Ken Smith, RPG Plumbing Services, Virginia Beach, Virginia, will become president of PHCC-National Association at CONNECT 2026, Oct. 19-22, in Milwaukee. Smith holds master-level licenses as an electrician, HVAC mechanic, plumber and gas fitter, and spent more than three decades rising from an entry-level job at United Air Temp to part-owner and CFO before joining RPG as a business consultant and partner.

Smith got into the business in 1992, fresh out of college with a dual degree in marketing and finance. He’d worked his way through high school and college as a motorcycle mechanic, then answered an ad for a manager trainee at United Air Temp. The company had just opened its third location and had about 20 employees when Smith walked in the door. He worked his way up from field operations, sales, branch management, regional management and eventually to the C-suite and part-ownership .

From there, he focused on recruiting and training, since in his book, “people have always been the No. 1 issue in the business.” Smith started United Air Temp’s recruiting and training departments, got its training certified by the state of Virginia, and eventually ran the back end of the company, such as HR, finance and negotiating with vendors. 

He also went back to school for his MBA with a concentration in finance. The company expanded its footprint through the Mid-Atlantic — Georgia, Florida, North Carolina — growing to about 35 locations across multiple states.

United Air Temp was eventually bought by private equity, and Smith stayed on to help build it into a platform company that acquired nine more businesses before it was sold again.

After more than 30 years there, he decided it was time for a change and partnered with RPG, a smaller, family-owned business in Virginia Beach. Smith got to know RPG owner Patrick Goad through PHCC of Virginia. His role at RPG is transitional — he’s there as a business consultant and partner, adding value where he can while helping Goad scale the company.

Smith is also a master electrician, master HVAC mechanic, master plumber and master gas fitter.

“I can fix a furnace or a plumbing system in my sleep,” he says.

He sees that combination of hands-on trade and extensive ownership experience as exactly the skill set the industry needs right now.

We caught up with Smith to talk about his priorities as president, and why now is the time for plumbing and HVAC contractors to get involved with PHCC.

PHC News: Where do the greatest business opportunities lie for PHCC members over the next 3-5 years, and how is PHCC going to help them take advantage of those opportunities?

Smith: We’re in a magical time in the trades. Think about the last time it was culturally cool to be a plumber or an HVAC technician — young people today, and their parents and grandparents, are starting to see the trades as a smart, viable path, partly because of disillusionment with the traditional four-year college route and the debt that comes with it. It’s not only cool, but respected again to be a tradesperson, and it should be.

A plumber used to hold a position in royal courts as a chief civil engineer, and honestly, plumbing and sanitation have saved more lives than every medical professional who has ever walked the earth, just through clean drinking water and wastewater management.

The biggest opportunity for our members is capturing that renewed interest on the recruiting side. Nearly every successful contractor I talk to says the same thing: If I brought them more work, they couldn’t take it, because they don’t have enough qualified people. 

It’s not a lack of leads or sales that’s holding businesses back — it’s lack of people. We have an audience of young people who want to enter the trades, and we need to meet them where they are, bring them in, and show them what a great living and a meaningful career this industry offers.

PHC News: What priorities do you have for yourself during your tenure as president of PHCC?

Smith: Our presidential rotation is technically one year, but the PHCC Executive Committee — vice president, president-elect, president, secretary and CEO — works as a cluster. We’ve intentionally moved that group closer together in recent years, so my tenure really isn’t just the one year I serve as president. I serve under our current president, Jason Pritchard, and whatever we don’t get done on his watch moves onto my plate, and so on down the line.

My top priority is membership — serving our members and turning this organization back over to them so they feel grounded in it. We want to grow membership and membership value, and we want to keep being the voice of our industry.

On a related matter, we’ve built real credibility on Capitol Hill and in regulatory and manufacturing conversations, and I want us to keep having a seat at the table, and, ideally, I want us to get invited to that table a little earlier in the process.

We represent more than 3,300 member companies and about 60,000 tradespeople, and by extension millions of customers they serve every day, so our voice carries real weight.

Beyond that, I want to keep strengthening our partnerships with manufacturers, lean into the PHCC Academy, the PHCC’s world-class training academy, and modernize how we recruit and reach new members, because the demographics and the media people consume have changed completely from when I started in this business.

PHC News: What role do you see the association playing in advocating for industry interests?

Smith: PHCC’s job is to make sure the people actually doing the work have a voice when regulations, codes and manufacturing standards are being written, because we’re the ones who ultimately have to implement whatever changes come down. I’ve mentioned before about our seat at the table and the association will continue to politely ask for one because we know we add value to that conversation. And because PHCC represents both our members and the customers, our voice is multiplied well beyond our membership numbers alone.

PHC News: What is the one thing you are looking forward to most as president of PHCC?

Smith: Capturing this moment for recruiting. We have more young people paying attention to the trades right now than I can remember in my lifetime, and I’m looking forward to helping PHCC meet them where they are and bring them into an industry that offers a great living and genuinely makes a difference in people’s lives.

PHC News: What is the No. 1 reason plumbing and HVAC contractors should attend PHCC’s CONNECT 2026, Oct. 19-22 in Milwaukee?

Smith: CONNECT is a brilliant name for our convention because that’s exactly what it is. Information is out there. I guess you can search the web all day and learn plenty on your own, but it’s the connections you make in person that really matter.

At your local chapter meeting, you hear what’s happening in your area. At the state level, maybe a neighboring state, too. At CONNECT in Milwaukee, you’re talking to people from across the entire country — manufacturers with the latest products on the trade show floor, educational seminars, and the movers and shakers across every job title. You might run into a product rep who ran a company himself 10 years ago, or someone from a marketing company with a completely different perspective you hadn’t thought of before. That national, cross-industry access is something you’ll only get by attending CONNECT.

PHC News: If a plumbing and heating professional was still on the fence about joining PHCC, what would you tell them to get them to join the association?

Smith: The cost of membership should just be a line item in your budget — it’s a minor business expense that can pay you back tenfold.

I’ve got story after story: I know of a newer member in Virginia who was on a job without a well pump puller. He called a friend at a competing company, and the guy told him to just come grab his. It’s things as small as that, or a piece of advice at a meeting that saves someone money — more than enough money to pay for a lifetime of membership.

Running a company can be a lonely place. There are things you can’t talk to just anyone about, whether it’s confidentiality or just the level you’re operating at. Being around people who understand exactly what you’re going through, who’ve walked that same path, means they can see the pothole in the road long before you do. That peer network — the friendships that go beyond business — is worth far more than the dues.

PHC News: Finally, with your industry experience, what is one piece of advice you would like to pass along to the younger members of this industry?

Smith: Join PHCC and stay active — that’s first. Beyond that, my two and a half cents is simple: Work hard, stay true to yourself and never stop learning. This is a great industry to be part of. It’s recession-proof, it’s one of the oldest trades in existence going back to the Roman Empire and earlier, and it will always be relevant because you’re making a real difference in people’s lives every day.