The first “Innovative Thinking” conference sponsored by SUPPLY HOUSE TIMES and its sister publications in BNP Media's Plumbing Group will focus on hiring-training-retention. The 1-1/2-day conference to be held June 12-13 at the Emerald Pointe Resort, near Atlanta, will feature speakers including: Megan White, who holds CPA and MBA credentials and helped develop the managerial recruitment and training program at Castle Supply, Pinellas Park, FL; Leslie Ridings Pagliari, PhD, CSIT, an assistant professor in the Technology Systems Department at East Carolina University and program coordinator of the Distribution and Logistics Program at ECU; and Ricardo González, founder and CEO of Bilingual America, who will discuss how to work with Hispanic people.

Other seminars will cover women in the plumbing industry, the cost of turnover, using the Internet to recruit workers in the plumbing industry and product training available. For information, contact Keri Wrobel at wrobelk@bnpmedia.com or visit www.innovativethinkingconf.com .