What’s better than mixing business with pleasure? Not much, but the business meetings and networking that feels seamlessly like both at the same time are ideal. Nearly 1,000 Southern Wholesaler Association members and family members took to the Emerald Coast this June for the 95th annual SWA Conference. For the past nine decades, SWA has mastered the art of mixing business and pleasure by creating an annual event geared toward family participation.
This year, member participation took on a new meaning as the new SWA Women in Industry Council hosted it’s first-ever “Girls Who Connect” event. Daughters, friends and wives of SWA member companies were invited to learn about plumbing, connect with each other and empower women to learn about the trades. More than 20 future female leaders participated in a hands on activity learning about PEX connection and most importantly, that the PHCP-PVF is about much more than just toilets.
Also announced during the event were the incoming officers for the 2024 SWA Leadership Council and Board. Plumbing Distributor’s Inc.’s (PDI) President Fielding Aldermen took to the stage to great SWA attendees for the first time as the incoming president. To hear firsthand what Alderman has planned for 2024, Supply House Times sat with him for a Q&A.
NF: TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER THUS FAR IN THE INDUSTRY. WHEN AND WHERE DID YOU GET STARTED?
FA: I was fortunate enough to be recruited by PDI right out of college to go through our Corporate Training Program. Now at the time and coming out of college with a Supply Chain Management degree in 2012, I assumed I would be going to work for one of the big 3PL companies — and that almost happened! It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to interview with PDI that I realized there was more opportunity within the supply chain field than just logistics. I was hired at PDI on June 6, 2012 and spent the next 18 months getting a serious education on our business and our industry — going through our training program gave me the ability to spend time in every aspect of our business, really learning why we do what we do and how we do what we do and I attribute much of my success to this program and all of the people at PDI who have poured in to me over the years invaluable knowledge and wisdom. After completing the training program, I spent time in inside sales, spent a few years on the showroom side of our business managing multiple showrooms and working to grow that division, and then spent time as our purchasing manager. In 2016, I was named PDI’s general manager, and in January 2022, I was promoted to executive vice president and general manager — focused on leading and running our day-to-day business. It’s also safe to say that my success in my career thus far is because of the foundation of hard-work, and sense of values and morals my parents instilled in me from an early age.
This year, PDI is celebrating 50 years in business, and we remain a privately owned, family company with 19 Branch locations, 12 Showroom locations, and 2 Kohler Signature Stores — all across Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.
NF: WHEN DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH SWA? WHAT HAVE BEEN THE GREATEST BENEFITS OF BEING AN SWA MEMBER?
FA: I got involved with SWA in 2015 and was given great advice that you will get out of an association what you put into an association so naturally I worked to get as involved as possible. I started attending everything I could and became active with the LDC (Leadership Development Council) and was then fortunate enough to be asked to join the Board of Directors a few years later and then even more fortunate and honored to be asked to join the executive committee a few years after that. SWA has helped to shape my success at PDI and within our industry as a whole. The network SWA has helped me build, and the education I’ve received within SWA is invaluable. There is never a time I can’t pick up the phone and make a call to not only a colleague in the industry, but a friend, who can help me solve a problem — SWA has been a foundation in creating this for me, and I am forever grateful.
Fielding Alderman took to the stage to address SWA attendees at their 2024 incoming President.
NF: WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AND HOPES FOR YOUR YEAR AS SWA PRESIDENT?
FA: I would first say that I am more than honored and humbled to have been chosen to serve on the SWA executive committee. There are many great leaders within our industry who have served before me, and it is an absolute honor to follow in their footsteps. My goal is to continue significantly enhancing the growth of SWA — from our membership of distributors, manufacturers, and reps — to the offerings we have within SWA for our membership. We will stay focused on truly understanding and listening to what our SWA membership sees as value within the association and working to enhance what we are bringing to them. This will ultimately help the recruitment efforts in bringing new members to SWA or getting current members who are not actively involved back involved in the association. At the end of the day, our industry is all about relationships — and when we can grow an association that will help you develop your professional network, and develop real partnerships within the industry — that’s when we all win together.
NF: WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE TO BE THE GREATEST CHALLENGES FACING INDEPENDENT WHOLESALER-DISTRIBUTORS TODAY? HOW IS SWA ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES FOR MEMBERS?
FA: The speed in which things are moving and changing is faster now than it’s ever been, and we have to be prepared to adapt quickly and pivot where needed to ensure we are not only keeping up with the changes, but in many ways leading change.
With that, there are many serious challenges we face as independent distributors today and I’m not sure it’s fair to say one takes precedence over another, but the one common theme is going to be how each challenge truly affects our people and what are we doing to mitigate these challenges and prepare our people for long-term success – from consolidation in the industry as a whole, the true fragility of our supply chain, improving the speed and transfer of data, to recruiting and preparing the next generation of leaders, we have our work cut out for us but we also have a great opportunity to highlight the resilience and entrepreneurial spirit that exists within independent distribution as we work to solve these challenges. It’s important we understand that we collectively have the ability to change our industry moving forward to combat the tremendous outside pressures facing wholesale distribution as it sits today. SWA is focused on being a regional platform to give our membership a foundation to work off of to attack these challenges – whether it be through intentional internal groups such as our Leadership Development Council, our Mechanical Product Council, our Women in Leadership Council, our Supplier Advisory Council, or the intentional best practice roundtables we conduct to give members the ability to have meaningful discussions around improving their respective businesses. SWA also focuses on bringing relevant outside speakers to our conventions to bring real information that our membership can use to grow their businesses. All that surrounding the incredible industry networking ability that each member has every time they come to any SWA event.
NF: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE ON THE FENCE ABOUT JOINING SWA, ASA OR THE OTHER ASSOCIATION DIVISIONS? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR CURRENT MEMBERS TO BECOME AND STAY ENGAGED WITH THE ASSOCIATIONS?
FA: To anyone thinking about joining SWA, ASA, or the other association divisions, I would say it’s an absolute must. Our marketplace is ever-changing which drives change in our industry and our associations play a vital role in giving the ability to spend quality time with your fellow industry peers to really tackle the challenges that we all face together. Even though we may run separate businesses and have focuses in different markets, we all have similar challenges and the future of our industry hinges on us being able to solve these challenges effectively. Ultimately, you will get out of our industry what you put into our industry – that’s why it’s as important now as it’s ever been to get involved and stay active in the associations that drive and help shape the future of our industry.
NF: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT OUR INDUSTRY?
FA: I enjoy the people within our industry – whether that is my incredible fellow employees at PDI, our customers, our reps, our manufacturers, or our fellow distributors – our industry has a one big family feel. I was told when I first got started at PDI and really started to get introduced to our industry that once you get in, you can never get out! I absolutely believe this is true, but it’s because of the people – our industry is special, and it’s our willingness and desire to dedicate time and energy back into the success of our industry as a whole that makes it that way.
NF: WHAT IS SOMETHING PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU?
FA: I enjoy cooking – especially anything to do with being outside using a grill or really anything related to BBQ. It’s rare that we’re home on a nice day and I don’t have the grill fired up – trying out a new recipe or working to perfect some old recipes.
NF: WHEN YOU ARE NOT WORKING AT PDI OR AT INDUSTRY EVENTS, YOU ARE……
FA: I’m spending time with my family – my wife Brooke, my 3 ½ year old daughter Kennedy and my 1 ½ year old son Fields are my world. It’s also hard to call what I do at PDI work, I love what I do and am ultimately grateful for the opportunity I have to support and grow the partnerships we have with our employees, customers, and vendors each and every day and that’s why associations like SWA that are very family focused are important to me and my family because I can blend my family and my work together - it’s a chance for my family to get involved and see how great our industry is.
