Lance Rantala

Dear BLUE HAWK Community,

We have disappointing news and we have GREAT news.

First, the disappointing news.We thank the BLUE HAWK community for your patience as we transition our 2021 Annual Conference to a virtual meeting.  Again, we are saddened we cannot celebrate our sweet 16^th anniversary together.  We were looking forward to seeing everyone.  Not meeting in-person is a huge disappointment for the Members, Vendor Partners, and Staff.

Given the long list of bad news that has transpired during this unfortunate pandemic, we had hoped to get back to some sense of normalcy this spring.  Sadly, only 44.5% of the Members and Vendor Partners, who usually attend our conferences, were willing to travel to an in-person meeting in Austin, TX.  We realize nothing can replace in-person networking, yet we will do our best to deliver as much valuable content as possible.  In advance, we appreciate your support and flexibility in the face of adversity.

Like last year, the centerpiece of the 2021 Virtual Conference will be our Cyber Face-to-Face (F2F) Meetings.  The BLUE HAWK Members and Vendor Partners will be conducting over 6,000 virtual appointments.  However, this year, we are condensing the period from two months to one month (April 28 – May 28).  The Cyber F2F Meetings are crucial as our Members look to grow with our valued Vendor Partners.

What is more, the BLUE HAWK team will deliver the elements you have come to expect from our Annual Conferences (minus the party).

• Annual Business Update
• Buy BLUE Promotions
• PrimeTime Promotions
• Virtual New Product Showcase
• BLUE HAWK University Raffle
• Awards and Recognition
• Board Elections
• And More

Now for the GREAT news. We are pleased to announce BLUE HAWK’s record-breaking results in 2020.  Our total purchases from approved Vendor Partners surpassed $1 Billion as it grew 20.4% year-over-year.  On top of that, our total rebates increased 31.8% in 2020 versus 2019.

As a member-owned, member-controlled, and financially transparent co-op, BLUE HAWK returns 100% of our net income.  In 2020, we returned 98.4% of the gross rebates to our Members, the shareholders, in patronage dividends.  Congratulations to the Members for your best ever performance.

We are all blessed to be part of an essential industry like HVACR during the pandemic. The BLUE HAWK Board of Directors and Team appreciate the mutual support and cooperation our co-op community has shown since COVID-19 impacted the world.  We will exit this crisis more vital and resilient than before this mess started.  Take care of yourselves and your families.  We miss you all and hope to see you soon.

GO WITH BLUE,