BILL BEACHY RETIRES

 Bill Beachy, former AECP Board member and President of AECP, has retired after 40 years of dedicated service to the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). Bill served in many capacities over the years including local program manager, State program manager, and most recently as Vice-President of Community Housing Partners Energy Solutions. When Bill was managing the Virginia WAP, while at the Department of Housing and Community Development, he planted the seed for the formation of a volunteer organization, within the existing network, that could provide a variety of services to the program. This was the beginning of what soon became the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals (ACECP). Over the many years Bill has always provided support and guidance to AECP and in many different ways helped the organization grow and have a positive impact.

AECP CELEBRATES 25^TH ANNIVERSARY

 AECP was formed in 1992 and started out as a strictly volunteer organization. In 1999 staff was hired and an office set up. Some highlights of the past 25 years include:

• 25 STATEWIDE WX TRAININGS
• ADVOCATING AND WORKING TOWARDS A VIRGINIA TRAINING CENTER
• PRESENTING AND EXHIBITING ALL OVER THE STATE AND NATIONALLY
• DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR LEGISLATION THAT HAS PROVIDED LIHEAP FUNDS
• BATTLING FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES IN THE LEGISLATURE
• 15 GREEN LIVING AND ENERGY EXPOS
• PROMOTING RENEWABLE ENERGY, GREEN BUILDING AND A VARIETY OF SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES
• DEVELOPING AND MANAGING A SUSTAINABLE LIVING EDUCATION CENTER (SLEC)
• 15 AECP PEER EXCHANGES PROMOTING DIALOGUE AND COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE NETWORK
• PRODUCTION OF EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS THAT ARE STILL SELLING
• AECP 3-DAY CREW COMPETITION
• PROMOTING AND ADVOCATING FOR WX IN A VARIETY OF ARENAS
• PROVIDING MARKETING MATERIALS – FLYERS, BROCHURES, POSTERS, FACT SHEETS AND POWER POINTS.
• WORKING TO BRING UTILITIES AND WX TOGETHER
• WORKING TO PROFESSIONALIZE THE NETWORK THROUGH TRAINING, CERTIFICATIONS, AND LICENSES.
• WORKING TO BRING THE NETWORK TOGETHER THROUGH COMMUNICATION AND INTERACTION.

AECP HOLDS 15^TH PEER EXCHANGE

 AECP held a Peer Exchange in Roanoke, VA on October 9 and 10, 2018. The first session on October 9 provided the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) an opportunity to discuss a variety of topics including funding updates, the June Interchange, the American Customer Satisfaction Index Survey, State Plan development, technical updates, and HEAT and Hancock updates. This was followed by small group discussions around communication, training needs and the field monitoring process. The Technical Assistance Group (TAG) held their meeting immediately afterwards.

The second day saw a utility program update, a presentation on Radon in Virginia from the Virginia Dept. of Health, an update from the Training Center, and a discussion of AECP marketing tools that were available to celebrate Weatherization Day. These included videos, posters, fact sheets and other hand-outs.