An ex-marine, a laid-off machinist, an out-of-work single mom, an underemployed clerk. These are just four of the eight individuals who will graduate as certified Home Energy Auditors from the Honeywell H.E.A.T. Program on Friday, September 28, before a gallery of proud friends and family. The Honeywell H.E.A.T. (Home Energy Auditor Training) Program is a collaborative venture of the Columbia Housing Authority, Honeywell International Inc., and the South Central Tennessee Career Center.

For the past few weeks, the H.E.A.T. trainees have been studying green technologies and other energy-saving measures that can help reduce residential utility bills. More specifically, they have been learning to conduct home energy audits which they will be performing for each of the Columbia Housing Authority's 296 public housing units during the month of October. Every energy audit will consist of a guided walk-through to assess those areas where tenants are either wasting energy or could be more energy efficient. At the conclusion of the walk-through, the tenant will receive an itemized report detailing their biggest problem areas and offering specific low cost energy-saving recommendations.

The eight trainees, who range in age from 19 to 24, were selected from a pool of young people who were participants in the "Hire Youth!" summer jobs program. In order to qualify for admission to H.E.A.T., they were required to demonstrate strong reading, writing and speaking skills, have some prior work experience and submit two letters of reference as well as complete a formal interview. The young men and women who comprise the inaugural graduating class of the Honeywell H.E.A.T. Program are Quentin Armstrong, 23; Shardae Green, 23; Tige Kennedy Jr, 20; Delandris Moore, 19; Michael Mulldune, 22; Janelle Sparks, 24; Keventris Webster, 20; and Brandon Zeigler, 24.

These successful graduates of the H.E.A.T. Program are now official Home Energy Auditors