Here’s an edited version of an interview Supply House Times published in its September 2008 issue.
Click here for the full interview >>

Q: What do you see as ASA’s biggest challenges?

A: The power of any national association comes directly from its membership. For ASA – and any other national association - to be effective in advancing the interests of the industry it serves and its members, we need to engage our members. Whether it be in the programs and services we offer to help them run a better business, or in our efforts to effect change in the best interests of the overall industry, the power to do all that comes from the members of our association and our industry.

Q: Competition from buying groups often has been cited as a factor in diminished participation in ASA. What can ASA do better than the buying groups?

A: I’m really glad you asked me this question because it gives me the opportunity to talk about how that perception is changing at a very rapid pace.

In the past year or two, ASA and four of our industry’s major buying groups have reached out to one another in an effort to eliminate that feeling of competition and forge partnerships that promote cooperation.

The power that ASA yields in terms of education and advocacy, the buying groups can’t duplicate in a fiscally reasonable manner. And as an industry association and not-for-profit organization, ASA cannot even consider getting involved in rebates and pricing issues between the wholesale distributors and manufacturers, which is where the buying groups have proven their strength. But every distributor needs some combination of all of these things in order to be successful.       

Wholesalers are realizing that through memberships in their buying group and ASA each organization provides benefits that complement the other. They’ve started looking to both entities to provide very different kinds of support for their businesses.

The logical conclusion was for ASA and the buying groups to look to how we can better partner to focus our limited resources in our areas of strength and combine our efforts in the best interests of our respective members and the industry as a whole. Working together, we can get some monumental things accomplished that create a win-win-win for everyone involved.

Q: What do you think are ASA’s main strengths and weaknesses?

A: Our greatest weakness is the fact that not every wholesaler and manufacturer in our industry is a member of ASA. That weakens us both from a vital resource standpoint as well as the benefit that comes from having a unified industry voice.

Our strengths are many. I like to look at it and explain it to people as “The Power of Membership.” The power of membership is twofold: there is the power that comes from being a part of the collective voice of an industry, and then ASA also provides distributors tools and resources to make us more powerful as individual companies. Being a member is about both giving and receiving.

ASA members give as part of that collective voice, through an aggressive advocacy program that is delivering results for the advancement of our industry. That’s a strength that cannot be found anywhere in our industry besides ASA.

ASA members receive back strong educational programs, outstanding networking opportunities and reliable benchmarking information that give us the ability to better our company, our employees and put us at a competitive advantage. That strength is something every distributor is looking for, especially in times when the economy is not treating us kindly. We need to look elsewhere for support and in this regard, our greatest ally is ASA.

Q: Tell us your impression of the activities of the ASA Education Foundation, and what you think are its most important programs.

A: I’m really excited about the projects that are being developed by the Education Foundation. For example, in response to a growing need that our members have shared with us, we’re creating a new curriculum called “Fast Track.” It’ll combine three critical training programs, including product knowledge, business literacy skills and sales skills, aimed at relatively new employees who’ve demonstrated their ability to move up the ladder within our companies. We’ll be announcing the details of “Fast Track” at this year’s convention in Atlanta, including a terrific new, navigable 3-D training resource to illustrate the use of all of the products we sell in a typical residential setting.

In fact, much of the Foundation’s agenda this year involves preparation for getting our programs into digital media and available online for our members, where the demand is quickly growing for training programs that they can access 24/7. So we’re not only creating new training materials for online use, we’re also converting our existing catalog, including the great “Essentials” series of courses, into online media. Thanks to the Neupert Endowment Fund, we’re able to afford these kinds of multiple priorities.

While there are a growing number of companies who are now using our training programs, I do wish that number would expand. Unfortunately, training is not something that is always budgeted for within a typical distributorship, which is something we’d like to change. A distributor should not underestimate the power of a well-trained staff and its impact on the bottom line.

Q: What will be your main priorities as ASA President?

A: ASA recently completed work on the development of a new Long Range Strategic Plan back in February. One of my main priorities will be to focus our efforts on getting the association on the pathway to achieving our goals. In addition, with such a major investment from the Education Foundation into new programs, I would like to assist in any way that I can to ensure that our resources are best allocated to make the greatest impact.

Lastly, I am excited about the direction that the association is taking with regard to increasing our role in the advocacy front. With the convention being in Washington, D.C. next year, I will focus some of my attention on getting the largest number of members to that convention and help them discover the power of membership first-hand.

Q: ASA Executive VP Mike Adelizzi has spoken to various industry groups about sparking more political action by ASA. How do you think ASA can be more effective in this way?

A: ASA has 13 issues that we are closely monitoring. Several of them will be dealt with this year, such as an extension of the Residential Energy Tax Credit. Some won’t be voted on until next year, such as the union card check legislation. We’re also putting effort into anticipating what may be coming down the road that can impact our industry and individual businesses. It’s a given that ASA is going to fight for the best interests of our members, as we always have, whatever the future brings.

One area that ASA’s advocacy efforts are moving toward is promoting industry awareness and being proactive with federal agencies and representatives on opportunities that are positive for our members. For many years, our efforts in government affairs were reactive to issues that would have negative consequences for our members. Now, much more emphasis is being given to promoting what is positive about our industry and how our members contribute to the economy and society, especially in regard to the green movement and water infrastructure. This change in is really having a powerful effect on the impact we have in Washington, and agencies and legislators are taking greater notice of the power of our industry, our association and our members.

Q: What else is happening within ASA that is particularly noteworthy?

A: It’s the power of ASA – everything going on seems noteworthy! If I’m forced to narrow it down, I’d have to say that what excites me the most is the energy and vision that is evident throughout the organization – it’s powerful. I see so much being developed in regard to education, thanks to the Karl E. Neupert Endowment Fund. We have abilities and options we’ve never had before. It really enables the Foundation trustees and staff to look at members’ needs in a broad way and consider solutions that would not have been available to us in the past due to financial constraints. That’s exciting - and powerful, of course. 

And then taking a look at membership, we’re approaching it with a whole new attitude and it’s working! Years ago, we saw consolidation and were resigned to the fact that we would lose members, and what effect that would have on our association. Today, we tackle consolidation from two perspectives. First in new member recruitment – we are absolutely committed to getting every industry distributor and manufacturer to join and expand the strength of the association beyond what our members currently enjoy. Current members are stepping up to help recruit new members, staff is getting out in front of prospects at industry and buying group meetings, and everyone has great member benefits to talk about in the way of networking, education, advocacy and benchmarking.

Looking at our numbers so far in 2008, we can expect to have nearly three times as many new members this year as last year, and have net membership growth as well. The second perspective we’re using to look at consolidation is to identify the benefits of it. With consolidation comes consolidated resources that could provide greater opportunities for the association. When we can convince wholesalers and manufacturers to invest more in the association, that enables us to do more and we will be a much more effective organization moving forward.

Q: What’s the best thing about being ASA president?

A: If you are interested in serving the greater interests of the industry, being president of the association that serves the industry is a powerfully rewarding position to be in. I see our membership – and our overall industry – being made up of many, many family businesses. I believe that ASA is run much the same way as a family business. In my experience through the years in a wide variety of volunteer positions in ASA, the people I have come to know and work with are much like family and I see us interacting and treating each other the same way we do the people in our own businesses. People matter, voices are heard, decisions are made for the greater good and being involved actually does make a difference. Being a part of all that is the best thing about being ASA president.