The Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Assn. held its largest convention ever last month, with nearly 4,800 people turning out for the group's 29th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Baltimore. Held Sunday through Tuesday, Nov. 6–8, the event took place at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Highlights of the event included the General Session, featuring keynote speaker Colin Powell; the Technology & Consultants' Fair, which featured 28 vendors; and the Trade Show, which boasted a record 815 booths.

STAFDA membership increased to 2,655 companies this year, including 1,162 distributors, 1,143 associates, 329 manufacturer's representatives, and 21 affiliates, according to executive director Georgia Foley.

During her speech to members at the General Session, Foley also noted the changing face of the STAFDA membership. Many new members are in building materials, safety, MRO and pure industrial markets, as opposed to the association's traditional construction base, she said.

STAFDA president Marshall Jones followed Foley with his distributor State of the Industry report. Jones focused his remarks on the state of the manufacturer-distributor relationship. He noted the stressful nature of that relationship throughout STAFDA's history.

Jones commented on the power struggle between both groups in recent years, and suggested a new way of viewing the relationship: by banning the word "partnering."

Instead, the relationship should be one of supplier and customer, he said, with the manufacturer treating the distributor as a customer and the manufacturer's rep as an employee.

Jones concluded by emphasizing the power of relationships and the resilience of STAFDA members in general.

Ed Gericke of Werner Ladder delivered the manufacturer State-of-the-Industry report. He noted that 2005 was one of the best business years in recent history for many STAFDA companies and pointed to the continued strength of the construction market.

But he also noted that change is on the horizon. Rising interest rates, softening home prices and slowing sales should put STAFDA companies on guard, he said.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell also took center stage, delivering the keynote address. In his one-hour talk, entitled "Leadership: Taking Charge," Powell covered national security, technology, global socio-economic change, and U.S. foreign policy—all in the context of what it takes to be a leader.

Powell said that leaders at all levels should have a sense of mission and purpose, and that they must demonstrate their commitment to that mission and purpose to everyone in their organization.

"If there's one thing I've learned...it's that leadership is leadership is leadership. It's all about creating conditions for followers," Powell said.

He pointed to the U.S. military's success in Afghanistan and America's ongoing role in Iraq as two examples of leadership.

"We should be so proud of what our young men and women did for the Afghan people," he said, pointing to the removal of the Taliban, the election of the new Afghan government, and strides made in women's rights in that country.

And while Powell said mistakes were made early in the process in Iraq, "Now is now, and we've got to stay the course," he said. "We have to stay the course and not walk out on the Iraqi people."

He concluded by saying that, "Solving problems is what leadership is all about."

The convention also featured networking and social events, along with workshops by industry experts. John Schreibfeder, of Effective Inventory Management, and Bob Footlik, an expert in warehousing management, ran workshops during the Technology & Consultants' Fair.

Other speakers at the event included Michael Marks, of Indian River Consulting Group, who spoke on sales compensation plans; Dr. Kathy Newton, of Purdue University, who talked about recruiting and retaining top talent; Steve Farber, of Extreme Leadership, Inc., who led a workshop entitled, "The Radical Leap: Leadership at Work and Beyond;" and George Hedley, of Hedley Construction & Management, who led a session called, "The Business Success Blueprint."

Also during the convention, Doug Hahn, of Hahn Systems in Indianapolis, was installed as president of STAFDA for 2006.

Next year's STAFDA convention will take place in Las Vegas, Nov. 13–15, 2006.