BONITA SPRINGS, FLA. — Executive Vice President Frank H. Norton of EMCOR Services Northeast Inc. was awarded the D.S. O’Brien Award of Excellence at the Mechanical Service Contractors of America’s 24th Annual Educational Conference held here at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point.

The D.S. O’Brien Award of Excellence was established by MSCA in 2000 to recognize those individuals who exhibit extraordinary dedication and outstanding commitment to the mechanical service contracting industry and to MSCA.

“This year’s recipient of the Spence O’Brien Award truly encompasses all the criteria that make this award special,” said MSCA Board of Managers Chairman Jeff McCoy. “Through Frank’s hard work and commitment to the industry, MSCA achieved many milestones during his tenure on the MSCA Board of Managers and as board chairman, and through his activities on the Labor Relations Committee.

“Under Frank’s leadership, the association reached new heights of service to our membership and he continues to play a very active and instrumental role in all labor matters,” added McCoy. “The story of his life exemplifies the true American dream — starting out in 1964 as a refrigeration technician apprentice in Local 537 to being the president and CEO of one of the largest and most successful service companies in the country, which he founded.”

Prior to his position at EMCOR Services Northeast in Stoughton, Mass., Norton was president and cofounder of Commonwealth Air Conditioning & Heating Inc. (now merged into EMCOR). He was responsible for planning and directing business, marketing and quality control for the 85-employee air conditioning service company. Earlier in his career, Norton was a service technician and then a service manager for Bay State York Company, formerly in Shrewsbury, Mass.

Norton is past president of the New England Mechanical Contractors Association and a member of the board of directors of the MSCA of New England. He serves on various committees in these organizations, including the National Labor Negotiating Committee of the MSCA in Washington D.C.