Kris Brill of Pinnacle Windows has made a three-year pledge to NESEA’s Capacity Campaign, committing to donate $4,000 per year for each of the three years of the campaign. This multi-year commitment makes Kris our first Sustaining Donor! We are so grateful for his commitment and generosity to NESEA. Here’s Kris’s story:

After 10 years in the glazing industry and a few years representing architectural windows and doors to the northern New England community, I realized that there was a very select group of architects and builders that I wanted to continue to work with and spend my career serving. These folks talked to me about their desire for windows and doors that actually performed well in our climate and were easily obtainable for their clients.

They talked about Zero Energy homes, about LEED Certification, and about Passive House. In 2009, with the economy in the toilet, I decided to quit the comfort of my job and strike out on my own starting Pinnacle Window Solutions. My focus would be to offer the northern New England community a source for high performance windows and doors made here in North America. I hoped that my relationship with folks like Kaplan Thompson Architects, Richard Renner, Christopher Briley, Taggart Construction and other Maine high performance trail-blazers would allow me to put small amounts of cheese bread on the table for my wife and children. It was this local building and design community that first told me of NESEA. Phil Kaplan specifically said, “You need to come to BuildingEnergy, these are your people.”

It was 2010 or 2011 that I decided to show Alpen Windows for the first time at BuildingEnergy Boston, and Phil was absolutely right in his statement! I have made wonderful connections through my years attending this conference and know that it is one of the largest contributing factors in my company’s success. Through the terrible economic years from 2009-2012 we saw growth as a company. Year after year we continue to see small increases in business opportunities brought to us through our NESEA relationships.

This April, we celebrate 9 years in business and we very much look forward to many more years serving the NESEA community. I am extremely humbled and proud to be able to be the first sustaining donor to the Capacity Campaign. I feel as though it’s the only way to truly show my gratitude for an organization that has welcomed me personally and supported my professional efforts in such a meaningful way.

Learn more about NESEA’s Capacity Campaign here.