I’m filled with excitement and humility as I begin this year of discovery as the new American Supply Association president.

My journey with ASA began in 2007 when I thought I had reached the high point in my career and wanted to give something back to the industry that had given so much to me and my family.

Little did I know at the time that 18 years later I would have the honor of serving as your president, and through volunteering the industry would bless me in so many ways.

When I started as a volunteer, I was working at a wholesaler in the south suburbs of Chicago and knew very little of what ASA did. While at the MwDA (precursor to the current ASA Central region) regional golf outing, I asked what I could do to help. As luck would have it, there was an opening coming available on their board. I gladly accepted.

At my first meeting I was impressed with not only how helpful everyone was but also the networking and camaraderie.

I quickly learned to appreciate the many benefits ASA offered and knew that I wanted to be a larger part of this fast-growing organization.

A few years later as I had become the vice president of MwDA, there was a call for volunteers for the newly formed plumbing division of ASA. This sounded like another great opportunity, so I jumped at the chance.

During our first call I naively volunteered to be the chairman for this newly formed council.

This also coincided with the start of my attending the ASA winter leadership meetings (now called LEAD). This is where all the volunteer leaders meet to discuss and determine the goals and direction for ASA.

“ASA is the great equalizer amongst wholesalers. Everyone is treated as an equal.”

It only took about 10 minutes of running my first in-person meeting to learn that I was in over my head! Thankfully, the gentleman sitting to my right politely spoke up and helped to get the meeting back on track.

He is the leader of a large national wholesaler that I now call a friend and mentor.

This is one of the intangibles that ASA offers — one that most people don’t realize from the outside.

ASA is the great equalizer amongst wholesalers. Everyone is treated as an equal and myself, as a manager of a local supply house, was treated the same as the president of this large national wholesaler.

I have been involved in wholesale distribution since 1990 and never imagined that buying my own company would be a possibility.

The relationships I’ve made in ASA have not only made this a possibility but in 2019 it became a reality.

As a small, local supply house I found that there were many obstacles to overcome. The connections I made in ASA helped to make many of these go away.

ASA provides a platform to help grow the industry for companies of all sizes and brings us together in a fun environment that promotes networking and learning.

This is why I’m so excited to travel to all the events around the country this year and meet with other members to share my story and to help point out all that ASA has to offer for them and their companies.