AHAM Honors Top Home Appliance Industry Leaders

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) honored several industry leaders for their contributions and leadership to the home appliance industry and to the Association during AHAM's annual member meeting, Delivering Member Value, held May 2-3, 2014 in Boca Raton, FL.

The Home Appliance Industry Leadership (HAIL) Award was presented to Phil Manthei, Senior Staff Engineer, Safety/Codes Approval, Alliance Laundry Systems; Warrington Ellacott, Senior Manager, Government Relations, North America, Whirlpool Canada; and Mark Bissell, Chairman and CEO, BISSELL, Inc.

Mark Bissell served as AHAM Chairman from 2010-2012 and served on the AHAM Board of Directors for 10 years.  During his term as Chairman, he oversaw the expansion of AHAM's service and membership reach to include Canada.  Also, he was a leader in the formation of AHAM's Floor Care Division in 2004.

Phil Manthei has been an involved member of AHAM for more than 15 years, demonstrating vast knowledge of laundry products and the impact of regulatory proposals, especially DOE test procedures, on the industry. Manthei's involvement includes significant participation in member task forces and committees.

Warrington Ellacott is AHAM's most active industry member in the regulatory and legislative sphere in Canada.  He currently chairs the board of the industry established Major Appliance Recycling Roundtable overseeing the British Columbia mandate on major appliance recycling.  Prior to the establishment of AHAM Canada, Ellacott was very active with the Canadian Appliance Manufacturers Association (CAMA) and chaired its Board of Directors. 

AHAM also presented the Gordon Stauffer Liston Durden Distinguished Service Award, which was renamed by the AHAM Board of Directors in honor of two of the home appliance industry's most important leaders, Gordon Stauffer (1938-2013) of AGA Marvel and Liston Durden (1946-2011) of Viking Range Corporation, both of whom chaired the AHAM Board of Directors.   This special award recognizes significant contributions by virtue of longevity and quality of service to the Association and the home appliance industry.  The 2014 award was presented to Jim Bowman, Fellow, Honeywell International; Marie Chassot, Manager, Market Research, BSH Home Appliances Corporation; and members of AHAM's Safety Committees which pursue the industry's desire to further enhance consumers' lives through even safer products that also save energy, effort and time.

Jim Bowman has been involved in AHAM's regulatory and technical efforts related to global climate change for more than 20 years and served as Chair of AHAM's Supplier Division from 2012-2014. 

Marie Chassot is a key leader in AHAM's market data and research efforts in both the U.S. and Canada.  She has served on the U.S. Major Appliance Business Data Council for 10 years and also sits on the Canada Major Appliance Business Data Council, ensuring consistency between the two programs.

The AHAM Emerging Leader Award is presented to members who, through volunteer service have made important contributions to the industry.   The 2014 AHAM Emerging Leader Award was presented to Shane Sanders, Merchandise Manager, Electrolux Home Products NA; and David Kinny, Cooking Products Safety Manager, GE Appliances.

AHAM congratulates all award recipients.  The 2015 AHAM annual member meeting will take place at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center in Washington, DC, April 27-28.

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) is a not-for-profit trade association representing manufacturers of major and portable home appliances, floor care appliances and suppliers to the industry with headquarters in Washington, DC and an office in Ottawa, ON. You can visit the AHAM web site at http://www.aham.org.

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SOURCE Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers