The Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) has named Jim Murray, an energetic and much-valued member of the Ductwork Group, as the latest recipient of its Outstanding Service Award.

In making the presentation to Mr Murray, B&ES president Andy Sneyd recalled that the B&ES Outstanding Service Award had been conceived to recognise the Association’s “unsung heroes” – those who had never sought high office, but whose contribution had nevertheless been “both valuable and sustained over many years”.

“When friends and colleagues of today’s recipient were asked to describe him, the words ‘thorough knowledge’, ‘huge expertise’ and ‘boundless enthusiasm’ were followed by ‘a ductwork man through and through’ – and even ‘Mr Ductwork’,” Mr Sneyd explained.

A long-serving member and former chairman of the Ductwork Group’s Technical Committee, Mr Murray “played a pivotal role in the process of review, redrafting and refreshment” that had resulted in the publication of a radical new edition of the Association’s world-renowned Specification for Sheet Metal Ductwork (DW144).

The president added: “Indeed, it has even been suggested that, if you cut him open, you’d find the words ‘B&ES’ and ‘DW144’ running right through him, the president concluded.

Above: President Andy Sneyd (right) presents Jim Murray with the B&ES Outstanding Service Award following a recent meeting of the B&ES Council.