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We are now in the new year and are still being assaulted with everyone’s thoughts on what will be trending in 2022. During the last few weeks, people and companies have been enlightening us as to what they think will happen in the new year. It seems everyone is chipping in their predictions on everything from this year’s hot colors to the Dow Jones Industrials. Please, no one can consistently call the future, unless they are the source of the future, and, you know, the best decorative plumbing showrooms can be that type of source. Every product, brand and display you have added or changed is a reach into the future of decorative plumbing products in your market, and you should be damn proud of that. 

I was listening to James Trane the other day. He was speaking from Chicago in 1902, telling me that his system of steam heating using small pots of mercury was the best way to go. Mercury. That got me thinking about how my classmates and I used to play with mercury while our science teacher smiled as he wandered the room, watching us poke the dangerous stuff with our adolescent fingers. Life in the 1950s sure was interesting.

I can’t believe that is has been nearly 10 years since Joe Poehling of First Supply flew out to visit me at our offices in New Hampshire to pitch me on the value of getting active in ASA. Joe was ASA president at the time, and I always looked up to him as an industry leader and great business person. Little did I know that meeting would eventually lead me to taking over as the 53rd president of ASA.  Guess I should have known that Joe is way too good of a salesman! 

Within the American Supply Association, the Emerging Leaders division offers up-and-coming professionals in the industry the ability to network with their peers from around the country as well as educational benefits to help them grow in their careers. Considered the leaders of tomorrow, it is paramount to the success of the industry that this group grow and continue to cultivate the skills learned from participating in Emerging Leaders.

We’re almost through the second year of the pandemic and vendors and showrooms are boldly sharing what they think will be popular in 2022. A common thread in many of these predictions is that people are starting to work bold colors and patterns into rooms. This simple prediction tells me it is time for the decorative plumbing industry to move outside — way outside — the chrome and white box.

The end of a year is always a good time to reflect and plan for the year ahead, and this is especially true when that year (or two) has been particularly challenging. When reflecting on my last year, one stand-out moment was getting to hear Shark Tank’s Daymond John speak at ASA’s NETWORK conference in Las Vegas this November.

Culture seems to be all the rage in the corporate world today, or maybe that’s just because I read a lot about it, and because we really focus on it being real. At Eastern, we have a healthy desire to have a positive impact on the lives of people we come in contact with. One of the ways we foster this is through our 28 Fundamentals, or as we call it, The Eastern Way.

As I’ve been back out attending in person events this Fall, I’ve noticed the conversation surrounding what we’re doing as an industry to bridge the labor gap and recruit more talent has a common theme.

Dr. Seuss wrote a beautiful book by that title. It’s probably been the main focus of most high-school valedictorian addresses ever since. But I don’t think Dr. Seuss ever spent much time in unusual mechanical rooms or famous buildings. 

Nashville, Tennessee — home of country music, hot chicken and Johnny Cash. Along with those prominent illustrations depicting the city at face-value, this year it was also the home of the ASA Emerging Leaders’ annual forum EMERGE.