Putnam co-founded The New Flat Rate with her father and pricing enthusiast, Rodney Koop. She’s a strong advocate for the growth of women in the HVACR industry, which is why Women in HVACR was created. This growth includes all areas, such as technical, sales and management.

Women in HVACR was formed in 2002 as an organization to foster networking, education and mentoring for women in the HVACR industry. The group encourages women already in the industry as well as fosters growth for more females to become involved. The organization has scholarship and mentor programs aimed at not only helping women establish themselves in HVACR, but also to thrive. Women in HVACR is also implementing an ambassador program where HVACR professionals will go to schools to talk about careers in the trade that will eventually be rolled out in all 50 states.

“A lot of things have changed about this industry and society as a whole since my dad started his home service company,” Putnam said. “Twenty or thirty years ago, it would have been a rarity to see a female working with HVAC, much less a female owner of an HVAC business. While it’s becoming more commonplace, there is so much room to grow for women in the HVACR world. Women in HVACR has a lot of awesome things planned for this year, and I’m looking forward to leading the way.”