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Mission & Joe’s story

Joe's Story

Joe Groh has been active in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) industry for the past 35 years. He began his career working for contracting firms, installing residential and light commercial equipment. In 1977 he went to work for Lennox Industries, Inc. as an Inside Sales Representative in Chicago. Over the years, he continued working for Lennox as a Territory Manager, Dealer Business Consultant, Division Marketing Manager, Corporate Director of Business Consulting and Pricing Services Programs, Assistant Regional Sales Manager and District Sales Manager. His assignments with Lennox took him and his family to Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, Charlotte, North Carolina, and back to Chicago. Along the way, he earned his Associates and Bachelors degrees and completed some postgraduate study.

In 1998, Joe left Lennox to become Director of Marketing for a Chicago-based HVAC distributor with operations throughout the Midwest. In 2000, Joe moved with his family back to Dallas to become Director of Product Development for Titus, a leading manufacturer of commercial grilles, registers, diffusers, fan coils, VAV terminals, and under-floor air and displacement ventilation equipment. In August of 2006, Joe left Titus to become Vice President of Sales and Marketing for PCI industries, Inc. in Fort Worth. PCI manufactures the Pottorff, Dynasonics, and All-Lite brands of fire/smoke/air control dampers, louvers, acoustical silencers, and architectural products.

On Father's Day of 2008, following a day spent with family, Joe decided to go for an aerobic bike ride along the trails of Lake Grapevine. At one point, the trail turned sharply left and the front tire of Joe's mountain bike slid on some sand and off the trail. Joe was thrown head first over the handlebars, breaking his neck and damaging his spinal cord at the C-4 vertebra. Knowing that life had suddenly and unalterably changed, Joe vowed to never look back, never give up, and to remain positive.

Establishing this 501(c)(3) tax-deductible foundation is Joe's way of giving back to the construction trades industry by:

  • Providing extensive information for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers through our website links page
  • Providing financial assistance for those connected to the contracting industry who are living with life-altering disabilities
  • Advocating for pathways to affordable short/long-term disability insurance for employees of small businesses in the contracting industry

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The Joseph S. Groh Foundation Mission

Organization Description: Texas Non-Profit Public Corporation, a 501(c)(3)

We are dedicated to:

  1. Providing extensive information for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers through our website links page.
  2. Providing financial assistance for those connected to the contracting and construction trades industry who are living with permanent, life altering disabilities.
  3. Advocating for pathways to affordable short/long-term disability insurance for employees of small businesses in the contracting industry.

Foundation Policy

Purpose of Corporation

The Corporation is organized and shall be operated exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), or corresponding provisions of any subsequent Federal tax laws. The general purposes for which the Corporation is organized are to receive and maintain a fund or funds of property and, subject to the restrictions and limitations hereinafter set forth, to use and apply the whole or any part of the income there from and the principal thereof exclusively for charitable, religious, scientific, literary, or educational purposes either directly or by contributions to organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) and exempted from taxation under Section 501(a) of the Code and the Regulations hereunder.

It is the policy of this foundation to provide financial assistance in accordance with the Mission Statement outlined on this website. In addition, financial assistance does not include the direct provision of funds, rather the foundation seeks to provide assistance by paying for products or services rendered for the applicant.

General Provisions

The fiscal year of the Corporation is the calendar year.

The Joseph S. Groh foundation operates in accordance with bylaws constructed in accordance with the laws of the state of Texas.

Management of Corporation

The business and affairs of the Corporation, and the control and disposition of its properties, shall be vested in a Board of Directors (the "Board") Current members of the Board of Directors and their qualifications include:

President Emeritus: Vicki LaPlant -- 40+ years of management and marketing experience in the HVAC industry. Member HVAC Hall of Fame.

Founder: Joe Groh -- 40+ years of management and marketing experience in the HVAC industry.

President: Eric Groh -- Holder of MBA and Division Leader at Highland Homes.

Secretary: Sue Groh -- Holder of MBA plus 25 years experience in the consumer products and insurance industry.

Board Consultant: John Laplant -- 40+ years marketing, management and financial/consulting experience in the HVAC industry. Member HVAC Hall of Fame.

Treasurer: Sue Huckabee -- CPA and part-time consultant specializing in construction software implementation. Former CFO of a Chicago-based general contractor.

Board Consultant: Tawnya Strittmatter -- is the former co-owner of an HVAC/Plumbing contracting business. At present she is a coach for Service Nation, helping contractors reach their growth and profitability goals.

Corporate records are maintained by the Director of Operations in Fairview, Texas.

Awards

Humanitarian Award – 2018

In 2018, the Humanitarian Award was presented to Joseph Groh by the Franciscan Alumni Association. The Association was founded by the men and women who were involved in the priest and brother formation programs of St. John the Baptist province of the Orders of the Friars Minor. (OFM) Membership includes both those who went on to ordination and those who did not.

The Humanitarian Award is presented to alumni members for their contributions to society. Joseph Groh was honored for his work to raise funds for victims of spinal cord injuries.

Members of the Franciscan Alumni Board propose nominees and vote during a quarterly meeting. Winners are honored during the annual reunion. The award was first presented in 1994.

Servant Leader Award – 2015

David Heimer (L) and Matt Michel (R) founders of Service Nation present award to Joseph Groh

In 2015 Joseph Groh was presented with the Servant Leader award by Service Nation Inc. Founded in 2002, Service Nation was started by a collaboration of leading contractors in the HVAC, plumbing, remodeling and connected home industries. Their purpose was to help other contractors with their sales, marketing, operations and profitability. They are now the largest private contractor in the US.

The Servant Leader Award recognizes outstanding individuals who lead through service to people in their industry. The award was presented to Joseph Groh in recognition of his service to those in the HVAC and construction industries through the Joseph Groh Foundation.

The award was created in 2004 by the Service Nation and recognizes individuals, not companies. Those recognized are nominated by members of Service Nation. The award states that the servant leader leads by example and is compelled to help others.

Lifetime Achievement Award – 2022

At the 2023 AHR Expo in Atlanta, HVAC Tactical presented Joseph Groh with a Lifetime Achievement Award. HVAC Tactical was founded in 2018 with the idea that HVAC individuals who are passionate about their craft should be celebrated and acknowledged.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes contributions to the industry over the span of a career. In presenting the award, founder Ben Poole said, “If Joseph Groh doesn’t represent real passion, perseverance and determination I don’t know who does.” In accepting the award, Groh acknowledged that this recognition would not be possible without the shared passion of family and industry friends. The entire award ceremony is available at HVAC tactical.com, you can see the award presentation for the Lifetime Achievement Award along with Joseph Groh’s acceptance speech at the 2:52:25 mark of the video.