News and Press
| 2006-06-01 | The True Essence of an AssociationDebbie Miller hit the nail on the head in Chicago. The owner of Dania, FL-based Millers Decorative Plumbing & Hardware, Miller addressed members of the Decorative Plumbing & Hardware Association during the organization’s annual breakfast at last month’s K/BIS. Her speech is certain to be remembered by everyone who was there. It ought to be. Miller, whose showroom was ravaged last year by Hurricane Wilma, spoke about everything the DPHA has meant to her and her business, whose rebuilt showroom is now nearing completion. She spoke about how privileged she was, by virtue of her DPHA membership, to be surrounded by so many knowledgeable and passionate business professionals. She spoke about how the training the DPHA provides has paid dividends for her business. She spoke about the benefits of attending the association’s fall convention – and about learning from quality speakers and rubbing shoulders with suppliers and networking with fellow members. Mostly, though, Miller spoke about relationships. She spoke about the way DPHA members rallied around her during her time of need. She spoke about the lifelong bonds she’s formed; the camaraderie; the ability to share laughter, tears, hopes, dreams, triumphs and struggles; the ability to learn from each other and lean on each other, too. Miller’s speech, delivered straight from the heart, was moving. It captured the very essence of what trade associations are all about when they’re at their finest – when you cut away the politics and the pettiness, the disagreements and the dissension, the foolishness and the foibles. The speech was also a reminder of something many of us sometimes forget: We need each other in order to make it through this world. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about business or our personal lives. We need family, friends, business associates, networks, teams, connections. None of us can truly make it on our own. Trade associations in the kitchen and bath industry are operating on a fairly high plain these days, and that’s certainly nice to see. The NKBA, coming off yet another exceptional K/BIS, is moving in several promising directions. ISSFA, after a successful trade show of its own in March, is exhibiting signs of growth. The KCMA, as always, continues to hum along. And the DPHA, only in its sixth year of existence, seems remarkably vibrant, thanks largely to members like Miller. These associations, like others connected to the kitchen/bath market, fill a genuine need. They stimulate commerce. They teach. They create links. They strengthen bonds. Debbie Miller reminded us about all of that last month at K/BIS. It’s something, as an industry, that we can’t afford to forget. Editor’s Note: It’s with considerable pride that Kitchen & Bath Design News reports this month (see story) that longtime columnist Ralph Palmer, CKD, has been honored for his lifetime of outstanding business achievements. Palmer, whose “Closing the Sale” column has enhanced KBDN’s pages since the magazine’s inception in 1983, was recently named by the U.S. Small Business Administration as its 2006 “Iowa SBA Hall of Fame Award Winner.” It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy. Palmer, who serves as president of the Cedar Rapid, IA-based Ar-Jay Center, was honored for years of business leadership. In truth, however, Palmer has been far more than simply a business visionary. He’s been a genuine credit to the kitchen and bath industry, sharing his sales and management expertise through presentations across the country – and sharing his time and money with charitable organizations, community groups and business associations throughout eastern Iowa. KBDN salutes Palmer on his SBA award. He’s a real Hall of Famer in our book, and we’re delighted he’s been a valued member of the KBDN “family” for all of these many years. |
