CONVENTION WRAPS UP WITH TWO INSIGHTFUL PRESENTATIONS AND THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD

Saturday's first General Session speaker was the founder of UnleashWD, host of the "We Supply America Tour," and champion of the "noble cause of distribution," Dirk Beveridge. Dirk spoke passionately about the importance of the independent distributor. He emotionally made the case that independent distributors are the engine driving American success. He then cautioned that within the next 3-7 years, all of our businesses would have to deal with what Bob Ewing calls the "Silver Tsunami."

He then brought up Jim and Nicole Kissler and Jim and Allison Earlbeck to discuss the way that Norco and Earlbeck have successfully bridged the generational divide and ensured that their businesses, and, by extension, their customers, will continue to thrive going forward. Thank you to Dirk, Jim, Nicole, Jim, and Allison for this wonderful and insightful presentation.

Following a brief break, Major General Malcolm Frost took the stage. General Frost has more than 34 years of leadership experience in both the U.S. Army and in business. Since transitioning from the Army, General Frost provides executive leadership consulting and training to corporate America.

He discussed his career in the military and how it successfully built him into the leader he is today. He discussed lessons learned from the Army and how they can be applied to our world. He used a military term, "VUCA" (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity), and explained that VUCA is the New Normal. And in the military, the way to address VUCA is with VUCA Prime (Vision, Understanding, Clarity, Agility.) He then gave some awe-inspiring real-world examples of that thinking, as well as what he calls the "Leader's Intent," which were used to solve literal life-or-death problems.

Following the two amazing General Sessions, GAWDA First Past President Abydee Butler Moore took the stage to introduce GAWDA's Partner organizations in the CGA and WEMCO. CGA representatives Rich Craig and Laura Brumsey took the stage to recognize their CGA & GAWDA Distributor Safety Awards:

• 100,000 or Fewer Employee Exposure Hours – Badger Welding Supplies, Inc.

• More than 100,000 Employee Exposure Hours – Industrial Source

Then, Bob Ranc took the stage on behalf of the AWS, AWS Foundation, and WEMCO to award the WEMCO Excellence in Welding Distributor Award. This year's winner is Welder's Supply Company (WELSCO). Congratulations to Badger Welding Supplies, Inc., Industrial Source, and WELSCO on winning these prestigious awards.

Finally, Abydee recognized several outgoing GAWDA Committee Members and Board Members. Thank you to the following GAWDA members for your outstanding service to the association. You have each left GAWDA in a better place than you found it and we are all grateful for your time and commitment.

• Rafael Arvelo, Outgoing MSC Committee Chair

• Jimmy Walker, Jr., Outgoing Insurance Trustees Committee Chair

• Brad Armstrong, Outgoing Board Member

• Josh Haun, Outgoing Board Member

• Brad Peterson, Outgoing Executive Committee Member

• Bob Ewing, Outgoing GAWDA President

Finally, Holston's Bill Baxter and Missy Anders took the stage to officially introduce GAWDA's 2022-23 President Robert Anders. Bill spoke eloquently about Robert's long and distinguished history with Holston. "Holston Gases is the company it is today, because of Robert Anders. Other than my parents and my family, Robert has made a greater positive personal influence on my life than anybody. All of us at Holston are so proud that Robert has been granted this opportunity to serve as GAWDA President. It's like having your head coach be named the head coach of the All-Star Game,” Baxter said.

Then, Robert's wife of 37 years, Missy, took the stage to introduce a touching video tribute of Robert and the type of man, husband, and father he is. Finally, Robert was escorted to the stage by the GAWDA Past Presidents in attendance to the tune of Tennessee-staple "Rocky Top."

Once on stage, Robert was presented his President's Pin, Plaque, and Banner by Bill, Missy and John. He then called now GAWDA First Past President Bob Ewing back to the stage to present him with a special gift. As a collector of rare bibles, Robert presented Bob with an 1839 King James bible that was printed at Oxford.

Then, Robert took the stage to lay out his vision for the next 365 days of his presidency. He told a poignant story about a team-building exercise that Holston does involving demarcating time using marbles. The marbles, which he then passed out to those in attendance, are an important reminder to each of us to live our lives with intentionality. What is done is done, but we have control over what comes next. Robert approaches his life that way and intends to approach his term as GAWDA President that way.

He notes that GAWDA is in an excellent place as an organization, thanks to the stewardship of his predecessors, as well as the amazing staff at GAWDA HQ. He said that things "aren't broke, and I don't intend to break them." But he did note that in the unfortunate event of an unexpected disaster, that GAWDA would be willing and able to quickly address it and continue to move the association forward.

He concluded by challenging everybody in attendance to attack the next "trip around sun" and to live their lives with intentionality.