As I gaze into my crystal ball I am hopeful that “2013: It was a very good year!” will be my toast to all of us at the end of the year.
Let me start out by wishing everyone a heartfelt Happy New Year. I hope the holidays were good to all of you and your loved ones and that you enjoyed many moments of good food, good spirits and plenty of laughter with your families and friends.
By the time you read this, 2012 will be in our rear view mirror and we will be starting down the road of 2013 with new hope, new opportunities and, I trust, better results than the previous year. Being a “glass half full” kind of guy, I remain positive and (cautiously) optimistic about things to come for us and our industry. If the residential sector continues to strengthen (albeit slowly), then eventually the commercial sector will pick up some steam and follow.
And make sure you’re doing it right in 2013 by putting AWCI’s Doing It Right Seminars at Academy on your calendar. It’s Jan. 28–31 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. You can get all the details and register at www.awci.org/academy.shtml. In addition, each AWCI registered member can invite an architect, general contractor, owner, etc. as a guest, free of charge. This is a great way to show off your industry and educate your customer base at the same time. Make sure you take advantage of this great opportunity.
I would like to take this moment to welcome Jerry Smith of Baker Triangle (Texas), Chuck Mears of Radius Track (Minnesota) and Ed Sellers of OCP Contractors (Ohio) who will be joining the AWCI board of directors this year. Michael Taylor, vice president of Liddle Bros. Contractors in Tennessee, was elected to the AWCI executive committee and will be joining us as secretary in July. These gentlemen will be fine additions to the AWCI leadership, and we look forward to their participation.
The Foundation of the Wall and Ceiling Industry is now under the leadership of Mark Nabity of Grayhawk as its president. Rob Waterhouse (the Foundation’s immediate past president) of L&W Supply has agreed to stay on the board, and Lee Zaretzky of Ronsco, Inc. (New York) will be joining the Foundation board this year.
Congratulations to all of you, and thank you for your dedication and service to the industry.
Warmest regards,
Jeff
In addition to being the 2012–2013 president of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry, Burley is president of B&B Interior Systems, Inc. in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
