Tag Archives: Education

01Aug/24

Recent AIP Instructors Recognized

NORA is pleased to recognize the trainers who completed the second NORA Accredited Instructor Program (AIP), Nick Povio, Binsky Home Heating; John Ringel, Energy Kinetics; Marc Gilbert, Central Main Community College, Michael Elmer, PPATEC; Ed Wagner, J&K Sales; Joel Nawkson, FSI Oil & Propane; Raymond Conte, NH School of Mechanical Trades and Taylor Donlon,, Donlon Brothers at NORA’s Research & Education center in Plainview, NY, under the tutelage of professional education trainer Brenda Huber.

The NORA Accredited Instructor program was developed to ensure service professionals trained in NORA schools, unions, and by companies in the liquid heating fuels industry have been provided with an education that positions them, their customers, and their companies for success.

The service professionals in the liquid heating fuels industry are the first and most important contacts with customers. They are responsible not only for ensuring the heating system is operating at maximum efficiency, safety and reliability, but also with how customers perceive their liquid fuel heating, their adoption of renewable fuels and how comfortable they are with staying with their liquid fuel heating system. 

The program began with a prepared presentation by each of the participants. These were critiqued by the instructor as well as others in the class to establish a baseline. From there, the instructor took the participants through the teaching process to elevate their lessons from simply conveying facts to creating a meaningful total-learning experience for the students. The NORA Accredited Instructor program’s emphasis is to present the curriculum in such a way that students “own” the information and not just hear it. 

L to R: Ed Wagner, J&K Sales; Michael Elmer, PPATEC; Chris Grenier, J&K Sales; Joel Nawkson, FSI Oil & Propane; Bob O’Brien, NORA; Brenda Huber, Instructor; Nick Povio, Binsky Home Services, Taylor Donlon, Donlon Brothers; Marc Gilbert, Central Main Community College and John Ringel, Energy Kinetics, Inc.

Hear what they have to say about NORA’s AIP

01Aug/24

NORA to Contribute to Exploring Biodiesel Seminar

XBX|Exploring Biodiesel series of seminars will continue August 21 at the New England Aquarium, Boston, MA.

This session, Navigating the Future, will center around the core questions that middle distillate supply chain participants must address to ensure a successful transition to low-carbon renewable biofuels, including:

  • Is the production of bio-based diesel fuels scalable to meet demand in existing and emerging markets while still being economically viable?
  • Is our infrastructure robust and reliable?
  • Are we effectively communicating our decarbonization story to the public?
  • What is the cost of inaction?

NORA, whose mission is to remove carbon emissions from home heating, will be represented on two panel discussions.

Nora’s president, Michael Devine, will be part of a panel discussion titled “Operational Integration, Getting Ready to Roll” about preparing customer-facing representatives to effectively communicate the benefits of low-carbon liquid fuels to end users and what, if any, operational transitions might be needed.

Dr. Jenny Frank, NORA Research Associate, will contribute to the panel discussion “Monetizing the Transition” which will examine the financial aspects of adopting advanced renewable fuels.

Registration and more detailed information for August 21 in Boston can be found here.

Additionally, XBX|Navigating the Future will host another seminar on October 15 in Lancaster, PA.

More about XBX at exploringbiofuels.com