The IWSH Essay Contest invites students to explore how government and private sector collaboration can accelerate access to clean drinking water, with scholarship prizes and industry recognition for the top submissions.
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Empowering Change: IWSH Launches 2025 Clean Water Scholarship Essay Contest
he IWSH Essay Contest, hosted by The International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation (IWSH), announces its annual IWSH Scholarship Essay Contest, challenging students to examine how government and private sector collaboration can accelerate access to safe drinking water.
This year’s topic asks high school seniors and post-secondary students to consider: “Why should the government and private sector come together to provide improved access to clean drinking water?” The contest typically draws over 200 entries from students worldwide, reflecting IWSH’s global reach.
“Through this essay contest, we’re connecting with young people who understand that clean water changes lives,” said Sean Kearney, IWSH Managing Director. “We want students to think about how partnerships can solve real problems.
With more than 2 billion people globally lacking access to safely managed drinking water and millions in the U.S. without basic plumbing, IWSH brings together skilled plumbers, quality products, and community training to create lasting change.
“These fresh perspectives help us show that modern plumbing is more than just fixing leaks,” said Gaby Davis, Chief Administrative Officer of IAPMO, the parent organization of IWSH. “It’s about building healthier communities and opening career paths that make a difference.”
IWSH Essay Contest Opens for Submissions: $2,000 Top Prize and Publication in Industry Magazine
The contest welcomes entries from high school seniors, students in technical schools, community colleges, trade programs, and undergraduates at four-year institutions. One first-place winner will receive a $2,000 scholarship, and three second-place winners will each receive $1,000. Winners also have their work published in IAPMO’s Official magazine, putting their ideas in front of industry leaders throughout the sector.
The Sandra Imprescia Essay Scholarship Committee reviews the submissions to determine the top four, recommending the winning essays to IWSH’s Board of Trustees. Winners will be announced this Fall.
The entry deadline is April 30, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. For more information or to submit an entry, visit iwsh.org/iwsh-world-plumbing-day-essay-contest.
Fujitsu General America delivered an inspiring TSA Conference focused on strengthening core HVAC skills and fostering industry connections.
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Fujitsu General America Hosts TSA Conference to Reinforce Service Excellence
Fujitsu General America hosted its fourth Technical Service Advisors (TSA) Conference in mid-April in Raleigh, NC. Themed “Back to the Basics,” the event reinforced fundamental skills and aligned Fujitsu’s Service Team with distributor technical support team members to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
“Fujitsu doesn’t just provide high-efficiency HVAC systems, we also provide top-notch service and support to our customers,” said Tomokazu Hosoi, President of Fujitsu General America. “Our commitment to service and support really sets us apart from our competitors. That’s why the TSA Conference is so important to us.”
Back to the Basics: 2025 TSA Conference Focuses on Core HVAC Skills
The three-day event, which was attended by 150 distributors, featured breakout sessions covering commercial and residential training, warranty information, remote system access via AIRSTAGE Cloud, transition to A2L, and more. Each session was designed to strengthen core knowledge and keep pace with the evolving HVAC industry.
“We chose ‘Back to the Basics’ as the theme of the 2025 TSA Conference to emphasize the fundamentals of troubleshooting,” said Ruben Marcucci, Sr. Director of Aftermarket. “This helps solidify the core skills needed by our technical service advisors. Mastering the basics is the key to driving success.”
While networking wasn’t the primary goal of the event, attendees connected with Fujitsu staff and their counterparts across the country. The activities, meals, and classes were designed to promote interaction.
“We hold this conference every other year to strengthen the connection with our most important partnerships – the technical service advisors at the distribution level,” said Dennis Stinson, VP of Sales. “Thank you to those who attended. We’ll do great things.”
For more information, please visit www.FujitsuGeneral.com.
GF Building Flow has been honored by USA Today as a 2025 Top Workplaces Culture Excellence winner for innovation, work-life flexibility, and outstanding benefits.
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GF Building Flow Recognized for Innovation and Work-Life Excellence by USA Today
GF Building Flow Solutions Americas, the manufacturer of Uponor branded products, has been named a 2025 USA Today Top Workplaces Culture Excellence winner across three categories: Innovation, Work-Life Flexibility, and Compensation & Benefits. This is the company’s fourth consecutive year on the national Top Workplaces list.
The Top Workplaces program has a 17-year history of surveying and celebrating people-first organizations nationally and across 60 regional markets. These awards are based on direct feedback from a research-backed employee engagement survey conducted by Energage, a purpose-driven organization that develops solutions to build and brand Top Workplaces.
The Top Workplaces Culture Excellence awards recognize organizations that excel in specific areas of workplace culture:
Innovation
This award celebrates organizations that have embedded innovation into their culture and create an environment where new ideas come from all employees.
Work-Life Flexibility
This award celebrates the organizations that provide options to their employees in how and where they work, as well as having managers who care for their employees’ concerns.
Compensation & Benefits
This award celebrates the organizations that provide employees not only with material rewards, but also with appreciation for their work.
“Maintaining a people-first culture is the foundation of innovation and long-term success at GF,” says Erica Amévo, vice president of Human Resources at GF Building Flow Solutions Americas. “These awards hold extra meaning as they are a reflection of our people-first mindset and commitment to creating an environment where every employee feels valued, supported, and empowered.”
“Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees,” says Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “That’s something to be proud of. In today’s market, leaders must ensure they’re allowing employees to have a voice and be heard. That’s paramount. Top Workplaces do this, and it pays dividends.”
Visit the Careers page to learn more about GF.
Reins has partnered with CEO Warrior to bring innovative alternative equity solutions to skilled trades businesses nationwide, helping owners drive employee retention and long-term growth.
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Now a preferred partner, the leading provider of alternative equity solutions will introduce its innovative employee incentives to CEO Warrior’s vast network of skilled trades businesses
Reins, a pioneering technology firm dedicated to empowering privately owned businesses through alternative equity solutions, announces a new agreement with CEO Warrior, a nationally recognized business development, training and implementation organization for the home service business industry.
With the new agreement in place, Reins will be a preferred partner for businesses that leverage CEO Warrior’s expansive network of resources—positioning them to be the top provider of employee incentive programs for skilled trade companies across the country.
“CEO Warrior teaches home service business owners how to achieve scalable growth—and a big part of that is incentivizing the retention of key employees and top talent,” said Chris Buttenham, co-founder of Reins. “Reins’ alternative equity solutions are well-suited to this task, and we’re pleased to work with CEO Warrior to expand adoption of those solutions throughout the skilled trades.”
Reins Empowers Small Businesses with Innovative Employee Equity Solutions
With innovative solutions like the Modern Agreement for Rewards and Equity (MARE) program, Reins provides small business owners with unique options to incentive employee longevity and performance, providing a sense of “skin in the game” through long term phantom stock offerings. Phantom stock allows business owners to provide their employees with the benefits of ownership without the headaches of traditional equity ownership.
“Our agreement with Reins confirms our commitment to helping home service companies grow through cutting-edge solutions,” said Caroline Moriarty, Director of Business Development at CEO Warrior. “We encourage our clients to consider all the options for keeping their best employees on board, including these forward-thinking approaches to equity.”
For more information about Reins, visit https://www.myreins.com.
New AI-powered solution adjusts advertising spend in real-time based on actual job availability for Scorpion & ServiceTitan clients
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New AI-powered solution adjusts advertising spend in real-time based on actual job availability for Scorpion & ServiceTitan clients
Scorpion, the leading provider of digital marketing and technology solutions for local businesses, and ServiceTitan, a software platform that powers the trades, announced the launch of Capacity Marketing Engine, a new AI-powered product designed to help home services providers maximize digital advertising spend, maintain a full schedule, and reduce unnecessary advertising costs. Capacity Marketing Engine is exclusively available to select Scorpion clients now and available for all clients who have purchased Scorpion’s RevenueMAX and ServiceTitan’s Marketing Pro with Ads Optimizer beginning in May.
Home services businesses—such as HVAC companies, plumbers, and electricians—rely on consistent lead generation to fuel growth. However, fluctuating demand, seasonal slowdowns, and the unpredictability of consumer needs can lead to inefficiencies in advertising spending and scheduling. As a result, home services businesses face wasted marketing dollars, missed revenue targets, idle technicians, and unsatisfied customers.
Scorpion’s Capacity Marketing Engine uses AI-powered automation to adjust advertising spend based on real-time business capacity information from ServiceTitan. When demand is low, the system automatically boosts advertising to fill the schedule; when capacity is high, spend is scaled back to avoid overallocation.
With Capacity Marketing Engine, the connection between scheduling and demand fluctuations is now aligned and intuitively directs the advertising strategy for a true ‘smart scheduler.’ Now, home services businesses can redirect their focus to what matters: delivering exceptional service, helping to maximize ROI, and hitting revenue goals.
This launch deepens the strategic partnership between Scorpion and ServiceTitan, combining advanced advertising automation with business data from the industry’s most trusted field service platform. Together, they’re setting a new standard for how home services businesses grow: smarter, faster, and with greater efficiency than ever before.
“For business owners, Capacity Marketing Engine enables investment decisions that directly support profitability and long-term growth,” said Rustin Kretz, Founder and CEO of Scorpion. “We’re proud to launch this with our partners at ServiceTitan—it’s another step toward helping our clients grow more efficiently, stay fully booked, and maximize their revenue.”
Key Benefits of Capacity Marketing Engine:
- Automated Advertising Spend Adjustment: AI-powered technology that increases spend during slower periods and scales back when schedules are full.
- Real-Time Visibility and Control: Built-in transparency through Scorpion’s Revenue App provides a clear, historical log of budget changes and the triggers behind them—so clients always know what’s happening and why.
- Time and Cost Savings: Reduced need for manual ad management, freeing business owners to focus on service delivery.
- Enhanced Marketing Efficiency: Optimized marketing budgets to help generate maximum return on investment and drive consistent growth.
To learn more about Capacity Marketing Engine and how Scorpion and ServiceTitan are transforming growth for home services businesses, visit scorpion.co/capacity-marketing.