“He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress.” – Anwar Sadat
By / Jessica Kirby
SMACNA-WW is pleased to announce its new president, Brian Fluetsch. Brian is the president and CEO of Sunset Air Inc. located in Lacey, Washington. Brian brings many years as an active member of the HVAC industry and as a business leader dedicated to his community.
Brian earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science from Washington State University and has been a part of the team at Sunset Air since 1981. He has held several positions at the company, beginning with service manager and moving on to his current position as President and CEO.
Sunset Air Inc. was founded in 1976 in Brian’s mother’s and father’s garage, and has grown into a large manufacturing facility and showroom offering a wide range of services including heating, electrical, plumbing, windows and doors, and solar and energy services. Sunset Air models environmental responsibility with smart resource system management. The company demonstrated its own commitment in building Washington State’s first LEED gold, privately owned and operated building, which houses Sunset Air’s corporate headquarters and showroom.
Along with being President of SMACNA-WW, Brian also serves as a Management Representative on the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC), on the Joint Labor Relations Board, and on SMACNA-WW’s finance committee. He also serves on the SMACNA National Board of Directors and on the New Horizons Foundation—an HVAC and sheet metal industry initiative.
In the past, Brian has served on the Residential Steering Committee and Nominating Committee for SMACNA National. He has been a presenter at the SMACNA National Convention and at Comfortech. He has dedicated many years to serving on advisory boards for Puget Power, Honeywell, and Carrier Corporation, and served on the Contractor Council for Emerson / Copeland.
He continues to give generously of his time and expertise in the community with his work on the Business School Advisory Board for Saint Martin’s University, as Executive Board member and Past-president with the Thurston County Economic Development Council, and as a member of the Thurston County Roundtable. He has also served in several other capacities with the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound, the Olympia Children’s Hands On Museum, the Olympia Youth Chorus, and the Washington Center for the Performing Arts.
Outside of his commitments to the industry and community, Brian enjoys snow skiing, working on his hot rods, and cheering on Washington’s best—the Washington State Cougars and Seattle Seahawks. Brian says the best business advice he ever received was, “the longer you can stand in the gap between stimulus and response, the more appropriate your response typically is.” ♣
