The members of Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) elected Nate Kogler president of the 2019 PMI Board of Directors at PMI’s 44^th annual meeting of the membership, held during the PMI Conference Nov. 5-8 in Phoenix.

The director of product management at Bradley Corp., Kogler succeeds Pete Jahrling, director, product engineering and intellectual property at Sloan Valve Co., who served as board president in 2017 and 2018. Jahrling will continue to serve on the board as immediate past president.

Kogler said PMI leadership will work to expand educational opportunities for members and use new technologies to share information. Collaboration will be key, he said.

“None of us is smarter than all of us," Kogler said. "We will build on the collective knowledge of our members and on the power of our relationships. Engagement, enthusiasm and support will drive us.”

Jahrling noted the strong commitment of the board members.

“I enjoyed every minute of working with a great group of people who served on the board beside me,” Jahrling said. “It was an honor to serve as the president of this healthy, dynamic and forward-looking organization. I certainly benefited from the support and guidance of my fellow board members.”

Joel Smith, director – new product engineering at Kohler Co., was elected as vice president, and Todd Teter, vice president and general manager – U.S. wholesale for Moen, will serve as secretary/treasurer.

Elected as directors at large were Chip Way, director of OEM sales at Lavelle Industries, and Michael Miller, director of product partnerships at LSP, who will serve their terms through 2019.

Two new directors will serve two-year 2019-2020 terms. They are John Finch, principal engineer at Masco Corp., and Carol Baricovich, director – global brand communications,  government relations, and marketing/business development at InSinkErator.

“I hope to apply my innovation experience to help create and execute new solutions for PMI, including identifying a couple of new actionable efforts that both engage and provide great value to PMI members,” Finch said.

Baricovich said she looks forward to becoming an effective board member by focusing on areas where her expertise can make a difference.

“We’ll work together with members to navigate the ongoing challenges of ensuring safe, responsible plumbing — PMI’s mission — with a continued focus on sustainability and also encourage members to draw on the organization’s many resources and benefits," Baricovich said.

Other highlights of the membership meeting were PMI Association Manager Jodi Stuhrberg receiving the President’s Award and Mariana Nicolae of Sloan Valve Co. receiving recognition for her long and dedicated service to PMI.