Natalie Forster: From the Editor

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Writing this column I am just getting home from my first-ever trip to Chicago. While I was there — on Thursday, Nov. 10 — the city recorded a record high temperature for that time of year at 76° F. This was great news for a born and bred North Carolinian who doesn’t fare well in temps below about 50°. Now, the culprit behind these record-setting temps — global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions — isn’t such great news, but it is one our industry is actively working to address (check out the story on geothermal trends and decarbonization in this issue for more information there).

When you listen to a good speech, there are usually a couple of standout phrases that stick with you. A really good speech will have you jotting down notes of a few key quotes that you don’t want to forget. This was the case for me as I listened to a few different speeches throughout the 2022 Affiliated Distributor’s PHCP North American Meeting.

Every industry is dealing with a pending “brain drain” and working hard to find new people to join their teams. Add in the challenges of appealing to a new generation of workers that have unique desires for their nascent careers, and you can be left with a daunting challenge.

A recent report by the Together Platform found that 37% of HR professionals say employees are not being supported to reach their full potential. I continue to hear news about mentorship programs in the PHCP-PVF industry, both formal and informal, and the tremendous impact they have on new employees, younger employees and those that are new to the industry.

On Aug. 16, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). While the bill claims it will, “make a historic down payment on deficit reduction to fight inflation, invest in domestic energy production and manufacturing, and reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030,” plumbing associations aren’t convinced the IRA will do much — if anything — to reduce inflation or benefit small businesses or the American consumer.

Did you know Mark Zuckerberg originally founded Facebook in 2004 as an online website tool to help connect his fellow Harvard students with one another? Today, depending on who you ask, the purpose of Facebook could be many different things, but you can’t deny that it still connects people. 

Millennials aren’t the only generation that endure less than gleaming stereotypes. Gen Xer’s — age 42-57 — are often called the “Day Care Generation,” “The Latchkey Generation,” or “The Forgotten Generation."

A study performed by Microsoft in 2021 found that the average attention span of adult consumers today is a mere eight seconds.

The May issue is an exciting one. The first order of business is Supply House Times’ annual Premier 150 distributors list. As you can predict, sales skyrocketed for many PHCP-PVF distributors throughout fiscal year 2021.

I’m happy to see the PHCP-PVF industry taking every chance it gets to shout the importance of what you do, work together for the greater good, and give back in numerous ways.