In December 2002, the PHCP industry and ASA lost a beloved colleague and friend when Karl E. Neupert, former president/CEO of Consolidated Supply Co. in Portland, Ore., passed away.

During his lifetime, Neupert was the champion of several charities that he was personally involved in, including his pivotal role in creating the Education: Our Pipeline to the Future Campaign to build an endowment fund for the ASA Education Foundation.

Following his death, the Neupert family honored the Education Foundation by designating the Karl E. Neupert Endowment Fund as a recipient of contributions in memory of Karl. It is obvious from the number of gifts the Fund received, but certainly not a surprise, that Neupert touched many people in the industry, having given much of his time developing and promoting programs to make all of the companies in the channel of distribution better. As of this publication date, more than $157,000 has been given in memory of Karl Neupert.

In addition to expressing our gratitude to the Neupert family, ASA would like to thank the following companies and individuals for their generous gifts in memory of our friend, Karl:

Mr. & Mrs. H. Steve Anderson; Apex Supply Co. (TX); Aqua Glass Corp.; Betty C. Boyd; Brock-McVey Co.; Buttes Pipe & Supply Co.; Inge Calderon; Consolidated Supply Co. (IA); Consolidated Supply Co. (OR); Cresline-Northwest; Davis & Warshow, Inc.; Delta Faucet Co.; DeTemple Co.; Mr. & Mrs. Albert H. Dodds; Elkay Manufacturing; Embassy Group; Mr. & Mrs. Ronald E. Emmerson; Everett J. Prescott, Inc.; Falk Supply Co.; Martin Fein; Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Felten; Cathie Fournier; Mr. & Mrs. J. Gonyea; Gordon-Pacific Supply Co.; Hajoca Corp. & LCR-M Corp.; Halsey Taylor; Mr. & Mrs. Walter A. Haskins; Mr. & Mrs. Jack Hester; Hirsch Pipe & Supply Co.; Hollabaugh Brothers & Assoc.; In-Sink-Erator; Mr. & Mrs. Richard J. Klau; Mr. & Mrs. Wally Knecht; Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Konen; Legend Valve; Little Giant Pumps; Lute Plumbing Supply; M&L Supply Co.; Paul Martin; Merit Brass; Michel Sales Agency; Mueller Group; National Waterworks; Plumbing Distributors.; Rampart Plumbing & Heating Supply; Riback Supply Co.; Ridgewood Corp.; Ross Supply Co.; Schiewetz Foundation, Inc.; Mr. & Mrs. Gary C. Schmidt; Shore Distributors; Sloan Valve Co.; George Spencer; Mr. & Mrs. Herb Strong; Lee Timm; John C. Vogt; Mr. & Mrs. Joseph C. White; Mr. & Mrs. Harold L. Williams, Jr.; Wiseway Supply; Wit & Co.

On March 25, 2003, Mickey Weinstein, CEO of Ridgewood Corp. in Harriman, NY, celebrated his 70th birthday in typical fashion, by throwing himself a fabulous party with all of his closest friends and relatives.

However, he made an atypical request of his guests: In lieu of gifts, he asked that they make donations to the Karl E. Neupert Endowment Fund in his honor.

As everyone who has worked with Mickey knows, he is someone who is dedicated to the PHCP industry and to bringing awareness to others about the importance of education and political involvement. In asking that donations be sent to the fund in honor of his birthday, Mickey has once again demonstrated the outstanding industry citizenship for which he's so well known.

Coincidentally, Mickey also celebrated his 43rd anniversary with Ridgewood Corp. the day before his birthday. Our congratulations go to Mickey for achieving two great milestones in the same year!

The Karl E. Neupert Endowment Fund was built through generous donations from industry companies and individuals. It supports the development of educational programs focused on the PHCP industry. ASA thanks the Neupert family and Mickey Weinstein for their generosity of spirit and continued support of the ASA Education Foundation.

For more information on the Karl E. Neupert Endowment Fund and how you can contribute, please contact Paul Martin at pfmartin@asa.net or visit the Foundation's web page at www.asaef.org.