PLUMBING • IRRIGATION • KITCHEN & BATH •UNDERGROUND • ASPE May, 2009 Issue 5 Volume 3 PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID ATLANTA, GA Permit NO 7926 Tennessee Plumbing News P.O. Box 68 Bethlehem, Georgia 30620 THE PIPELINE Wes Ward Territory Manager 20 Pages CONTINUED on PAGE 12 CONTINUED on PAGE 3 CONTINUED on PAGE 3 Hello to all family and friends of the plumbing in- dustry! As I write this, I have enjoyed a short but much needed weekend at the beach. So forgive me if I’m still in a laissez faire atti- tude or Jimmy Buffett mode. Just like when I’m hunting or fishing, there’s something about the water and the sound of the waves break- ing on the shore that is very soothing and aesthetic to me. It’s as if I’ve turned back the clock to my youth be- cause I can’t hardly go out on the sand without bring- ing a wiffle ball and bat, a football, or at least a Frisbee to throw. I guess the boy and adventurist in me will never be far. The reports from last months Taphcc Convention in Nashville were that it was a “rousing success” accord- ing to Andy Ward the Phcc President of Middle Tennes- see. It was also mentioned that the city and where it was hosted at LP Field, did a wonderful job in hosting the event and attributing to a lot of positive feedback. Kudos to Cyndi Bunch, Andy, the rest of the committee and everyone else connected in making it a truly dynamic showcase for all of the Plumbing- Heating- Cooling Contractors and industry leaders that attended. This week is also Mother’s Day and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention and say to all my aunts, sister- in-laws, cousins, Tal, the rest of my special family and friends and last but certainly not least, my lovely mom Sandra Turner Ward to have a Happy Mother’s Day! Love ya mom. Until next time, Keep It Smiling! Ferguson Chattanooga Has Showroom Grand Opening TAPHCC Annual Golf Tournament TAPHCC 112 th Annual Convention/Tradeshow The Tennessee Associa- tion of Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors held their 112 th Annual Con- vention/Tradeshow at LP Field on Thursday, April 16, 2009. The show was open to the public but mainly serves the Plumbing and HVAC industry of Tennes- see. They had approximately 90 exhibit booths with both inside and outside/heavy equipment exhibitors. They also held a silent auction to benefit the PAC fund. There was a NASCAR display and live entertainment as well as several contests and door Ferguson in Chatta- nooga, TN. recently cel- ebrated the Grand opening of their 11,000 sq ft Desti- nation Showroom. The cel- ebration that occurred on April 23, 2009 attracted more than 300 customers and featured the Master Chef Nick Kyriakidis from Niko’s South Side Grill who prepared delicious food and deserts for the event in Ferguson’s new “chef qual- ity” fully operational kitchen. The music by Adonia String Trio set the stage for the evening’s event. Ferguson’s Chattanooga showroom fea- tures a new Kohler premier area, the complete Mirabelle (a Ferguson exclusive line of high end faucets and china) collection, 7 complete kitch- ens featuring all the latest appliances and a complete lighting showroom featuring The Tennessee Associa- tion of Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors held their 17 th Annual Danny Burnett Golf Tournament, to benefit their yearly scholar- ships, on Friday, April 17, at the Legacy at Springfield. Eighty-eight players partici- pated in the event and the day was beautiful. Players enjoyed a chipping contest and everyone received a door prize. The TAPHCC was very happy that, even in this economy, they raised more money than ever for their scholarships. Credit goes to their wonderful golf committee made up of Jer- emy Howard, Chairman, Jim McClain, Chris Richey, Brent Dillehay, Tripp Cates, Jeff Morales, Dick Summers, and Trey Horne. Trophies and prizes were given away to the 1 st and 2 nd place winners in both flights and to the closest-to-the-pin winner. TAPHCC would like to thank their wonderful spon- sors and everyone who sup- Eddie Hartley, James Scoogins, Noland Noffsinger, Delmas Rigsby, Shaun Hayworth, Tina Judd, David Tonahill, Bryan Morrow, Kristen Swanson, Greg Jolly, Jeff Cochran, Chris gray, Henry Fairley, David Brandt, Jimmy Bethune, Eddie Rich, and Randy Wittman Jeff Bohanof Wiggs, Haun and Bohan, Kathy and Chris Debien of Elegant Sales, and Jack Steakley of Jack Steakley Plumbing. CONTINUED on PAGE 3 Position Your Company for the Upturn At PHCC’s CONNECT 2009 Anticipation and prepara- tion are critical to a business’s success—espe- cially during tough eco- nomic times. The PHCC convention, CONNECT 2009, Oct. 21-23 in New Orleans, will focus on both of these areas to help par- ticipants confidently position their companies for an eco- nomic upturn in 2010. For the first time since 2001, PHCC is not partnering with other groups and is offering a program specifically geared for the p- h-c contractor. The “hottest” topics of the day were se- lected to give CONNECT 2009 participants access to the latest trends and busi- ness management practices
Hello to all family andfriends of the plumbing in-dustry! As I write this, I haveenjoyed a short but muchneeded weekend at thebeach. So forgive me if I’mstill in a laissez faire atti-tude or Jimmy Buffett mode.Just like when I’m huntingor fishing, there’s somethingabout the water and thesound of the waves break-ing on the shore that is verysoothing and aesthetic tome. It’s as if I’ve turned backthe clock to my youth be-cause I can’t hardly go outon the sand without bring-ing a wiffle ball and bat, afootball, or at least a Frisbeeto throw. I guess the boy andadventurist in me will neverbe far.
The reports from lastmonths Taphcc Conventionin Nashville were that it wasa “rousing success” accord-ing to Andy Ward the PhccPresident of Middle Tennes-see. It was also mentionedthat the city and where it washosted at LP Field, did awonderful job in hosting theevent and attributing to a lotof positive feedback. Kudosto Cyndi Bunch, Andy, therest of the committee andeveryone else connected inmaking it a truly dynamicshowcase for all of thePlumbing- Heating- CoolingContractors and industryleaders that attended.
This week is alsoMother’s Day and I would beremiss if I didn’t mention andsay to all my aunts, sister-in-laws, cousins, Tal, the restof my special family andfriends and last but certainlynot least, my lovely momSandra Turner Ward to havea Happy Mother’s Day! Loveya mom. Until next time,Keep It Smiling!
Ferguson Chattanooga HasShowroom Grand Opening
TAPHCC Annual GolfTournament
TAPHCC 112th AnnualConvention/Tradeshow
The Tennessee Associa-tion of Plumbing, Heating,and Cooling Contractorsheld their 112th Annual Con-vention/Tradeshow at LPField on Thursday, April 16,2009. The show was opento the public but mainlyserves the Plumbing andHVAC industry of Tennes-
see. They had approximately90 exhibit booths with bothinside and outside/heavyequipment exhibitors. Theyalso held a silent auction tobenefit the PAC fund. Therewas a NASCAR display andlive entertainment as well asseveral contests and door
Ferguson in Chatta-nooga, TN. recently cel-ebrated the Grand openingof their 11,000 sq ft Desti-nation Showroom. The cel-ebration that occurred onApril 23, 2009 attractedmore than 300 customersand featured the MasterChef Nick Kyriakidis fromNiko’s South Side Grill whoprepared delicious food anddeserts for the event inFerguson’s new “chef qual-
ity” fully operational kitchen.The music by Adonia StringTrio set the stage for theevening’s event. Ferguson’sChattanooga showroom fea-tures a new Kohler premierarea, the complete Mirabelle(a Ferguson exclusive line ofhigh end faucets and china)collection, 7 complete kitch-ens featuring all the latestappliances and a completelighting showroom featuring
The Tennessee Associa-tion of Plumbing, Heating,and Cooling Contractorsheld their 17th Annual DannyBurnett Golf Tournament, tobenefit their yearly scholar-ships, on Friday, April 17, atthe Legacy at Springfield.Eighty-eight players partici-pated in the event and theday was beautiful. Playersenjoyed a chipping contestand everyone received adoor prize. The TAPHCCwas very happy that, evenin this economy, they raisedmore money than ever for
their scholarships. Creditgoes to their wonderful golfcommittee made up of Jer-emy Howard, Chairman, JimMcClain, Chris Richey, BrentDillehay, Tripp Cates, JeffMorales, Dick Summers,and Trey Horne.
Trophies and prizes weregiven away to the 1st and 2nd
place winners in both flightsand to the closest-to-the-pinwinner.
TAPHCC would like tothank their wonderful spon-sors and everyone who sup-
Eddie Hartley, James Scoogins, Noland Noffsinger, DelmasRigsby, Shaun Hayworth, Tina Judd, David Tonahill, Bryan
Morrow, Kristen Swanson, Greg Jolly, Jeff Cochran, Chris gray,Henry Fairley, David Brandt, Jimmy Bethune, Eddie Rich,
and Randy Wittman
Jeff Bohanof Wiggs, Haun and Bohan, Kathy and Chris Debienof Elegant Sales, and Jack Steakley of Jack Steakley Plumbing.
CONTINUED on PAGE 3
Position Your Companyfor the Upturn At PHCC’s
CONNECT 2009
Anticipation and prepara-tion are crit ical to abusiness’s success—espe-cially during tough eco-nomic times. The PHCCconvention, CONNECT2009, Oct. 21-23 in NewOrleans, will focus on bothof these areas to help par-ticipants confidently positiontheir companies for an eco-nomic upturn in 2010.
For the first time since2001, PHCC is notpartnering with other groupsand is offering a programspecifically geared for the p-h-c contractor. The “hottest”topics of the day were se-lected to give CONNECT2009 participants access tothe latest trends and busi-ness management practices
Jack Morgan - PublisherWes Ward - Territory Manager
Shannon Manders - AdministratorJames Bickert - Art Director
The Tennessee Plumbing News is a monthly publication of Morgan PublishingCompany. The publisher does not assume responsibility for statements madeby advertisers and reports opinions by dealers, suppliers and manufacturersas quoted. The advertising and copy deadline for the next issue is June1st,
2009. All contents are copyright 2009 Morgan Publishing Co.
Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009 Page 3
Jack MorganEditor and Publisher
Message from the Publisher
FREE SUBSCRIPTION FORM
Your Name_________________________________
Company Name_____________________________
Address ___________________________________
From Counter Days to Trade Shows, each month we bring youexclusive coverage of industry events from around the state.Keep up with the latest news and newsmakers by faxing this
form to 770-868-1856
CONTINUED from PAGE 1
Ferguson
Hello Plumbing Pro, Ihope you are all well. It’shard to believe summer isjust around the corner.Things seem to be lookingpretty good, thank God. Ex-isting home sales were up3.2% which is fantastic
news. It seems as the Mar-ket is stabilizing which is agood indicator the economyis moving forward. So, I’mseeing the trees and the for-est. I wanted to CongratulateMckenny’s Mechanical ontheir 60th anniversary AlsoPlumbworks of Atlanta is cel-ebrating their 20th anniver-sary. Jim get well soon! Weare updating our informationPlease send us your nameand email address toplbgnews@ winstream.net.Please feel free to contactme at 770.378 .1194 and re-member please support ouradvertisers as, if not forthem we could not print andmail your newspaper eachmonth. We’ll see you downthe Pipeline.
prizes for everyone who at-tended. LP Field was beauti-ful and the JumboTrons ranin the stadium to thank theirwonderful sponsors.
The tradeshow committeewas made up of RichardPerko, Chairman, AmyCathey, Eddie Galbreath,Alton Lassiter, and AndrewWard.
TAPHCC presented twoawards during their conven-tion luncheon: Contractor ofthe Year to Mr. EddieGalbreath, Galbreath Broth-ers Plumbing, from Middle TNand Industry Council Memberof the Year to Mr. BunnyOakes, TIS Insurance. Therewere many educational semi-nars offered throughout theday, and ASHRAE and ACCAalso participated.
The TAPHCC would like tothank everyone who attendedthe events and send anotherspecial thank you to all theirsponsors and exhibitors!
Next year, the trade showwill be back in Knoxville andwill probably return to Nash-ville in 2011. For additionalinformation or any questions,please contact the TAPHCCat 865-531-7422.
the industries latest de-signs and manufactures.“Our new showroom fea-tures the best people, thebest products and the bestservice in the industry. De-signers, builders, plumbers,architects and homeownersnow have a “world class”showroom in the Chatta-nooga market” said show-room manager Jef fCochran.Ferguson’s newshowroom is at 4100Amnicola Highway in Chat-tanooga or contact them at423-493-3100.
CONTINUED from PAGE 1
Convention
TournamentCONTINUED from PAGE 1
ported their scholarships byparticipating. The golf tour-nament will return to Knox-ville in 2010, but will prob-ably come back to Nashvillein 2011.
that can help them thrive inthe future.
Featured speakers in-clude Stuart Varney, busi-ness and financial journal-ist for FOX News, who willtalk about “21st CenturyAmerica: A New Day in Poli-tics, Culture, and Business;”and Richard Trethewey ofThis Old House, who will dis-cuss “The Future of Comfortand Efficiency.”
There also will be semi-nars on topics like greenplumbing, pre-fabrication,residential fire sprinklers,understanding overheadand year-end tax planning.An industry panel will helpcontractors learn what toexpect from the manufactur-ers as they weather the cur-rent economic climate andprepare for the upturn. Alsofeatured will be a full-dayProduct and TechnologyShowcase where contrac-tors, manufacturers andother vendors will gather tolearn and exchange ideasabout products, technolo-gies and advancements inthe p-h-c industry.
CONTINUED from PAGE 1
PHCC
PHCC Member Meets withPresident On Tax Day 2009
CONTINUED on PAGE 8
Plumbing-Heating-Cool-ing Contractors—NationalAssociation member AlanGivens (third from lef t),owner of Parrish Services,Manassas, Va., was one of
a select number of workingAmericans who were invitedto talk with President Obamaon April 15.
During the meeting at theExecutive Office Building,President Obama went overthe tax changes enactedover the past few monthsand emphasized his commit-ment to providing tax cuts toAmericans who need them,while jump-starting growthand job creation in the pro-cess.
President Obama invitedthe people in the room to talkabout the real effects of histax policies on their lives.“They're business ownerslike Alan Givens, who wantshis company to sustain itselfthrough bad times as well asthe good,” he said. “And Iwas encouraged to hear thatAlan's business is goingstrong on a whole bunch ofclean energy measures thathe's helping to promote in hisarea.”
When talking with thePresident, Givens empha-sized the p-h-c industry’s
Page 4 Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009
Usually a ‘Secret ’ isjust that, secret. Some-thing you don’t want ev-er yone e lse to know.Sometimes secrets are
Rick ThompsonShoffner Mechanical Services
TAPHCC State President
not purposely meant to besecrets, they just lackcommunication, identifi-cation or understanding.Well, it is time that we let
members. P-H-C compa-n ies a re su f fe r ing a l lacross our state and na-tion during this huge eco-nomical down spiral, andit is time we as an asso-ciation step up and re-educate our members,prospective members andcommunities what thoseof ferings are. I believeright now is one of themost opportune times tobe or become a memberof the Tennessee PHCC.The old adage
‘Strength in Numbers’is more relevant now thanever during our past eco-nomic times. Education,Legislation, and Commu-nication are just a few ofthe areas where TAPHCCis actively pursuing inter-ests, direction, and ad-vice. These are some ofthe avenues that need tobe addressed immedi-ately due to the directimpact they can/will haveon our industry and ourmembers. Indiv idual ly,and as a whole, we needto promote the benefits ofbeing a TAPHCC member.
I want to thank every-one for the time, ef for tand suppor t that weregiven to this year’s TradeShow, Convention, andGolf Tournament. It was ahuge success both in at-tendance and financially.
I can not name all thepeople who helped makethis come together, but Iknow that the Middle Ten-nessee PHCC, the TradeShow Committee, the GolfCommit tee, and CyndiBunch all deserve a hugepat on the back. It hasbeen a few years sincewe had the Convention inNashville; but, based onthis year’s success, weknow it will be back verysoon. I felt a sense of en-thusiasm from the MiddleTennessee PHCC groupthat I hope bleeds over toall of our local associa-tions. A positive outlookand commi tmen t fo rgrowing and supporting
our assoc ia t ions , Na-tional, State and Local,will only help to benefit allof our members and ourindustry. This wil l alsohelp our association be-come more attractive tononmembers.
We need to rememberthat each of us, individu-ally, have work and re-sponsibilities to carry outover the next months andyears. It will take everymember working togetherto help grow our associa-tion. We need to grow ourmembership so we canhave a stronger influencethroughout our industry,our community, and ourgovernment. Please re-member that commitmentw i t hou t ac t ion i s jus twasting time.
I also want to thank ev-eryone for this opportu-nity to serve as the 2009-2010 State President ofthe Tennessee Associa-tion of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors. It isa huge honor and privi-lege, and I will strive tocontinue the growth ofthis association through-out the coming year. Ourpast Presidents have leftsome big footsteps to fol-low in and a solid base tobuild on. Larry Vance,
David Dugger, EddieGa lbrea th , and Sco t tRobinson to name a few,have been tremendousleaders of our associa-tion. I want to thank eachof them for the blood,sweat , and tears theyhave g i ven to t heTAPHCC.
Cynd i Bunch , Je f fHammond and I attendedthe National PHCC Lead-ership/ Legislative Confer-ence in Washington D.C.the week of April 28th. Weaccumulated a lot of greatideas and now we need todo something with them.Don’t be surprised whenyou get a phone call ask-ing for your help in imple-menting some of theseideas. Some of the itemsthat need to be addressedand researched are Con-tinuing Education, Legisla-tive issues, Lobbying, Ad-vertising, Social Events,Fund Raisers, and a FallGolf Tournament. And ifyou have other ideas orsuggestions that will ben-efit our association, pleaselet our board of directors,Cyndi, or myself know.
Since Baseball seasonis upon us I leave you witha quote that should re-flect our goals for the fu-ture of our association.
the ‘Secret’ out—the se-cret about our TAPHCCassociation and the offer-ings/support which areavai lable to a l l o f our
Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009 Page 5
Guest Editorialby Andrew B. Ward, PHCCMT
Like most of you I haveoccasion to be on theinternet. Plumbers need theinternet for all kinds of use-ful things, finding parts, get-ting jobs, or in my case look-ing at stuff I can’t buy.
Some even are able toget work off the internet. Ihave a web site. The website people say it needs anupgrade, at least those website designers that are sell-ing up grades.
I like my web site, it’s alot like me, very eclectic,maybe that’s why I get somany offers to fix it. I havepictures of work I do and alist of work I do and all ofthe things you would wanton a web site. My custom-ers seem to like it so, it willdo for now.
Email is often a greatthing. I have customers thatrequest work via email,which means I have to checkit often. This can lead tomischief though as I am eas-ily drawn to Craigslist andall the stuff I mentioned be-fore that I cannot have. Butcommunication on theinternet is quick and free, Ilike that.
Often I find out about newproducts online. We arelooking for a line of solarwater heaters to start carry-ing here. I have looked atdozens of systems to seewhat is available and whatpeople have said aboutthem. If you want to knowwhat someone else’s expe-rience is with a product justGoogle it.
You can find out likes anddislikes from numerouspeople all over the world. Tobe honest I have evenGoogled myself to see if Ihad made anyone madenough to post about meonline. So far so good thankgoodness. I did have a goodfriend that had a disgruntledcustomer built a web sitejust to run his companydown for something hethought was done wrong.
Another good thing isgroups. There are Yahoogroups, service groups,email loops, web rings and
Facebook to name just afew. With this comes theability to ask questions andsee responses to problemsand issues that for me dealwith Plumbing contracting.
I have learned a lot froma group I belong to, “TheService Roundtable”, it is setup for plumbers and hasbeen a great place to askand learn. Not long agosomeone posted a questionabout what a plumber is.Seems someone had toldthem they needed to hirepeople that could change afaucet out but could notrough in a house.
You don’t need that on a
service truck was the jest ofthe conversation. Well myemail companion was ask-ing us his buds what ouropinion was. You couldimagine the conversationthat caused.
It made me think whichat time is difficult, just whatis a plumber. Years ago inwhat my children havecalled the stone age I thinkI knew what a plumber was.It was someone who passeda test and had a license. Iremember my first license,it was an apprentice cardfrom Metro Nashville. It washow all plumbers startedback then, at least in Nash-ville.
After a four year wait youcould test for a JourneymanPlumbers License. You had
to have one or the otherback then. Inspectors usedto check for them and some-one on the job better be aJourneyman and at leasteveryone else an Appren-tice.
Even to do repair onehad to have a license, thosewhere not checked very of-ten but it seemed like every-one knew it was required.
So to get back to myquestion, what is a plumber.Is it anyone who turns awrench or flips a bib washeror is there a level of skill thatdenotes the title. A fewyears ago the State of Ten-nessee started requiring allplumbing companies to belicensed with the LimitedPlumbing License.
We already had a State
Plumbing Contractors Li-cense for work over$25,000. and anyone whowanted to work around thestate. But this only requiredone person to hold a licensein the company. No otherlicense was required and sono Journeyman Licenseanymore.
So how do you becomea real plumber? Here is athought, bring back theJourneyman’s License,impossible you say, notneeded you say. I sayand some are a l readyfinding out, when you goto hire a plumber in thefuture, good luck. All Ican say now is, when di-nosaurs roamed the earthyou could tell a plumberfrom a handyman.
Page 6 Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009
E V E N T S C A L E N D A R
Call for DetailsNorth East Tennessee PHCC MeetingLOCATION: Lonestar Steak - Johnson CityCONTACT: 423-926-2665 (M. Vance)
3rd Monday of Every MonthNashville Chapter ASPE MeetingLOCATION: 2995 Sidco Dr., NashvilleCONTACT: (615) 889-8900 (VP Membership)
3rd Tuesday of Every Month 12 PMEast Tennessee Chapter ASPE MeetingLOCATION: Rothchilds CateringCONTACT: www.easttmaspe.org
3rd Tuesday of Every Month 11:00 AMMiddle Tennessee PHCC MeetingLOCATION: Pickadilly’s at MurfreesboroCONTACT: 615-224-1024
3rd Tuesday of Every Month 11:45 AMChattanooga PHCC MeetingLOCATION: Wally’s on RingoldCONTACT: 423-622-3178
4th Monday of Every MonthMemphis Chapter ASPE MeetingLOCATION: 969 Ridgeway Blvd., MemphisCONTACT: (901) 795-0045 (VP Membership)
4th Monday of Every MonthKnoxville PHCC MeetingLOCATION: Calhoun’s Bearden HillCONTACT: 865-522-3106
May 2nd, 2009WSG Benefit Golf TournamentLOCATION: Cleveland, TNCONTACT: 423-470-5997
May 1st-3rd, 2009KBIS 2009LOCATION: Atlanta, GeorgiaCONTACT: www.kbis.com
May 16t-19th, 2009GAMA 74th Annual MeetingLOCATION: Santa Ana Pueblo, NMCONTACT:www.gamanet.org
May 20th, 2009TAPHCC Regional Leadership WorkshopLOCATION: Nashville, TNCONTACT: 865-531-7422
June 11-14th, 2008117th PMA Annual MeetingLOCATION: St. Simons IslandCONTACT: www.plumbingpros.com
Send all of your open house, continuing education, seminar, and trade show information to:THE TENNESSEE PLUMBING NEWS CALENDAR P.O. Box 68 Bethlehem, Georgia 30620 or Fax 770-868-1856
June 17-18th, 2009National Disaster Reconstruction ExpoLOCATION: New OrleansCONTACT: www.ndrexpo.com
October 7-9th 2009WaterSmart Conference and ExpoLOCATION: Las VegasCONTACT: WaterSmartInnovations.com
October 14-19th, 2009American Supply Association Con.LOCATION: Washington, DCCONTACT: www.asa.net/
October 21-23rd, 2009PHCC National ConventionLOCATION: New Orleans, LACONTACT:www.phccweb.org
October 22-25th, 2009ASPE National SymposiumLOCATION: Dearborn, MichiganCONTACT:www.aspe.org
November 11-13th, 20092009 Greenbuild International ExpoLOCATION: Phoenix, AZCONTACT: www.greenbuildexpo.org
Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009 Page 7
Kathy Debien of Elegant Sales and Mark Steinhouseof Steinhouse Supply.
Joe and Veronica Spiecker of Cookeville Plumbingand Hunter Bogitsh of Aspe.
Anna Yanker and Dorothy Padgett of CTS GPS FleetManagement.
Kendra Buhlig and Devin Righter of BXTN.
TAPHCC officers
Larry Vance- Chairman of the Board
Contractor of the Year- Eddie Galbreath of GalbreathBrothers Plumbing
Larry Vance and Bunny Oakes
Phil Valentine of 99.7 FM Radio in Nashville
Rosemary and Larry Vance and Cyndi Bunch-TaphccPresident
Abbe and Amy Lewis, Tom Strother, and MadelineLewis of the 'The Lewis Sisters'.
Charlie Fox of Fox Sales, Greg and Ken O'Neal ofBen O'Neal, and Andy Ward.
Richard Perko of Lee Company and Dan Phillips ofQuote Express.
Dwight Ethridge of Chris-More and RichardLeinberger.
John Wood and Jase Cupit (far right) SunbeltMarketing, Carol Moss- Toto, Leslie Welten- IPS,
Scenes from the 2009 TAPHCC Convention in Nashville
Page 8 Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009
Scenes from Ferguson Chatanooga’s Showroom Grand Opening
Eric McCain of McCain Sales and Valerie Daniel ofPinnacle Sales Group.
Rusty Gibson and Jim Tart of Viking RangeCorporation.
Gary Grove of Bosch and Dewayne Swanson of SRS.
Musicians
Angela Parrish and Carmlita Beaver of Niko's.
Juliet Privette of Classic Cabintry and Janice PaffeBolles of News Channel 9.
Don Bachard, Jimmy Bethune and Michael Bailey ofFerguson.
Millie Overman of Praxis and Tripp Cates of SFE.
Ice sculpture
Kitchen
Jennifer Howard, Nick Kyriakidis and Rachel Perry ofNiko's.
John Raulston of TS Raulston and Greg O'Neal ofBen O'Neal.
Henry Fairley- Ferguson/Chattanooga GM, PhilShipley of P&S Plumbing, Jimmy
Bethune, Kristen Swanson, Owen Cannon, TinaJudd and Randy Wittman all of Ferg.
Jeff Cochran and Chris Gray of Ferguson and MaryElizabeth Hannah of MTI in center.
Kim Cates of Ferguson and daugher Erin.
Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009 Page 9
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looking for highly motivatedindividuals to fill territory man-ager positions. An opportunitywith high income potential.Fax resume to 404-816-9652or e-mail: [email protected]
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PHCCCONTINUED from PAGE 3
CONTINUED on PAGE 13
efforts to promote renew-able energy and support apositive environment forbusinesses to succeed.
“The meeting was excel-lent,” Givens said. “Presi-dent Obama was glad tohear that the incentives arehelping business, and askedin particular about somestimulus package compo-nents, like weatherization,that may benefit p-h-c busi-nesses. I was able to reportthat I am actively promotingthe geothermal tax credits tomy customers, which helpsthem save money and helpsmy company get new busi-
Page 12 Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009
Chase Plumbing and Mechanical Chase Plumbing & Me-chanical, Inc. is a private, lo-cally owned and operatedbusiness that has been apart of the Tri-State area forover 8 years. The companyis located at 6112 AirwaysBlvd., in Chattanooga, TN.The company was estab-lished by Mr. Rob Chase inAugust of 2000; it wasstarted with just seven em-ployees and has now grownto employ more than thirty.Focusing mainly on majorcommercial projects, thecompany provides Plumb-
Fabricatinga CareerBy Wally Adamchik
Unemployment is high,and it may go higher. Youmay think I am misguided tobe talking about hiringpeople when you are think-ing about laying them off.Unemployment means op-portunity too. Good candi-dates are looking for jobsand now is your time to findthem. But make sure whatyou think you are getting isactually what you are get-ting. We have had this con-versation before: As a per-son, but more important, asa leader, your word is yourbond. People will not followyou if they cannot trust you.But what about that mis-statement you made yearsago? Should you be penal-
Photo of theMonth
Plumbworks new Inside SalesAssociates “The Green
Monster”
ing, HVAC, Medical GasInstallation, and Service fora wide range of Industries,as well as Moving and Set-ting up Heavy Equipment.Chase Plumbing & Mechani-cal, Inc. is licensed in Ten-nessee, Georgia, and Ala-bama and has a combinedexperience level of over 120years in the Industry. In arecent interview with TheTennessee Plumbing News,Mr. Chase stated that whatmakes his company suc-cessful is his employees,“Our employees are ourbest assets, as we prideourselves in doing the jobright the first time. We are awell rounded company andprovide professional serviceat a competitive price.”
You may contact ChasePlumbing & Mechanical, Inc.at 423 899-7899.
CONTINUED on PAGE 13
Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009 Page 13
ized for that? Opinions varyon this, but the court of pub-lic opinion has weighed in.
Let’s look at a recentcase. Tetra Tech is ranked8th on the EngineeringNews-Record list of Top 500Design firms. Based in Pasa-dena, California, it providesengineering and consultingservices, with about 8,500employees and 275 officesworldwide. Recently, SamW. Box, 62, the President ofthe firm, was demoted for“discrepancies” on his edu-cational record. Clearly inhis years in the industry, Mr.Box has done much goodand contributed a greatdeal. This is confirmed byhis continued employmentat Tetra Tech. I doubt the dis-crepancy had much materialimpact on his technical abil-ity to lead the organization.However, this is a questionof character. In 2001,George O’Leary was se-lected to coach the footballteam at the University ofNotre Dame. Sports Illus-trated reported: GeorgeO’Leary resigned as NotreDame Football coach fivedays after being hired, ad-mitting he lied about his aca-demic and athletic back-ground. O’Leary claimed tohave a master’s degree ineducation and to haveplayed college football forthree years, but checks intohis background showed itwasn’t true. In explaining hiserror, O’Leary commented,“Many years ago, as ayoung married father, Isought to pursue my dreamas a football coach,” he said.“In seeking employment, Iprepared a resume that con-tained inaccuracies regard-ing my completion of coursework for a master’s degreeand also my level of partici-pation in football at my almamater. These misstatementswere never stricken from myresume or biographicalsketch in later years.”
Today, O’Leary is headcoach at the University ofCentral Florida. He is enjoy-ing some success on thefield and his players are per-forming at high levels aca-demically. I am truly glad tosee him back on the field.We can only wonder wherehe would be had he not mis-represented himself yearsago. These episodes remindus that people get hired fortheir competence, their abil-ity to do the work. But theyget fired for character - orlack of it. I am well aware ofthe old proverb that says
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Fabricatingthose who live in glasshouses shouldn’t throwstones. My intent is not tocriticize these two fine men.My intent is to remind every-one that reputations takeyears to develop, secondsto damage, and perhaps alifetime to re-establish.
Tough times like we arein today can cause peopleto do dumb things, like fab-ricate a resume. Higher un-employment means bettercandidates coming in thedoor. This is the perfect timeto pick up a couple of high-caliber team members soyou are ready to go when
the economy recovers. Justmake sure you are gettingwhat you think you are get-ting. Interview well and dothe background checks.These are your two bestmethods to uncover a fab-ricated career. Do this to-day to protect yourcompany’s reputation for alifetime.
Wally Adamchik is thePresident of FireStarterSpeaking and Consulting,a national leadership con-sulting firm based in Ra-leigh, NC. You can emailhim at [email protected]
ness.”Givens said they dis-
cussed how tax credits forrenewable technologies arecreating jobs in the U.S. andhelping drive business oppor-tunities for his firm and otherfirms in the industry. “ThePresident was very pleasedto learn that my first quarter2009 company revenueswere up 85 percent, and thatwe anticipate our best yearever. The biggest problemfacing us is now that thestimulus bill is being enacted,
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PHCC
CONTINUED on PAGE 18
how do we manage suchphenomenal growth?”
Givens, who mentors ahalf-dozen companiesacross the country, saidother firms also are experi-encing increases in salesand net profits. “It’s a mat-ter of mindset and attitude,”he said. “We have phenom-enal services to sell to theAmerican public. And forconsumers influenced bythe ‘gloom and doom’ sto-ries, we have answers withnew tax incentives. “
The PHCC-National As-sociation, formed in 1883,
Page 14 Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009
Scenes from the ASPE Golf Tournament
Ken Blackburn of Lochinvar and Dan Mills of SSR.
Robert Langford and Sam Claxton of SSR.
Bret Thompson and Neil Rolph of Lochinvar.
Chris Dickerson of Lochinvar and John Horst ofGresham,Smith & Partners.
Doug Karaszewski of Gresham,Smith & Partners andTodd Escue of ICT.
Keith Stephens and Kurt Hartle of Mid-AmericaMarketing.
Steve Gilbert of Gilbert, McLaughlin, Casella andGlen and Gary Mahoney of Medtronic
Roger Mauk of Fox Sales and Mike Doychak of PVI.
Kent Brinton and Rocky Goodman of SSR.
Hal Garrett and Derek Crosley of SSR.
Lance Warren and Steve Waggoner of WarrenInsulation.
Cliff Keel and Eric Hudson of Pine Creek GolfCourse.
Theresia Caudill and Teri Gray of Pine Creek
Larry Rains of SSR and Larry Crouch of CrouchSales.
Club House of Pine Creek Golf Course.
Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009 Page 15
Bruce Eakin of Nissan and Cale Fuller of Ferguson.
John Regen of Kelso, Regan & Associates andJohnnie Burns of Ben O'Neal.
Scenes from theASPE Knoxville’sMonthly Meeting
Penny Thomas- Aspe President and Robert Terry ofEngineering Services Group.
Bill Smith and Ken Stuckwish of WWR.
Gary Bergeron of KR& Associates and Marvin Titlowof MBI.
Mike Gregg and Jon Crye of Community Techtonics
Rick Bonno of Cornerstone Commissioning Group. Penny Thomas giving away door prizes
Scenes from the ASPE Nashville Chapter’s Monthly Meeting
Bethany Tinsley and Larry Rains of SSR.
Jim McClain of Wm.M.McClain and Jeff Morales ofDelta Sales.
Barbara Ragland and Vandale Gentry of TLC.
Danny Butler of Mid-America Marketing and LarryCrouch of Crouch Sales.
Gary Mahoney- Aspe President and Tom Fox ofViessmann.
Winston Huff and Alina Segraves of SSR.
John Horst and Malenia Sibley of Gresham,Smith &Partners.
Tom Fox- Guest speaker
Page 16 Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009
Scenes from the 2009 TAPHCC Convention in Nashville
John Wood of Sunbelt and Jeff Hargis of Ferguson.
Eric and Jonathan McCain of McCain Sales andAndy Etheridge of Ferguson in mid.
Ike Casey- Phcc Executive VP
Chip Smith guest speaker
Mississippi Millie McLaine and Tiger Gagan of 'TheDelta Blues Band'.
Larry Knight Jr. of Haws and Jeff Moralesof Delta Sales.
Wallace Hooper of Delta Sales and Jeff Hammond ofInterstate Mechanical.
Jacob Cantree and David Peacock of Peacock Sales.
Randy Batson, Darrell Dillard, Rob Hamptons, andJonathan James all of Merryman-Farr
Kent Bonor and James Kong of Sunbelt Rental.
Jeff Gleespan, Beth Barnett, Stuart Southard, SkipMorris, and Wade Buttrey of Care Supply Company.
Jason Ward and Gary Peterson of Barnett ProContractor Supply.
Keith Stephens and Danny Butler of Mid-AmericaMarketing and Jonathan James of of Merryman-Farr
center.
Luke Blackwelder and Mike Short of D&FDistributors.
Andy Ward- Phcc President of Middle Tennessee.
Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009 Page 17
Scenes from the TAPHCC Golf Tournament
Jeff Bohanof Wiggs, Haun and Bohan, Kathy andChris Debien of Elegant Sales, and
Jack Steakley of Jack Steakley Plumbing.
Dwight Ethridge, Ed Galbreath, me, and ScottRandolph.
Trey Horne of Ferguson, Steve Batson of Well SpringBuilders, Alex Hawkins and Jeremy Howard
of Merryman-Farr.
Stephen Francecon, David Stinson, and Craig Owenof Piedmont Natural Gas.
Daryle Bullock of Oatey, Chris Richey of Kenny Pipe,Michael Davis of Allegis, and Jim
McClain of Wm.M.McClain.
Todd Wallace and Scottie Dotson of FM Sylvan.
Johathan Love and Justin Braden of Lee Company.
Andy Sweeney and Richard Brewer of Lee Company.
The Phcc/Danny burnette Golf Classic trophies andprizes.
Greg Binkley of Kohler and Mike Nix of Aquathern.
Todd Blocker of UES and Roger Shepard of Woolf-Harris.
Tripp Cates of SFE and Jamie Morgan of Ferguson.
Clayton Richardson of Ferguson and Kevin Williamsof 5 Star Plumbing.
John Dundon of Zurn Pex and Jeff Bunch of TranscoProducts.
Eric Johnson of Quality Plumbing and Mechanicaland Ike Casey-Phcc.
Page 18 Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009
Ferguson KnoxvilleFerguson Enterprises,
Inc. of Knoxville, TN wouldl ike to recognize NealThornton and Brittany Dyeras their newest CounterSales Team.
Neal Thornton has beenemployed with Fergusonsince 2005 upon his gradu-ation from the University ofTennessee. His career be-gan with Ferguson Asheville,NC and he now holds theposition of Counter Manageron the Knoxvi l le Ci tyCounter. In a recent inter-
view with The TennesseePlumbing News, Nealstated, “Ferguson is anawesome place to workwith great people and greatcustomers.” He has alsoserved in the Marine CorpsReserve, while spendingone year on active dutyduring a deployment toIraq. Neal currently re-sides in Knoxville with hiswife Ashley; where theyawait the arrival of their firstbaby. When Neal is not atFerguson, he enjoys spend-ing time with his family andgoing to church.
Brittany Dyer began hercareer at Ferguson oneyear ago as a Sales Trainee.She is currently in CounterSales and says she lovesFerguson’s family atmo-sphere. Brittany is earningher Philosophy degree atUniversity of Tennessee andis an active member of theDean’s Advisory Council.When she is not at Fergusonor in school, she is spend-ing time outdoors with herdogs or working in real es-tate.
The Ferguson Counterhas been revamped with anenergized staff and a newinventory to stockKnoxville’s plumbing needs.Stop by the counter at 6422Deane Hill or call them at865-531-8550.
Ferguson’s Neal Thorton, David Harris John Gregory and Ben McClanahan help loyal customersJeff Petree of Scott's Plumbing and commercial plumber Bryan Hicks
provides legislative advo-cacy, education and trainingto more than 4,000 plumb-ing and HVACR businessesand 85,000 technicians.Members of PHCC have ac-cess to a wide variety of ser-vices designed to increasetheir professionalism, growtheir business and improveprofitability. Givens is presi-dent of the Virginia PHCCchapter. Go to www.phccweb.org for moreinformation.
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PHCC
Tennessee Plumbing News - May, 2009 Page 19
Steakley Plumbing
After 30 years in theplumbing business, JackSteakley’s family busi-ness continues to grow.Th is pas t Januar y,Steakley Plumbing movedfrom the 1,500 square-foo t bu i ld ing onBransford Avenue to a5,000 square- foot show-room on Sidco Drive.
Steakley said there areseveral reasons why hisbusiness cont inues tof lour ish . For s ta r te rs ,Jack Steakley is a Nash-v i l l e - cer t i f i ed masterplumber whi le his sonCasey Steakley is a state-certified master plumber.
“First, we’re the onlyplumber ( in Nashvi l le)
that ’s got a showroom.Second, we’re the onlyshowroom tha t ’s gotplumbers,” said Steakley.Having plumbers workingthe f i e ld prov idesSteakley’s showroom at-tendants Rachel Lee andChristy Powell with feed-back direct ly from theplumbers.
“We can tell them whatproblems we’re runningin to ou t in the f ie ld ,”Steakley said.
Beyond the plumber/showroom combination,Steakley said his repairwork along with tanklessheaters and remodelingservice continue to fuelhis business.
Tankless water heatershave increased in popu-larity as their prices havefallen in line with regularwater heaters recently.
“Now our t ank lessbusiness makes up quitea bit of our replacement(work),” Steakley said.
With a tankless life ex-pec tancy o f 20 to 25years Steakley said it ’shard to justify buying aregu la r wa te r hea terthat ’s expected to lastabout 10 years. As con-sumers have star ted to“go green” Steakley seesan increasing trend to-ward tankless water heat-ers and other appliancesand practices.
Steakley has alreadyinstalled some rainwaterharvesting systems usedto flush toilets and irri-gate lawns, and he be-lieves government tax in-centives will increase de-mand for previously cost-prohibi t ive solar waterheaters, which Steakleybegan installing 20 yearsago. Another big part ofSteakley’s business iscomplete bathroom re-modeling.
“We handle it all,” hesaid from the tear out tothe installation of new fix-
tures and tiles to the fin-ishing touches. With theSteakley Select l ine ofproducts, Steakley workswith his manufacturers tocustom order items thatare either special- madefor his showroom or havespecial pr icing. Also,when customers buy aproduct and installationfrom Steakley Plumbingthey get a five-year unlim-i ted labor warranty toboot, so “If you buy fromme and you get a prob-lem, we come fix it- endof story.”
Customers can contactKimberly Granberry forrepair scheduling. As withthe last 15 years SteakleyPlumbing remains a reg-is tered Kohler ser v iceprovider. Steakley is openfrom 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. dur-ing the week and 10 a.m.to 3 p.m. on Saturday.You may contact SteakleyP lumb ing a t 615-394-3714.
