Simoneau: I've been a member of ABMA for 10 years. Joining ABMA for me was a game changer. I got to know all the stakeholders of the industry, the other boiler manufacturing companies—some that are competition—but also the burner companies, the control and instrumentation companies. It’s a hub of people and it's incredibly interesting.
Even if we are in competition, we are also advocating for the industry as a whole. I really like that because I feel I'm a team player. It's a big responsibility that I think we are all very conscious of as we work and learn together.
Every year we have the general meeting, our annual meeting in January where most of the of the members attend and we have some training sessions, although the focus is on the leadership aspect.
Every two years we have our Boiler Expo, which can be more technical. Your boiler operator, your engineers, maintenance people—all of them can come and find something worthwhile there.
We also have some technical whitepapers that we produce so you can stay on the top of changing regulation—we have a long relationship with the ASMA National Board.
Not long after I joined, they asked if I wanted to be a Co-Chair of the of the boiler committee. I said yes—even though I didn’t quite know what it was—and I started to serve the association that way. About two years later they asked me to join the board. I'm very vocal, and I have a lot of opinions, and I’ve always liked a challenge.
In January 2025 I was named Chair of the board, the first woman to be named chair of this association in more than 130 years. I work a lot with Scott Lynch, who is our President and CEO, and who has been a wonderful mentor to me.
CONTRACTOR: What are the top concerns that you're trying to advocate for the boiler manufacturing industry from your position in the ABMA?
Simoneau: I think a top issue is public awareness of what boilers are and how they operate. Most people don't know about what we do—well, until something goes wrong and they need it fixed! But we want people to know that we care for their security and safety.
Next is bringing manpower, labor, into our industry. We are suffering from the exodus of knowledge [as the older generation retires].
One initiative we launched is the Boiler Industry Leaders of Tomorrow. It's kind of a committee within the organization to bring those emerging leaders together, for training, networking, to make them feel like they have their own place.
[Editor’s note: ABMA launched its first Emerging Leaders Forum (ELF) this year—it took place April 8-9 in Columbus, OH.]
We also want to bring more women to our industry. I remember a time when I got here and there were maybe three women out of 75 or 80 people in a meeting! Now, thanks to Scott [Lynch] and Shaunica [Jayson], our VP of Marketing, we launched the Women in the Boiler Industry [in 2024].
We have our first WIBI Symposium this October 15th through the 17th in Minneapolis. Spots sold out in two weeks following the announcement, which is very encouraging. We have a very interesting lineup of speakers for the event.
Another key issue is advocating for legislation. Making sure that we have regulations that are strict enough to ensure safety, efficiency, and address environmental concerns, but not too strict, not needlessly strict. That it all is based on the best science.
The problem with regulation is how complex and varied regulation has become. In the United States we have 50 states, and all the states are different. In Canada, there's 10 provinces, in all of them regulations are different. You can get lost in all this. If we can help our members find their path and help guide them through all this, we feel that we did our job at the end of the day.
CONTRACTOR: A lot going on. You seem to be really enjoying your time as Chair of the ABMA.
Simoneau: I'm so passionate about it! I love it and I love the team that I'm working with. The people you work with in ABMA, when you say, hey, I need volunteer, you have a lineup of volunteers ready to serve and help. It’s a member for the members association.
For anyone who wants to learn more, who wants to be a part of this, I encourage them to come to our big show, the Boiler Expo which will be March 31st through Aprl 2nd 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee.
CONTRACTOR: It’s been great speaking with you today.
Simoneau: Thanks for reaching out.
