College Hosts Global Taco After Dark Webinar Session

Johnson College will host members of Taco Comfort Solutions as they broadcast their global training webinar, “Taco After Dark,” from the Scranton campus’s Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Technology lab.

This session is the eighth and final part of their fall webinar series called “Taco After Dark” and will cover the topic of domestic hot water recirculation. Participants will learn the correct way to size and control a DHW recirculation system for all types of water heaters. The webinar will focus particularly on the unique DHW recirculation requirements being set forth by heat pump water heater manufacturers.

Taco Comfort Solutions is a family-owned, global engineer and manufacturer of high-efficiency indoor heating, cooling, and plumbing comfort systems. They offer industry-leading training for residential and commercial systems. Members of the training team have been visiting technical schools across the continent to present their webinar sessions live from industry-focused classrooms. Webinar presenters from Taco Comfort Solutions will include John Barba, Director of Training; David Holdorf, Residential Trainer of the Eastern region; and Rick Mayo, Western Product and Application Instructor.

To learn more about this webinar or to register for this session, visit www.tacocomfort.com/training/online-training/taco-after-dark/.

College Reveals Expansion with Construction of Bracey Hall

Johnson College announced today that construction will soon begin on a new advanced technology facility to house its growing Building Trades programs, specifically Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Technology and Electrical Construction Technology. The new facility will double the size of the existing HVAC laboratory and provide additional training facilities for Electrical Construction Technology on the College’s Scranton campus.

During a community event on the Scranton campus, Dr. Katie Pittelli, Johnson College President & CEO, unveiled artist renderings and plans for the new facility as she announced that the building expansion will be named Bracey Hall, in recognition of the Bracey family’s service to Johnson College. The Braceys recently pledged a major gift to the College’s capital campaign, “Innovation at Work,” to support its building trades programs. This gift will allow the College to continue meeting the needs of its students, industry partners, and the community with advanced real-world, hands-on, industry-driven education.

In addition to the transformational gift from the Bracey family, the College was awarded a $1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the City of Scranton. This grant will help the College to expand its workforce development programming for high-tech and in-demand fields, including HVAC and Electrical Construction. The HVAC and Electrical Construction Technology programs also benefitted from a $280,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant for campus technology upgrades.

Dr. Pittelli stated Bracey Hall will feature ample space to provide dedicated, permanent areas for all significant training equipment. The facility will feature a more advanced interdisciplinary programming laboratory that will teach students the importance of learning to work in teams with each other and those from differing programs.

The building trades programs at the College have seen continuous growth throughout the past few years. The College’s HVAC program director and chair of the Building Trades division, Walter Wood ’11, shared that the significant demand in industry has led to an increase in enrollment and the need to expand. Additional classrooms and lab space will provide more students the opportunity to enroll in the College’s hands-on Building Trades programs to meet industry needs throughout the region and beyond.

For more information about Johnson College’s comprehensive, five-year capital campaign, “Innovation at Work,” visit johnson.edu/innovationatwork.

Tech Talk with Johnson College Podcast – Episode 5 Now Available

Tech Talk with Johnson College Podcast Episode 5, Growing Opportunities for the HVAC Trade” is now available. In this episode Dr. Katie Pittelli talks with Steve Midura, Northeast Pennsylvania Market Director at Johnson Controls in Wilkes-Barre. They discuss the effects that COVID-19 has had on the industry and safety regulations in place, as well as the demand across the nation for skilled technicians in this field and how technology is growing the capability of HVAC systems.

Visit https://johnsoncollegepodcast.com/ to listen to all of the Tech Talk with Johnson College Podcast episodes and learn more.

Our guest, Steve Midura, enjoys the extreme privilege of leadership with a dedicated team of professionals that serve the broader Northeast Pennsylvania HVAC & Automation market. Some key clients are Geisinger, the Mohegan Sun Casino and the Lackawanna County Stadium. Steve ensures that all customers are sold the value they need and that the operations efforts are fully executed to exceed expectations. The true value his team offers is local, dedicated staff that live here and take great pride in remaining the NEPA market leader.

Prior to Steve being named the Northeast Pennsylvania Market Director of Johnson Controls in 2004, he was Project Team Leader from 1997 to 2004. Before joining Johnson Controls, Steve was Assistant Director of Facilities at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton, PA.

Steve is a current member of Johnson College’s Board of Directors. He brings his knowledge & experience to help the college grow the student experience & ultimate capability. Steve’s focus will also be on gaining the maximum amount of exposure to women & diverse candidates. The technically skilled workforce demands the best & most passionate professionals and these careers should offer everyone a fulfilling lifetime of opportunity.