May, 2008

Vol. XIV   No. 9

Brett Hill, Editor           

Cocktails at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7:30 p.m. This meeting will be sponsored by Barger and Associates / Delta. As this is the last meeting before our summer break, please plan to attend.

This is the last meeting before our summer sabbatical and it would be beneficial to have a large attendance. (We have lots going on.) On August 17, we are going to hold our family picnic at the Circle D Farm, which has a swimming pool, horseshoes, basketball, etc., thus allowing everyone to enjoy an activity with their family and friends. This year we are inviting sponsors and advertisers to join us. We will send fliers out as reminders with more details. At the meeting we are going to have a guest from the National Federation of Independent Business, State Director Ellen Valentino, who will give us an update on the Maryland General Assembly’s last session. The Plumbing and Fuel Gas Board is finally being formed and the latest information concerning the FOG regulations will be reported on. By the start of our fall schedule, we hope to have our membership list online complete, as well as our membership email program up and running, so we can have speedy notification on important news. Like I said, lots of stuff. Hope to see you at the meeting. Have a safe and fun-filled summer.

Mark you calendars now for our family picnic which will be held August 17, 2008, at the CircleD Farm. Activities there include a 1,200 sq. ft. swimming pool, ballfields, volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, tennis courts, minature golf and all the equipment necessary to play. The committee is now making the necessary arrangements for food and drinks, etc., and a flier with all the details will be sent when everything is finalized.

A recent study conducted at Virginia Tech by Andrea Dietrich, of various types of plumbing materials on water taste and odor, reveals some interesting results. On a scale of 1 to 5, with one being the lowest, CPVC scored a one across the spectrum. They tested CPVC, copper, high-density polyethylene, PEX, and epoxy lining. It was a three- year study, focusing on four categories: odors, organic carbon release, chlorine consumption, and chloramines consumption. Chloramines is that wonderful pin hole causing compound that is still working today. The report is available at the website. It is found in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.

In the ongoing saga of political chutzpah, a certain Maryland State Police Commander was transferred from the Automotive Safety Enforcement Division after being ordered by higher-ups to reinstate Hilltop Fleet Services inspection license. Our dear friend, Senator Nathaniel Exum (D) P.G., has been lobbying for the restoration of the license by holding up the confirmation of Col. Terrence Sheridan as the new head of the State Police. He released the hold, but was the only one voting against the confirmation. Hilltop’s transgression? They were issuing inspection certificates without performing the inspections. Collecting money without doing any work, seems like it would fit right in with Maryland Government modus operandi.

As we go deeper into this recession that the government still denies, we feel pressured on many different fronts. We are getting squeezed by loyal customer’s trying to get more bang for the buck, rising fuel and material costs, finding materials when vendors are trying to cut inventory, and retaining good employees. One thing we can do that will cost us nothing to do (but maybe a lot if we do not) is to say "THANK YOU".

"THANK YOU", to the employee who stayed on a job and did not get paid, stopping at a supply house on the way home , to make a job happen the next day instead of having three guys standing at a job site with nothing to do. "THANK YOU", to a customer that has been with you for ten years, who got another estimate, and even though you were higher, they still used you. Telling a supply house, "THANK YOU", for the extra effort they put in to get your parts to finish a job.

Someone once told me that the most inexpensive thing a company can give an employee is a new title, the most costly is not saying, "THANK YOU." What is the cost of losing a customer, a job falling behind, having guys standing around, and losing an employee for a couple thousand dollars? A local supply house was about to lose one of their better employees for $5000 a year after taxes, $63-$64 dollars a week maybe, not exactly a life changing experience. He decided to stay. WHY? They went to lunch and said "THANK YOU", stick it out and the money will come. 

Let us now get through this administration, retain the employees, retain our customers, and make the supply houses work even harder for us. Say it, and I know this can be hard at times, "THANK YOU".

These companies support our Association, please patronize them —

Meeting Sponsors and Advertisers:

Delta/Barger & Associates (5/16/07)

D & B Distributing Company (1/16/08)

Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. (11/14/07)

HILTI, INC. (3/19/08)

Noland Company (4/18/07)

Northeastern Supply (12/19/07)

Thos. Somerville Co. (10/17/07)

S.E. Taylor & Assoc. (04/18/07)

Washington Gas Light Co. (9/19/07)

Washington Winnelson Co. (2/21/07)

Advertisers:

Cummins-Wagner, Inc.

Harry Eklof & Associates, Inc.

Milby Company

T. M. O’Donnell Company

Parts Unlimited, Inc.

Rentals Unlimited, Inc.

Water Heating Specialties, LLC

Tom Weaver Associates, Inc.