WAYNE, Pa. — AD hosted the AD PHCP Spring Network Meeting in the nation’s capital from March 20-22, bringing together independent distributors from the plumbing, PVF and HVAC industries.
During the meeting, AD planned for attendees to visit Capitol Hill and meet their elected leaders in partnership with the American Supply Association, giving owner/members the opportunity to gather with key staff to voice what is important to their businesses and the industry.
In addition to the Capitol Hill visit, members at the Spring Network Meeting met with their structured, non-competitive industry network groups, best practice shared during roundtable sessions, and heard from AD business leaders on updates and programs from AD.
The AD PHCP team hosted industry-specific divisional member board and product committee meetings. The six meetings covered topics around financial, programmatic, and strategic aspects of AD and represented over 50 decision makers from strong AD owner/members.
“We are always grateful to the dedication of our owner/members who serve on boards and committees,” said Dan Kelly, president of the AD Plumbing – U.S. Division. “AD truly benefits from the time spent together strategizing and problem solving to tackle the challenges we face to constantly enhance our value proposition.”
The event was kicked off for all attendees with the welcome reception and supplier showcase, which invited a select number of supplier sponsors to join the networking reception.
Though typically a member only networking meeting. Member/owners were joined by a select number of supplier sponsors to add value to the welcome reception and networking opportunities.
Jeffrey Beall, AD’s president of the PHCP divisions, said:
“Meetings are a very important aspect of what we do as a strategic value add for both members and suppliers. We are tasked at continuing to raise the bar year over year. This was the first meeting for our two new AD associates: Jason DeBruer, manager of member engagement for the PVF Division – U.S., and David Lowe, manager of supplier relations for the HVAC Division – U.S. The AD PHCP business unit is strong. As we continue to grow and expand both organically and into new business segments, we are pleased to have these two new resources help to further strengthen our offering in delivering legendary service to the AD community. Building out the team ensures we are able to support this growth now and into the future.”
AD leadership delivered a state of the union in industry-specific business meetings, where they used the forum to update attendees on business items, such as an overall state of business, as well as programs updates on AD rewards, service providers, and e-commerce solutions, to help them strengthen their competitive edge in 2024.
Randy Lee, AD’s president of the HVAC divisions, said, “I always appreciate the opportunity to address our Member/Owners at our business meeting. Every year this meeting continues to be a great place to efficiently connect in person with the PHCP community.”
Also, in the spirit of celebrating the successes of 2023, members were recognized with awards for business growth through program adoption success and overall AD partnership. A very special lifetime achievement award was presented to John Edwards from Eastway Supplies during the PVF member business meetings.
“We have been incredibly lucky to be able to work with John for over 20 years,” said Justin Dunscomb, AD president of the PVF – U.S. Division. “Eastway has been an AD member of AD PVF since 2000, and John has been instrumental in ensuring they are plugged in to all AD has to offer. His leadership on the PVF Board and Product Committee truly exemplifies the power of the collective voice and the benefit we gain from the invaluable experience of members of his caliber. We are better and stronger as a direct impact of his service.”
The meeting was capped with two solid hours of the always sought-after staple peer-to-peer best-practice sharing through confidential, non-competing member network meetings.
