Conference highlights from ABAA 2026

By Emma Peterson. 

Two days of learning, networking and industry recognition. 

At the beginning of May, the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA) brought building enclosures professionals from across the industry together for their annual conference. Held in Minneapolis, Minnesota this year, the conference featured a full schedule of networking opportunities and education sessions! 

Networking 

On the networking side of things, the conference featured an extensive expo floor with leading companies like Rainscreen Association in North America (RAiNA), Sika, Georgia-Pacific, DuPont Tedlar, VaproShield, Polyglass and SOPREMA in attendance.  

There were also notable events to attend, like the Board Meet & Greet, a keynote session from Brian Callaghan and Mary Kilnay and the much-anticipated ABAA awards ceremony!  

The award ceremony saw a variety of celebrations and recognitions, including the distribution of the Years of Service Award (which recognizes ABAA members who have completed 12 consecutive years of service as directors) to Peter Barrett, Andre Desjarlais, Brian Stroik and Craig Wetmore. Further, Matthew Giambrone was given the Leadership Award and Uri Portillo received the Staff Recognition Award.  

As for the Peter Spafford Award, it went to Spray Foam Technologies of Kentucky for getting the “minimum number of audits (10 per year for 2 years, totaling 20) with a minimum percentage (95%) of audits without any demerits.” And last but not least, the Air Barrier QAP Award was presented to 13 different organizations who each showcased exceptional air barrier installation.  

Education 

On the education side of the event, attendees were given the opportunity to accumulate one AIA continuing education credit per hour of conference education sessions attended! These education sessions were divided into two tracks to help professionals get the most out of their time at the conference. 

The first track focused on foundational education. For example, one such course was led by Robert Dazel from Tremco, “Building Enclosure Architectural Details - Conveying Construction Drawing Clarity.” This course walked through the anatomy of the building envelope and helped attendees understand how to design airtight, watertight and energy efficient buildings. 

As for the second track, featuring more intermediate and advanced presentations, attendees could participate in courses such as Donald B. Snell (Building Forensics Group)’s seminar. Titled “Catastrophic Failures and the Net Effect of Design and Construction Errors on Moisture Management,” this session explored how “seemingly minor design and construction flaws can compound into major building and HVAC system failures, often with costly consequences.” 

Didn’t get a chance to attend or want to refresh your memory of the show? ABAA has downloadable files sharing the highlights from each of the presentations!