Owen G. “Mike” Lanzit, 83, a respected veteran of the PVF/plumbing industry, died April 13 after a long battle with heart disease. Ed Scott of The Scott Group wrote the following memorial tribute: “Mr. Lanzit’s career in the PVF/plumbing industry spanned seven decades, during most of which he was a top marketing executive for leading valve companies. He founded and for several years operated two marketing organizations, Trans Global Metals and Sea Force.  Under the TGM label he successfully introduced various imported valve lines, including products from the UK, Italy and Asia, into U.S. industrial and plumbing markets. Using the Sea Force name he marketed a broad line of teak accessories for the recreational marine market as well as game boards and related products. At different times later in his career Lanzit served as vice president-marketing for two leading U.S. marketers of foreign-made valves, Red-White and Kitz. “In his personal as well as business interests, Lanzit was a true Renaissance man. He was a serious student and avid aficionado of American jazz. When entertaining groups of customers at industry conventions, he regularly included jazz ensembles as a key part of the festivities. At one New Orleans ASA convention, Lanzit’s lineup of jazzmen attracted the attention of clarinetist and jazz icon Pete Fountain, who on the spur of the moment, sat in for several sets with the other players. It was a session few in the audience will ever forget. “Lanzit was also a dedicated hunter and served as past-president of his regional German Shorthair Pointer Association. He was an experienced boatman and sailor and was an active member of the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon, CA. On the domestic side, he was an expert and meticulous gourmet cook capable of creating meals at least the equal of many five-star restaurants.  “In the mid-1980s Lanzit co-founded the “Cabo Cowboys,” a group of  leading  manufacturer and wholesaler executives (including five ASA past presidents) who travel every fall to Cabo San Lucas for a week of deep-sea fishing and golf.  For a decade or more, Lanzit was the informal executive secretary of the Cowboys, handling all of the details attendant on making each annual outing better than the last. “Some years ago at the memorial service for his close friend, publisher’s representative Al Iftiger, Lanzit ended his eulogy by quoting his father: “Any man who can boast of even a single really true friend can consider himself a success.” By that standard, as by many others, Mike Lanzit could claim success dozens, and perhaps even hundreds, of times over.”