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Generations of Leadership

Claire Ferrara and the Standard Heating & Air Conditioning Team

Standard Heating & Air Conditioning was started 91 years ago by Tony Ferrara, in the backyard of his parents’ home. In the late 1970’s Tony’s son’s, Ted and Todd Ferrara, took over the business and in 2019 Ted’s daughter, Claire Ferrara, became President.

Tony passed away when Claire was young, so she never had the opportunity to work with her Grandfather in the business. “He had such an entrepreneurial way about him,” she says.  “I wish he could see how we work today and that I could hear stories from when he started. I ask myself all the time ‘what would Grandpa think about this?’”

Since its founding, the business has survived wars, the Great Depression, a recession and other obstacles, including the current pandemic. The success of the business through uncertainty is something Claire credits to the team of people who she works with every day.

“The underlying theme is that when you’re surrounded by great people, everyone brings things to the table, and as a team you’ll make it through,” says Claire.

Of course, Standard has grown since its founding all those years ago and today they have a team of about 100 people. Claire values their input in making decisions about the company and how best to serve its customers. “We have high expectations for ourselves about how we do business, Customers have the same, and in order to make sure we exceed all the expectations we have to make sure the people who work here have the opportunity to contribute ideas and solutions.”

To further guide her in her leadership role, Claire follows advice she was given by her mentors.

“One of the single biggest things the people who have been mentors did for me was to help me find confidence in myself,” she says.

Another piece of their advice was to redefine what her idea of success looks like. “It is no longer ‘Did I get everything done today (or this week, or this month or even this year) that I wanted to get done?’ but instead ‘Did I make more good decisions than bad decisions.’ It’s that simple. I’m a list maker, and I like checking things off the list, but leadership is not about lists, it’s about how you show up, even when everything on the list isn’t actually happening. Simplifying in this way has helped me move forward in my role.”

For advice to others, Claire stresses that nobody should wait until they feel perfectly prepared to take their next step, to apply for that new role, ask for a promotion, start their own business, or reach higher for success whatever that means to them.

“Being perfectly prepared doesn’t exist. There is always something to learn, it’s impossible to know everything. If you want to wait until you know everything, you’re going to wait much longer than you need to or you may never even get started on that next step” she says. “Also, be really proactive about what you do want. Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Go out and seek advice, find mentors. Make it clear to others what your goals are. Don’t wait for someone else to approach you to ask what it is you want.”

Claire also wants to educate people on the many opportunities the HVAC industry has to offer. She comments, “There are amazing career opportunities, and I say career for a reason. It is not just a job. The trades have great pay and great benefits, but beyond that, there are so many ways for people to contribute, as individuals or as part of a team. Working with tools is only one portion of working in the trades, there are tons of other ways to contribute, and these roles are so much more than many people think they are. You get a chance to be part of repairing and maintaining and actually building the community around us. How cool is that? I wish more women and men would take a serious look at joining us in this industry.”

Fittingly, Standard Heating & Air Conditioning’s mission is “To make lives better through the practice of our trades.” For Claire, this is meaningful, both professionally and personally.

“Contributing to the world around us is something that is deeply rooted in our founding and my job is to make sure that continues,” she says. “I love that we have an opportunity, every single day, to leave a positive mark on the world because we are working to live our mission. This can look like, among other things, helping a Customer be more comfortable in their home, working with an employee to develop new skills or finding ways to support organizations in our community.  My personal values and mission align with this work and it makes it fun to get up and want to do this every day.”

The company and its employees are very involved in the community, whether it’s donating time, money, or products. “We try to find a variety of ways to add to the world around us. Sometimes that means a monetary donation, when we can, other times it’s spending time mentoring at a trade school or donating a furnace to a family. This last year we had a couple of employees who drove to Iowa and back, in one day, with a furnace and air conditioner and all the supplies - and put in all new equipment for a family that was going through a really tough time,” says Claire.

In addition, Standard Heating drives charitable giving through their 5 for $25 Charity Drive. “For anyone who does business with us, if they take five minutes of their time to leave a review of any kind about their experience, we will donate $25 to a charity of their choice,” she says. “There are seven specific organizations we suggest as options for people to direct their donation too, but people can submit their desired charity if it isn’t listed.”

To help choose these 501(c)(3) charities, they have polled their customers and employees about causes that were meaningful to them. Since its inception over five years ago, the program has raised over $50,000. 

Claire and members of her family are Dunwoody Institute of Technology alumni and they, and Standard Heating, are active in supporting a variety of local trade school programs by sitting on program advisory committees, donating equipment for students to work on, and providing mentorship.

“Standard Heating & Air Conditioning is in the ‘people business,’” she says. “Yes, we are a heating and air conditioning company, but we serve people, we solve problems for and with people, we employ people, we do business with people. And that has been true for all 91 years.”

To find out more about the company, its people, and the services they offer, go to https://www.standardheating.com/.

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