Hardi Promotions 1 October 2011 : Page 1

Brought to you by October 24, 2011 11 Maui, Hawaii EVENT SCHEDULE MONDAY 6 a.m. Executive breakfast/ president’s plenary Conference registration desk opens 7 a.m. HALO board 7:30 a.m. Professional Development Steering Committee HVAC Council Steering Committee Controls Council Steering Committee 9:45 a.m. Refrigeration Council Steering Committee Sheet Metal Committee Sustainable Buildings Committee Impact Committee 10 a.m. Solutions Center opens 11:30 a.m. Keynote lunch: Mike Workman 1:45 p.m. Government Relations Committee Insurance and Risk Management Committee Future Studies Committee Manufacturer Reps Committee Plan and Spec Committee 2:30 p.m. HALO welcome reception 5 p.m. Vendor hospitality suites 6 p.m. Presidents/former presidents reception Serving as president was ‘great experience,’ Cook says By Michael McConnell hen you’re the president and chief great experience.” operating of ¿ cer of a $100 million Cook has a long history with HARDI and its company, taking a year to act as predecessors including the Air-conditioning and the head of an industry association can be a Refrigeration Wholesalers. After ARW merged scary proposition. with the Northamerican Heating, It necessarily means more time Refrigeration and Aircondition-out of the of ¿ ce and handing over ing Wholesalers to form HARDI many of your daily duties to other in 2002, Cook became director for company managers. the new group’s southwest region, But 2010-2011 HARDI President eventually becoming national vice Richard Cook said that with the tal-president before starting his term ented executive staff and employees as the association’s president. of Johnson Supply at its 23 branches As part of his responsibilities, throughout Texas and Louisiana, he Cook traveled across the country, was never worried. visiting places such as Las Vegas, “We have a seasoned manage-Phoenix, San Antonio, Wiscon-HARDI President ment team that is very self-suf ¿ -Richard Cook sin and Florida, to attend all of the cient,” Cook said. “Our business association’s regional events. He has been up nicely in the time I have served as also went to Ontario to meet with members of president, and it gives me great con ¿ dence for the the Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning future in our employees.” Institute of Canada. A year as HARDI president gave the 59-year-A special highlight, however, was attend-old similar con ¿ dence in the HVACR industry, he ing ISH, the massive European HVACR and said. After meeting with of ¿ cials of associations plumbing trade show held every two years in such as the Air Conditioning Contractors of Amer-Frankfort, Germany. ica and the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrig-“It was an amazing show,” he said, add-eration Institute, Cook came away impressed. ing that the European Union’s financial “There are a lot of smart, dedicated peo-problems seemed to weigh on the minds of Continued on pg. 2 ple in this industry,” he said. “It’s been a W HARDI’s conference dailies are produced by BNP Media. Sally Fraser, publisher and advertising sales; Michael McConnell, editor; Mike Murphy and B. Checket-Hanks, contributing editors; Karen Talan, production manager; and Frank Mayeran, art director. E X CL U S I V E HARDI EVP, COO welcomes conference attendees ART ICL E S Distributor ‘town hall’ offers rare forum for members By Talbot Gee . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 8 By Mike Murphy . . . . . . . . . pg. 16 HARDI Conference Daily 1

Serving As President Was 'Great Experience,' Cook Says

Michael McConnell

When you’re the president and chief operating officer of a $100 million company, taking a year to act as the head of an industry association can be a scary proposition. It necessarily means more time out of the office and handing over many of your daily duties to other company managers. But 2010-2011 HARDI President Richard Cook said that with the talented executive staff and employees of Johnson Supply at its 23 branches throughout Texas and Louisiana, he was never worried. “We have a seasoned management team that is very self-sufficient,” Cook said. “Our business has been up nicely in the time I have served as president, and it gives me great confidence for the future in our employees.” A year as HARDI president gave the 59-year old similar confidence in the HVACR industry, he said. After meeting with officials of associations such as the Air Conditioning Contractors of America and the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, Cook came away impressed. “There are a lot of smart, dedicated people in this industry,” he said. “It’s been a great experience.” Cook has a long history with HARDI and its predecessors including the Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Wholesalers. After ARW merged with the North american Heating, Refrigeration and Air conditioning Wholesalers to form HARDI in 2002, Cook became director for the new group’s southwest region, eventually becoming national vice president before starting his term as the association’s president. As part of his responsibilities, Cook traveled across the country, visiting places such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Antonio, Wisconsin and Florida, to attend all of the association’s regional events. He also went to Ontario to meet with members of the Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Institute of Canada. A special highlight, however, was attending ISH, the massive European HVACR and plumbing trade show held every two years in Frankfort, Germany. “It was an amazing show,” he said, adding that the European Union’s financial problems seemed to weigh on the minds of Many of exhibitors and attendees, however. “Most of them felt like they were in for a very tough year and there wasn’t much they could do about it,” Cook said. By comparison, his year talking to U. S.-based HARDI members showed most are still upbeat, although some issues do worry them. “Some of the most consistent Are concerns around regulatory and government actions/proposals, economic uncertainty (and) manufacturer/distributor communication/ understanding challenges,” he said. But business for the typical HARDI member is “for the most part, pretty good.” That doesn’t apply to all market segments, Cook pointed out. “I think it is pretty consistent that the residential retro.. t business is not as good as expected, repair parts is better than expected, commercial better than expected, RNC (residential new construction) still very challenging, and refrigeration, OK,” he said. “The dry-ship unit business appears to be pretty robust, although a little inconsistent based on manufacturer or location in the country.” Talk about another recession is unavoidable in the current economy, but Cook said most HARDI members are not buying into such speculation. “I think there are some fears,” he said. “But I think most of our members are among the most optimistic business people I meet. HARDI’s economists say they are pretty optimistic about 2012. Unless there is some better leadership from Washington, I am concerned about late 2013 or 2014.” One place Cook said he has no concerns is with HARDI’s leadership.Serving as president left him in awe of the work employees in the association’s Columbus, Ohio, offices do every day. “I have a new appreciation for the amount of work accomplished by the staff, and how well they have adapted to the change in leadership and the new members of the team,” he said. “I did not realize how many connections with other organizations, how much networking with people and organizations is done, and how deep the involvement in advocacy. I continue to be amazed at all the smart distributors in our organization, and how creative and energetic their business models are.”

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