JACK W. KLIMP
GAMA President Biography
Jack W. Klimp is president of the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, GAMA is the national trade association representing manufacturers of gas-fired, oil-fired and electric space and water heating equipment, components and related products used for residential, commercial and industrial applications. As President, Mr. Klimp oversees GAMA’s staff and operations, which includes offices in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, and Beijing, China. Mr. Klimp was instrumental in helping GAMA develop its first-ever strategic plan, which was approved by the Board of Directors in April 2006. GAMA is currently implementing the strategic plan to realize its 2015 Vision to become the “the most effective, influential heating equipment and components industry association, providing world-class service and the strongest voice for our members.” Prior to taking the helm of GAMA in 2005, Mr. Klimp was Senior Vice President for Phoenix House, the world’s largest and most effective not-for-profit foundation specializing in longterm drug rehabilitation. In the additional capacity of Director for the New York Region, the region comprising 49 percent of the Foundation’s business, he was responsible for the administration of 2,770 treatment beds and spaces distributed across New York State. In 2001, Mr. Klimp retired from a distinguished 33-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Lieutenant General (3 stars), where his final assignment was as Deputy Commandant, Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Earlier he served as Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruiting Command Headquarters, in Washington, D.C. He had held combat commands in Vietnam and Somalia, and was Director of the Joint Operations Center, U.S. Central Command, during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Mr. Klimp is a 1968 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. He later received a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration from National University in 1980 and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College in 1992. Mr. Klimp currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife, the former Catherine Durst. They have two grown daughters, Catherine Ashley and Elizabeth Anne.
Revised 4/2007
About GAMA
Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association
GAMA, founded in 1935, is the national trade association representing manufacturers of gas-fired, oil-fired and electric space and water heating equipment, components and related products used for residential, commercial and industrial applications. GAMA’s headquarters office in Arlington, Virginia, is just minutes from Capitol Hill and the federal agencies in Washington, D.C. GAMA represents more than 205 member companies worldwide. Some GAMA members’ products—furnaces, water heaters, boilers and room heaters—are so commonplace that they often escape our daily attention. Yet they have come to be considered necessities of modern life, and they enable us to maintain the high standard of living we enjoy today. Virtually every house or building in the U.S. constructed for human occupancy contains one or more products manufactured by GAMA’s members. GAMA member companies account for 90 percent of U.S. sales of space and water heating equipment. Combined U.S. sales of GAMA member companies exceed $9 billion per year. In addition, GAMA member companies employ more than 190,000 workers in the United States.
Mission
GAMA’s mission is to provide its members quality services through representation, education, advocacy and administration of programs to the members’ benefit and the advancement of their industries.
GAMA’s 2015 Vision
To be the most effective, influential heating equipment and components industry association, providing world-class service and the strongest voice for our members.
History
GAMA has been an established force in the heating industry for nearly 75 years. Our origins extend back to 1918 with the formation of the American Gas Association (AGA). GAMA was born in 1935 when AGA’s Manufacturers Section incorporated itself as a separate organization, the Association of Gas Appliance and Equipment Manufacturers. We changed our name in 1945 to the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association. Through consolidations with other associations (the Institute of Appliance Manufacturers in 1967 and the Hydronics Institute in 1995) and the addition of new programs, GAMA is stronger than ever and well positioned for the future. In 2010, GAMA will mark its 75th Anniversary.