One great conversation I got to have while at NETWORK during the "in between" moments was with NIBCO’s newly-promoted President and COO Ashley Martin and Dawn Bloch who is now the company’s chief people officer.

I had the opportunity to experience the grand opening celebration of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry’s new facility in Oakboro, North Carolina.

New York Best Selling author and Body Language Expert Janine Driver has made her living analyzing and studying body language for many years as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer for the Department of Justice.

Pinto points out that Bradford White CEO Bruce Carnevale often says, “do the right thing because it’s the right things to do,” and those words embody how he believes the company operates every day.

The Teamsters Union, which represents about 340,000 workers at UPS, has been in negotiation with the package carrier in hopes to avoid a potential strike.

There are endless resources on the internet to learn about digital marketing. Just a quick Google search will give you lists of best practices and tools. The challenge is taking this information and applying it to your specific company.

Amazon ships approximately 1.6 million packages every day. Although we all enjoy the convenience of being able to order virtually anything from Amazon and have it at our doorstep within a day — or even a couple hours — data shows that consumers want to shop local and are doing their part to reinvest in their communities.

One thing I love about this industry is how eager and willing most individuals are to recognize peers, partners and co-workers for their outstanding work and commitment to the industry. It is evident every time one of our award stories is deployed, when we publish anniversary stories or even other news items like grand openings. People like, comment and share their congratulations for the companies recognized; it’s my favorite part of posting those types of articles online and on social media.

KBIS drew one of its largest crowds in the show’s 60-year history. Trends from the show floor include mixed metal finishes, pops of color in fixtures and faucets, steam showers, soaking tubs, ease-of-installation and of course, smart technology enabled products. 

The Great Ideas Roundtable session at NETWORK2022 in Chicago was a popular place to be. I usually try to sit in with a table to hear first-hand what hot-button topics come up among distributor, rep and manufacturer members, but this year’s session drew such a large crowd that I didn’t want to take a seat from a participating member.