By unanimous vote, the Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) has named Joe Parsons of Earthlinked Technologies as its new GEO Chairman of the board for the 2016-2016 term. He has served on the GEO board of directors since May 2014.

Parsons is CEO at EarthLinked Technologies, responsible for product development, training programs, standards compliance and authorized dealer relationships. He has worked for Earthlinked since 1996.

“I am proud to represent the national interests of the geothermal heat pump industry,” he said.

On relinquishing the gavel, outgoing GEO Chairman Steve Smith of Enertech Global said, “Joe is taking the reins of our  association at a pivotal time. With staff and the board, we are confident that he will lead GEO to new levels of achievement for the industry.”

During his career, Parsons served as president of Ray Company Inc., an HVAC mechanical contracting firm. He was also vice president of marketing for Envirotherm Heating and Cooling Systems Inc., an HVAC system manufacturer, and director of retail operations for U.S. Power Climate Control Inc.

Parsons is a member of the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) Standards Committee, a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and a corresponding member of TC 6.8 (Geothermal Heat Pump and Energy Recovery Applications). He is also project committee chairman for Standard 194, a voting member of the Canadian Standards Association Technical Committee (Ground Source Heat Pumps/ C448 Bi-national Standard Development), and Chairman of the Technical Subsection Committee C448.7 (DX).

Parsons is a member of the Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration and Heating Institute (AHRI), and was elected chairman of the Water Source and Geothermal Product Section at the AHRI Spring Meeting in March 2014. He also chairs the DGX Product Subsection and DGX Engineering Committee, is an active member of the California Geothermal Heat Pump Association, and is a contributor to the Geothermal Heat Exchange Well Standards Update. In addition, Parsons works to advance geothermal technologies through participation in industry standards efforts in Australia.

GEO is a non-profit trade association representing the interests of the geothermal/ground-source heat pump industry across the U.S. GEO advocates the technology to government, industry and the public, educating leaders about the economic, national security and environmental benefits of geothermal heat pumps for residential, institutional and commercial applications.  To learn more, go to www.geoexchange.org.