“Our guys were really welcoming and open,” Todd recalls. “Many asked questions, and several stayed afterward to provide testimony of their own experiences in poverty or of challenging experiences in client homes.”
Chris Holliday and Todd Williams of Holliday Heating and Cooling partnered with SNAP to provide affordable heating options and sought training from SNAP’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council.
Chris Holliday and Todd Williams of Holliday Heating and Cooling have long been aware of SNAP’s work in the community. When at Inland Power and Light, Todd worked with the SNAP Housing Services team on a low-income heat pump project, and he found a sense of fulfillment helping address the needs of SNAP clients to have affordable heat options. Upon his return to Holliday, he knew that he wanted to continue to have that impact on people. Today, clients and customers cross over as both agencies work to provide adequate heating and cooling to Spokane residents, and Holliday acts as a vendor partner of SNAP’s.
At a meeting with Kelly Dawn, of SNAP Housing Services, she mentioned the need to be able to recognize someone at risk, and Chris and Todd started exploring options to boost understanding and awareness of the unique situations and different cultures they might encounter while doing work in homes of SNAP clients. At their request, a training highlighting Cultural Awareness was set up with Kelly and Nicole Bishop, both members of SNAP’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Council. Kelly and Nicole provided a breakdown of SNAP’s client diversity, explained the culture of poverty and how that might impact what they see in client homes and how they can better maintain the client’s dignity during their interaction.
The staff was attentive throughout the training; “Our guys were really welcoming and open,” Todd recalls. Many asked questions, and several stayed afterward to provide testimony of their own experiences in poverty or of challenging experiences in client homes.
“It was really inspiring to see how engaged the Holliday staff were,” Bishop said. “It shows how seriously they’re taking the need to respect our shared clients.”
Chris explains that similar to the evolving technology that requires constant evolution in their industry, the ability to be able to team up with different people and address the needs of different clients is critical to their business success as well. Having taken over the leadership of the 40+ employee Holliday team from his father, Doc Holliday, in 2021, Chris is dedicated to keeping them at the forefront of providers in the region. Todd knows that this success also hinges on their ability to meet the client where they are at
“Our primary focus is to take care of the customer and fix their problem. Even when that job is complete, they are going to continue thinking about that experience after we leave.”