BREAKING NEWS

Phoenix Rises to the Occasion

GAWDA President Bob Ames welcomes delegates to the 2007 Spring Management Conference in Phoenix.

GAWDA's 2007 Spring Management Conference drew to a close yesterday following two days of networking and education under the Phoenix sun. A total of 500 Active and Associate Members and guests came together from May 20-22 at the Pointe South Mountain Resort to network with colleagues, hear the latest industry trends, learn how to manage and grow their businesses, and attend in-depth presentations on a variety of topics.

"Howard Putnam had it right when he told us you need to have balance in your life." Brian Moran Business Manager Vern Lewis Welding Supply (Phoenix, AZ)

The SMC opened on Sunday night with a combined President's Welcome Reception and Contact Booth Program. Over 100 exhibitors provided opportunities for discussion and exploration. The combined event inspired an overwhelmingly positive response from attendees who appreciated the enhanced opportunity for networking.

The combined President's Reception and Contact Booth Program offered a wealth of opportunities for networking.

At Monday's opening session, First Past President Avery "Whip" Seaman announced the name of "Mr. X," who will serve as next year's President-Elect. This year's Mr. X is N. Britt Lovin, vice president and general manager for Andy Oxy Company (Asheville, NC). Lovin has been involved with GAWDA for many years, most recently as 2006 Southeastern Zone Vice President.

"One of the things that is always clear at GAWDA conferences is that the quality of the people in this industry and the progress of the work we do elevates us in the business." Virginia DuPuy, President DuPuy Oxygen & Supply Company (Waco, TX)

President Bob Ames and his wife Patty announced the selection of Hamilton Family Center as the 2007 GAWDA Gives Back recipient. The largest provider of shelter and support services for homeless families in San Francisco, Hamilton Family Center has been working to end homelessness since 1985. Today, the organization's two emergency shelters and transitional housing program offer food, shelter and guidance to more than 300 people each day, 60 percent of whom are children. More information on how to donate to GAWDA Gives Back will be available soon at www.gawda.org.

As OKI Bering President Joe Dilhoff presented the manufacturers' comments on Monday afternoon, he told distributors, "We do love you."

Jenny McCall, president of Welding Engineering Supply Company, summarized the distributor session on Monday afternoon: "We're here to help each other lay some issues out on the table. Let's work together to make this industry stronger than it has ever been."

SMC attendees took in a variety of topical and informative seminars, including a presentation on leadership development by former Southwest Airlines and Braniff CEO Howard Putnam and two panel discussions on sales management and operations. Monday's business program concluded with a series of roundtable discussions on the distributor/manufacturer relationship. Manufacturers and distributors split into two separate rooms to discuss their relationship with the other group, and then the groups came together to share ideas about partnership. A conversation has begun.

"The information presented in the panels was very helpful, especially the comments on how to move dead stock and having salespeople use GPS to get to new accounts." Dave Mason, VP of Operations, Roberts Oxygen Company (Rockville, MD)

Twenty people attended the first organizational meeting of GAWDA's Young Executives group on Tuesday morning. The group came together to determine ways that young people can become involved in the association, network together, and grow into leadership within their companies and the association. It became clear that this group would be different from the group of the last century. To that end, the group will petition to become an official GAWDA committee. Gary Stoneback was named its first chairman.

The future of the gases and welding industry, May 22, 2007

Three objectives for a Young Executives group were presented: To learn about the industry, the association and ourselves. A mission statement will be developed.

Excitement about the group was clear and strong. As he looked around the room at the young people present, AWISCO's Martin Ruiz said, "We are the future of this industry. Let's get hold of it now, learn as much as we can, and run with it."

Mark Blakely from Western Enterprises added, "There are a lot of seasoned people who can help develop us as part of this industry."

The next meeting of the group will be in San Francisco. Several exciting networking and educational activities are planned. These events will be posted on GAWDA's Web site as well as in GAWDA Edge, the official publication of GAWDA's Young Executives, at www.gawdaedge.org.

For more photographs from the SMC, follow this link.

California, Here We Come!

With a successful 2007 SMC fresh in your mind, it's time to start thinking about GAWDA's 63rd Annual Convention, taking place September 15-19 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. You won't want to miss this opportunity to meet with industry associates, receive updates from the GAWDA consultants and learn how to grow your business, all while taking in the sights of one of the nation's most breathtaking cities. Registration information will be available soon on www.gawda.org. Mark your calendar!

INDUSTRY BEAT
(what people are talking about)

Praxair Acquires Rite Weld Supply (Danbury, CT) • Praxair Distribution, Inc. acquired Rite Weld Supply, with cylinder filling plants in Gainesville and Forth Worth, TX, and three retail stores in Denton and Bridgeport, TX, and Madill, OK. Rite Weld and its 48 employees will be integrated with Praxair Distribution's 4,200 employees in North America. "The acquisition of Rite Weld to our existing network in North Central Texas further strengthens Praxair's ability to serve customers throughout this important region," says Praxair Distribution President Wayne Yakich.

Bunzl Acquires Westgate (Wilmington, OH) • Bunzl Distribution acquired Westgate Sales Corp dba UASI East and Westgate Canada. Bunzl previously acquired UASI in August 2006. All operations and personnel will be merged in to one division. "With this acquisition, UASI has the perfect partners to service all of North America," says UASI VP and GM Joseph Sodini.

CONCOA Expands to Europe (Virginia Beach, VA) • CONCOA opened a manufacturing plant in Utrecht, The Netherlands, responding to the increasing demands of the European market. The facility, dubbed Europa, serves customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Heading CONCOA Europa's manufacturing facility and office center is General Manager Hendrick Smit.

GAWDA NEWS

Last Chance Extension for GAWDA 2007 Profit Survey • GAWDA Distributor Members are encouraged to take advantage of a last chance extension to May 28. Download the survey at www.gawda.org, under GAWDA News. Complete the survey today if you have not yet done so and send it directly to the Profit Planning Group. Questions? Contact the Profit Planning Group at 303-444-6212 or GAWDA Headquarters at 215-564-3484. Remember that the Profit Report is the best source for financial benchmarking information in the industry. However, only members who complete the survey will receive the final Report. Nonparticipating members WILL NOT be allowed to purchase the Report.

GAWDA Group Life Insurance Program Announces 20% Dividend • At a recent GAWDA-Met Life Insurance Company meeting, it was determined that, based upon favorable 2006 claim experience in the GAWDA Group Life Insurance program, $371,000 would be returned to the plan as a dividend. The Insurance Trustees, chaired by David Weigel of Oxygen Service Company, voted to grant a 20% dividend to all 117 participating companies. The dividend will serve to reduce their 2007 premiums by 20%. This is the 47th annual dividend declared in the 48-year history of the Employee-Dependent Insurance and Wellness program. To join the GAWDA Group Life Insurance Program, contact GAWDA Group Life Insurance Consultant Dave Irving at davebarbirving@aol.com. More details can also be found at www.gawda.org under GAWDA News.

Webinar Audio Recording Available • If you missed the May 15 GAWDA webinar "Advanced Cylinder Management & Mobile Delivery," presented by David Schaer of Computers Unlimited, you can now download the recording onto your iPod or MP3 player by visiting the Podcast page on www.gawda.org. To subscribe to the GAWDA Podcast Feed, visit www.gawda.org/GAWDAfeed.xml.

2007 Regional Meetings Register now for a Regional Meeting near you! Meet with customers and suppliers, network with your peers, and get some insight on the industry. It's an unbeatable value! Do you live in the Western Zone and would like to receive announcements for Regional Meetings in the Eastern Zone? To fill out the form to receive additional announcements to meetings outside your zone, visit www.gawda.org. The regional calendar will be updated as new meeting dates become available.                2007 Regional Meeting Dates                ZONE DATE LOCATION REGIONAL CHAIR PHONE EA May 30-31 Atlantic City, NJ Lloyd Robinson AWISCO 718-786-7788 or 917-560-5405   SE June 3-4 Hattiesburg, MS Sam Thompson Airgas South 678-776-0023 CE June 4-5 East Lansing, MI John DeHoust Baker's Gas 313-383-5690 EA June 12 Beaver, PA Heather Ferrand Butler Gas 412-771-7660 EA June 21 Boylston, MA Robert E. O'Brien Gas and Air Systems, Inc. 610-838-9625 or 610-462-7979   CE July 12 Indianapolis, IN Gary Halter BOC 317-562-9060 CE July 20 Naperville, IL Hector Villarreal Weldcoa 630-806-2000 W July 25-27 Union, WA Dan Enz Gordon Sales Co. 360-705-2391 CE August 2 Columbus, OH Jim Smith DeLille Oxygen Company 614-444-1177 SE August 12-13 Birmingham, AL Gregg Waltman Linde Gas 205-322-9990 CE August 15-16 Watertown, SD Cindy Day Smith Equipment 605-882-8268 SW August 20-21 Kansas City, MO David Hanchette Kirk Welding Supply 816-221-3040 CE August 21 Merrimac, WI Brad Peterson Mississippi Welders Supply Company 507-454-5231 EA August 28 Gettysburg, PA Doug Morton Harsco GasServ 717-443-0752 W October 5 Lodi, CA Rob Kinney Airgas 916-759-6445

WORKSHOPS, WEB CONFERENCES & SEMINARS

Liquid Cylinders
Tuesday, May 29, 11:00 a.m. ET
This webinar, presented by Jeff Clay and Troy Stukey of Harsco GasServ, is for distributor personnel responsible for liquid cylinder applications (filling, distribution, installation, operation, sales and safety). Free to GAWDA members. More details at www.gawda.org.

The GAWDA Connection is distributed on the 8th and 23rd of each month to all GAWDA members as a membership service of GAWDA, the Gases and Welding Distributors Association, 100 N. 20th Street, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19103-1443. Neither GAWDA nor Data Key Communications, LLC, their officers, directors, members and staff are responsible for contents or opinions other than those concerning Association activities.

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