Attendance at this year's NAHAD convention hit an all-time high of 920. The meeting was held May 18-22 in Victoria, British Columbia, and marked the first time in its 23-year history that the group convened in Canada.

“We couldn't be happier with this turnout,” said outgoing NAHAD president Mark Forget, who is president of IPM Hose & Fittings based in Ontario.

There had been some concern among NAHAD officials that the Western Canada locale would put a drag on attendance. To the contrary, there were 114 first-time attendees at the event and the contact booth program featured nearly 130 booths staffed by NAHAD manufacturer members.

One of the convention's best-attended workshops was an update on NAHAD's hose assembly guidelines. Joe Thompson, longtime executive vice president of the group, said more manufacturers and distributors are embracing the guidelines and that a marketing campaign is underway to deliver that message to end users.

NAHAD's hose assembly guidelines, which took more than 10 years to develop, serve as industry standards for fabricating hose assemblies.

In other convention news, Sam Foti Sr. was given the first George W. Carver Lifetime Achievement Award. Foti, founder of metal hose manufacturer Hose Master Inc., was praised for his commitment to and support of the organization and the industry.

“We've got something good going on here [at NAHAD]. Let's just keep doing it,” Foti said in accepting the honor.

The award is named for George Carver, a NAHAD founder and former president who died in December 2005.

Also during the convention, Joe Lark of Monroe Rubber and Plastic Supply Co. was elected president for 2007-2008; Jack Kacsur of General Rubber Inc. was elected first vice president; and Rob Lyons Jr. of Tipco Technologies was named second vice president.

Association leaders also announced that the association continues to grow, with 292 distributor members representing 24 countries.