Rod” Rohr (Caleffi North America). Mark Eatherton and Kenneth Webster (Viessmann-Canada) are also prior award recipients.

In the spirit of Gil Carlson and the vision of Dan Holohan and Robert Bean, the Carlson-Holohan award was conceived in 2006. The award is presented every two years to a nominee with attributes including technical mastery and a passion for hydronic technologies, demonstrated leadership as an educator and mentor, and an aptitude for cultivating fundraising opportunities for industry causes. Learn more about how the award came to be in this brief video by founder Bean.

Hughes hydronic career began as a journeyman plumber, gasfitter, and steamfitter. He quickly wove into his career his passion for teaching the trades, instructing at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT). He invested time with the National Hydronic Design Subcommittee of the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating (CIPH), resulting in the Certified Hydronic Designer and Certified Hydronic Installer programs.  Hughes was strategically active in defining the CSA B214 Installation Code for Hydronic Heating Systems.  He has participated in the Alberta Hydronics Advisory Council, CIPH-Edmonton, and Canadian Hydronics Council.  In 2022 he spent five months “training-the-trainer” in Uganda for a trade curriculum at the Uganda Technical College Elgon (Mbale).

Siegenthaler received a surprise recognition from Mark Olson, CEO of Caleffi North America, during the Carlson-Holohan ceremony for his writing contribution to idronics, a semi-annual and complimentary design journal. idronics has been a respected resource since 2007 for engineers, architects, wholesalers, contractors, educators and manufacturers in North America. idronics derives its roots from Idraulica, the Italian-inspired publication created by Caleffi founder Francesco Caleffi in 1991. "What could I do, as an Entrepreneur, in order to be able to help designers and installers, or those whom I consider my external collaborators?" 

In 2007, Siegenthaler authored the first edition of idronics, Hydraulic Separation. Each journal is carefully planned about one year in advance of the edition's publication. Future and relevant topics are considered and discussed within Caleffi North America's "think tank": a group of industry professionals both within and outside the company. Caleffi has proudly distributed nearly a half million copies of the popular journal series to date. 

“I am very touched by the generosity and kindness extended by all of you over the years,” shared Siegenthaler during the ceremony. 

Caleffi was proud to host the formal award presentations and cocktail reception at their booth during the recently held exposition.