This February, while attending the Owners Forum in Cancun, Mexico, VHV was honored to receive the 2025 "Making the Difference Award" from The Unified Group.
CEO Tom Dacres and CFO Cheri Deforge at the Owners Forum in Cancun, Mexico, with The Unified Group.
The award recognizes leadership, collaboration, and a commitment to helping others succeed, which are values that align closely with how we approach our work every day at VHV. For nearly 14 years, VHV has been an active member of The Unified Group, where our team has had the opportunity to learn from industry peers, exchange best practices, and bring new ideas back to our company that help us continuously improve and better serve our customers.
Founded in 1998, The Unified Group is a nationwide association of independent mechanical and HVAC contractors committed to helping one another improve. Created by a group of quality-driven contractors who recognized the value of collaboration while maintaining their independence, the organization provides training, leadership development, peer networking, and forums focused on every aspect of the business. Its mission is to help members grow their companies, raise industry standards, share best practices, and continuously improve the value they deliver to customers.
Those principles align closely with VHV's own culture of employee ownership, continuous improvement, and long-term investment in people. Over the past 14 years as a member, VHV has actively participated in The Unified Group forums covering leadership, safety, service, construction, human resources, technology, design-build delivery, and operational excellence.
Erica Peet, Sam Wright, and Tom Dacres at the Safety Forum in Denver, Colorado, October 2025.
What makes this recognition especially meaningful is that it comes from our peers. Throughout the years, VHV team members have participated in a wide range of The Unified Group forums, conferences, and training opportunities focused on leadership, safety, construction, service, HR, VDC, and operational excellence. In 2025 alone, 27 VHV employees attended The Unified Group events across the country, bringing back ideas and strategies that continue to strengthen our company.
Participation in The Unified Group goes far beyond attending meetings. Team members return from forums with new ideas, practical solutions, and relationships that often lead to ongoing conversations throughout the year. Whether discussing safety programs, workforce development, prefab strategies, leadership challenges, or technology adoption, the willingness of members to openly share both successes and failures creates a learning environment unlike anything else in the industry.
As VHV President Tom Dacres shared:
"Awards are great. We should celebrate them. But they're not the goal. They're the result of doing the right things over and over again. That means investing in our people, developing the next generation through apprenticeship and training, focusing on safety and quality, holding each other accountable, working as one team. That's what builds a company that lasts."
That mindset is one of the reasons The Unified Group continues to be such an important part of VHV's growth. The organization creates opportunities for contractors to openly share ideas, challenges, successes, and lessons learned in an environment built on trust and collaboration. For many VHV employees, those experiences have had a direct impact on both professional development and company improvement.
Jenna Lemoi and Walter Sousa from Environmental Systems Inc. visit VHV Winooski Facility.
One of The Unified Group's core values is "Cultivating Growth," and many VHV employees have experienced that firsthand. The organization creates opportunities for professionals at every level to learn from peers facing similar challenges while gaining exposure to new ideas and approaches from across the country.
Luke McCormick, Account Manager, attended The Unified Group Sales Meeting and reflected on the collaborative nature of the organization:
"My experience with Unified Group was overwhelmingly positive. At first, it almost felt strange, like you shouldn't be sharing 'inside' information with people outside your own company. But that's exactly what makes it so valuable. Everyone there is focused on improving themselves and genuinely wants to see others succeed as well. To me, it's the same feeling that happens when you coach a sport — winning is great, but there's a different level of pride that comes from helping someone else learn how to win."
That spirit of learning extends across departments and disciplines. For many employees, The Unified Group events provide valuable perspective that would otherwise take years to gain through trial and error alone.
Mike Keenan, Senior Project Manager, emphasized the long-term impact the organization has had on leadership development:
Mike Keenan on a panel at the Construction Forum in Denver, Colorado.
"The Unified Group has been an invaluable resource over the years, serving as both a network of expertise and a strong peer community. It has broadened my perspective on what's possible in our industry while reinforcing the strengths we already bring at VHV. Attending the construction and leadership training forums over the years has been both encouraging and impactful."
Kristen Swanson, HR Generalist, highlighted the value of connecting with peers across the industry:
"I've been in HR for over a decade, but I am new to the mechanical construction industry, so being able to connect with other HR professionals in this field is invaluable. The Unified Group's resource hub allows us to share policies, procedure documents, and so much more."
For employees new to the mechanical construction industry, the network provides access to experienced professionals who are eager to share resources and lessons learned. For seasoned leaders, it offers a chance to continue developing and challenging their own thinking.
Another core value of The Unified Group is "Dedicated to Sharing." Members openly discuss challenges, processes, and strategies in a way that is uncommon among competitors. This willingness to exchange ideas allows companies to accelerate improvement and avoid repeating mistakes that others have already solved.
Bryan Baker, VDC Manager, shared how participation in the BIM Forum helped shape the growth of VHV's VDC and prefab capabilities:
"The Unified Group, and its members, has played a big part in shaping our VDC department into what it is today. I attended the BIM Forum in 2022. It was through discussions held at that forum that I realized how much further VHV could grow. Hearing how other contractors faced and solved similar issues has been a huge resource. I left Chicago that year inspired and eager to expand our horizons.
Fast forward to 2024 - due to schedule constraints, our prefab demands were off the charts. VHV needed to dive headfirst into assembling as much as possible in the space we had. We visited and consulted other members of The Unified Group to see how they manage their VDC/BIM teams and prefab logistics. With the information from other members, we successfully completed that project and applied new methods to other projects.
I was able to share this story at the last BIM Forum in 2025 and hope other members get similar results. To me, The Unified Group means potential growth. It has helped VHV grow as a company and me as a person."
Bryan Baker on a panel at the BIM/Prefab Forum in Fort Myers Florida, February 2025.
Bryan's experience reflects something many VHV employees have found through The Unified Group participation: ideas shared in a forum often become real-world improvements back home. The lessons learned from fellow contractors frequently influence projects, processes, and long-term planning across the company.
For Moe Nadeau, Field Operations Manager, one of the most valuable parts of the experience is the willingness of members to share both successes and failures:
"The Unified Group has been extremely valuable to me. It has provided direction, learning experiences, and clear goals to work toward. The knowledge we've gained and brought back has significantly improved our company.
One of the most surprising aspects is how open and willing people are to share, even when it means being vulnerable. Some of the most valuable insights I've gained are the 'do's and don'ts' - learning from other companies' experiences, including where they've struggled or failed."
The value of these conversations extends well beyond formal presentations. Members regularly connect between meetings, visit one another's facilities, and exchange information on everything from operational challenges to workforce development initiatives. VHV has been more than happy to host many other participants of The Unified Group to our facilities.
Gary Meyers from Intech Mechanical LLC visit VHV Winooski facility.
Earlier this year, VHV team members Tom Dacres, Dave Anderson, and Max Tonks visited fellow The Unified Group member Legacy Mechanical in Denver. The teams shared ideas around EOS implementation, prefabrication workflows, financial systems, and operational best practices - an example of the ongoing collaboration that exists throughout the network.
Max Tonks, Project Integrations Manager, described the organization as a source of guidance and perspective:
"To me, The Unified Group is a light in the dark. There are so many decisions to make in this business and so many directions you can go, and without the right perspective it's easy to feel like you're navigating blind. Being part of a group of peers who face the same challenges and are willing to share what's working and what's not has helped us aim our ship with confidence."
Rob Ward, Service Manager, spoke about the value of having a trusted network of peers:
"This group has become an invaluable extension of our team — a place where real-world experience is shared openly, and challenges are met with collective wisdom.
More than anything, it reinforces that we're not figuring this out alone. We're part of a community committed to getting better together and raising the standard for what great mechanical companies look like."
The third Unified Group core value, "Passion for Success," is reflected in the organization's commitment to helping members continuously raise the bar. Forums focused on safety, leadership, design-build delivery, and business strategy challenge participants to think differently and bring new ideas back to their organizations.
At the 2025 Safety Forum, members from across the country gathered to discuss topics ranging from mental health and workplace culture to safety standards and field leadership. The event reinforced the idea that improvement happens when companies are willing to openly discuss challenges and learn from one another.
Erica Peet, Safety Manager, shared how the organization has strengthened VHV's safety efforts and professional network:
"Being part of The Unified Group has been one of the most impactful experiences in my role. It's rare to find a group so willing to openly share what's working — and what isn't — so others can learn and improve.
Whether it's sharing policies, discussing challenges, or simply bouncing around ideas, it's made us better without having to start from scratch."
Similar experiences occur throughout the year. From design-build forums that explore innovative project delivery methods to owners forums focused on leadership, employee retention, and strategic planning, every event is built around the belief that collective success benefits everyone involved.
James Close, Service Admin Leader, reflected on the impact of attending the Leadership Conference in Texas:
"I enjoyed the conversations, collaborations, and camaraderie with those who experience the same successes and challenges that we face. I came away from the conference inspired by the guest speaker, Jeff Ruby, and by those that I interacted with. I hope more people from VHV will have the opportunity to attend future Unified Group gatherings for the knowledge that is passed along and gained."
Melinda Friedlander, HR Manager, shared what makes the organization stand out beyond the conferences themselves:
"What I truly appreciate about being part of The Unified Group is everything that happens in between the conferences. It often feels like being part of a big, supportive family.
Whether it's reaching out to peers for advice, exchanging ideas through online forums, or visiting each other's sites, there's always a sense of camaraderie and willingness to help."
Melinda Friedlander and Kristen Swanson presenting at the Human Resources Forum in Fort Worth Texas, May 2025
We are grateful to be recognized by an organization that has had a meaningful impact on VHV's growth and development over the years. More than the award itself, we value the relationships, knowledge, and collaboration that have come from being part of this network. Receiving the 2025 Making the Difference Award is an honor, but it also reflects something much larger than a single achievement: years of investment in people, a commitment to continuous improvement, and a belief that success is best achieved when knowledge is shared and relationships are built on trust.
As a 100% employee-owned company, this recognition belongs to every VHV employee-owner who contributes to that culture every day. We are grateful to The Unified Group for the opportunities, partnerships, and friendships that have helped shape our journey over the past 14 years, and we look forward to continuing to learn, grow, and make a difference alongside this remarkable network of industry professionals.