As Americans, we honor those who continually step up and answer the call to give everything to protect our way of life.  

In fact, we always marvel at how others stood in the face of great adversity — running to meet the enemy at the gate when others didn’t know what to do. We call them heroes.  

Joining a national association and adding your name to those that give of their company to build a stronger industry and stronger future is not life-threatening by any means. No one is shooting at us and our lives aren’t at risk.  

However, the future of our industry, our ability to compete freely and profitably and the livelihoods of our families are all inexplicably tied to the success of our national association. And all of us and our businesses should step up behind the American Supply Association now more than ever as our industry and businesses are threatened by those that do not value our free-market values and your right to earn a profit.

I don’t have time right now to get involved in ASA; I’m too busy in other organizations; work is extremely busy and we are short-staffed; or the most popular excuse — I don’t see value in ASA. These are the common reasons people give when we ask a PHCP-PVF company to join ASA.

Supporting your national trade association and protecting your future can take many forms. The easiest is to simply join and lend your company’s name and financial support along with those hundreds of other firms that stand behind ASA because the larger our membership base is, the greater the voice we can have on your future.

Don’t get me wrong, we want you to take advantage of the highly valuable economic reports and webinars that we provide on a monthly and weekly basis, or the training programs for your new and seasoned employees we offer through ASA University — the industry standard for training employees so you can compete at a high level. But how about lending us your voice to advocate on the many federal and state issues that ASA is fighting to protect your interests?

Just picking up an application and joining ASA even though you might not have the time right now is a major step toward giving back, becoming engaged with the many game-changing programs the association offers its members and, down the road, perhaps becoming even more involved as a volunteer ASA leader.

ASA is a strong and successful national association on a continued upward trajectory. Over the past 10 years, we have invested more than $6.4 million on developing programs and services that support our members from the unequaled educational offerings to our robust data reporting to our Building One Future platform that will help our members’ remain market-leaders decades from now. Frankly, some of what we do, such as our lobbying efforts, support this entire industry regardless if you are a member of ASA or not.  

To me, advocating to protect your future is reason in itself to join our association. We are doing things that very few associations are doing. And while we are strong and successful, we can be that much stronger if everyone is behind us.

I know there are those that give without any expectation of return. And there are those that take and let others do the heavy lifting. By becoming an active member of the American Supply Association, you not only will be gaining access to great programs that will help your business, but you will be helping to create a brighter future for your company.  

So I ask you to call us today, right now, and join ASA. The small membership dues you invest will pay dividends well into the future.  

Chris Fasano is president and COO at Waterbury, Connecticut-based Torrco, and is the 2021 ASA president. Contact Chris at cfasano@torrco.com.