The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) held its summer meeting this week in Victoria, B.C., which was attended by approximately 360 people.

Many important business matters were discussed, including the consolidation of AAMA and the Window and Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA). During the opening session, John Burnett, AAMA president, went through a presentation that chronicled the discussions between the two groups, emphasizing concerns that members had voiced at the annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in February. He went through each point of concern and then explained what had happened in the talks since then.

He emphasized that what he was talking about were proposals, which have been agreed to by both consolidation teams, but had not been voted on or approved by either board.

Included among the agreed upon proposals are the following:

Burnett also explained that there would be one certification program, and that current programs will run "as is." This, he called a "big area that will take a lot of work."

Also, the consolidation teams have put together a tentative proposal to have a board structure consisting of 13 to 16 members. Of those, three will be residential, two architectural, two door, one supplier and two to four at-large manufacturers, as well as the past president and other officers.

Burnett said that the timeline is to have a ballot out by the end of the year.

"There are still critical hurdles that have to be dealt with," he pointed out. He called the next meeting of the consolidation teams, set for July 27, "crucial."

Codes Update

Julie Ruth, AAMA code consultant, provided an update on the happenings within the codes arena. She explained that the International Codes Council (ICC) code development cycle is now at the stage where public comments have been made and the next step is the final action hearings. At these hearings, only code officials can vote.

She reported that the Joint Code Committee (JCC), which was set up by AAMA and WDMA, has been a success in terms of what it supported and what it opposed. Its success percentage in the last round of code hearings was significantly higher than the norm.

She also spoke about the U.S. Energy Bill, which was introduced in March and passed while the group was holding its last meeting. "Speedy," was her response. She said that she had been prepared to provide information about the bill but had not considered that it would be passed already. The bill provides tax incentives for both residential and commercial building.