Severe weather made another appearance at a major wholesale industry event. Back in April, tornadoes whipped through the Dallas-Ft. Worth area while WIT’s 2012 Distributor/Vendor Conference was going on just two miles away.

At the end of each of my columns, there’s a note with my email address and the absolutely true comment that I love hearing from you.

For years, I have driven by this church. It’s one that reminds me of the old “Little House on the Prairie” schoolhouse church. Yes, I was an avid “Little House on the Prairie” viewer as a kid.

Birmingham, Ala.-based American Pipe & Supply Vice President of Sales Harry Hays likens his long industry career to that of a professional football player.

Te fact is simple: North Carolina-based plumbing wholesaler Murray Supply Co. made a strong surge in Supply House Times’ Premier 125 survey from 2011 to 2012. The explanations of this rise aren’t so simple.

After 75 years in the plumbing wholesale industry, St. Louis-based Atlas Supply could’ve just patted itself on the back. Instead, the third-generation company opened its first showroom, Immerse, and has made big strides in the St. Louis market. Partner Leigh Suffian recently talked to Supply House Times about Atlas’ history and its future with Immerse.

Greg Reyneke has what he calls a “scary scale” to rank the level of difficulty for the jobs he works on. A recent water treatment project in Uganda received a perfect 10 on the scary scale.

Numbers can be quite revealing - and educational. For instance, since 2006 nearly a quarter-billion people in the United States have been affected by a federally declared weather-related disaster. Think about that - four of every five people.