PMI highlights 2007 spring meeting.

Press Release Summary:



At spring meeting held from April 1-4, PMI President Ken Martin, Senior Director, Commercial Product Development of Delta Faucet Company welcomed 61 attendees, 11 spouses, 13 speakers, and 2 trade press. Future is NOW theme was played out all day Monday, with variety of speakers who addressed future of things to come. Various product-, standing-, and issue-committees convened Tuesday to examine how impending changes impact their various disciplines.



Original Press Release:



Highlights Of The PMI 2007 Spring Meeting



Schaumburg, IL - The PMI Spring 2007 Meeting convened April 1-4 at the Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina nestled amidst the Blue Ridge Mountains, but still just a short ride to downtown, Asheville, a culture rich city.

PMI President Ken Martin, Senior Director, Commercial Product Development of Delta Faucet Company welcomed 61 attendees, 11 spouses, 13 speakers and two trade press to this year's meeting. Following the Board of Directors' meeting, a "First Time Attendee and New Members" reception gave special attention to these individuals. Mr. Martin acknowledged them at the General Membership Meeting on Sunday evening. He presented, William Ball with the PMI Quarter Century Club Plaque for his company's 25 years of membership joining 12 other PMI member companies in this exclusive group. Ken Martin also recognized Tom White, who was not in attendance, for his service as a member of the PMI Board of Directors. The General Membership Meeting concluded with a preview of the following days' events.

The theme "The Future is NOW" was played out all day Monday, with a variety of speakers who addressed the future of things to come. Through a series of presentations and discussions, meeting attendees explored the challenges of water conservation, labor shortages, increasing non-science based legislation and the impact on the individual as well as on our industry. The day was facilitated by "Futurist," Ed Barlow of Creating The Future, Inc. Popular and frequent PMI guest Carl Cullotta, Vice President/Senior Partner, Frank Lynn and Associates presented "Your Future is Calling - But Are You Tuned In?" Other speakers featured during the Monday morning program were, Tracy Mehan, Principal, The Cadmus Group, Inc. who presented, "The Future of Water Conservation," Luke Lambert, and Dick Wolfe, both Senior Executives with Gibbs & Soell Inc. shared their expertise on "Communicating Green: Getting Ahead of the Curve. The morning concluded with a panel of these morning speakers who discussed "Construction, Conservation and Communication."

David Calabrese, Vice President, Government Relations, Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) kicked off the afternoon with his presentation, "The Changing Arena of Regulations and Legislation" and PMI lobbyists, (California) Jerry Desmond, Desmond and Desmond; (Massachusetts) Matt Fisher, Johnson Haley LLP and (National) Christian Richter, The Policy Group joined Mr. Calabrese for a panel discussion.

The afternoon events continued with Russ Chaney, Executive Director of IAPMO and a WPC Board Member, who explained the role of the World Plumbing Council (WPC) of which PMI has recently become a member, and its initiative to build closer ties with the World Health Organization (WHO). A local guest, Jerry Vehaun, Director of Emergency Services of Buncombe County followed with "Crisis Management -How Can Companies Cope?" Clark Ellis brought attendees his presentation, "Leading in the 21st Century: The Culture of the Emerging Workforce and back for a third time was Dr. Jack Bacon, Futurist who shared his views on, "Human Capital: Education, Information, Technology and the Workforce." The day concluded with a panel of these four speakers who discussed, "The Workforce of the Future."

Monday evening attendees took in some traditional North Carolina entertainment at the PMI Networking reception which featured, "The Southern Appalachian Cloggers and Blue Grass Band."

Following the macro discussion of the future, the various product-, standing-, and issue,- committees convened Tuesday to examine how these impending changes impact their various disciplines, as well as tended to the action items left open from the PMI Fall Meeting. Featured speakers in these committee meetings on Tuesday were Peter Biermayer of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) who presented "Trends in Shower Design and Their Effect on Energy and Water Use," Pat Cleary of The National Association of Manufacturers, (NAM) whose entertaining and poignant presentation, "Blogging Your Way to the Top - It's Not your Father's Advocacy Campaign," made a big impact on attendees. Jim Olsztynski, Editor, Plumbing and Mechanical Magazine, reviewed Plumbing Industry Web Tactics: E-commerce, Portals, Forums, Critiques and Trolls, and Yvonne Orgill, Commercial Director, Bathroom Manufacturers Association presented "A View From The UK." The new streamlined format of the PMI committee meetings continued through Wednesday with a full four hours of meetings which began with "The Importance of Improving Hot Water Systems" presented by Gary Klein of the California Energy Commission and concluded with the Government Affairs Standing Committee followed by the Material Performance Committee.

In place of the traditional Tuesday night keynote address, and as a departure from the future talk, attendees took a step back into history for an optional special outing to the historic and luxurious Biltmore Estate for a tour of the mansion, a cocktail reception, and dinner. The meeting concluded at noon on April 4, 2007.

PMI will hold its 2007 Fall Meeting October 7-10, 2007 Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA (Washington DC).

PMI Mission Statement
To Promote the water efficiency, health, safety and quality of plumbing products while maximizing consumer choice and value in a fair and open marketplace.
To provide a forum for the exchange of information and industry education.
To represent the members' interests in the regulatory/legislative processes.
To enhance the plumbing industry's growth and expansion.

The Plumbing Manufacturers Institute is the voluntary, not-for-profit national trade association of manufacturers of plumbing products serving as the Voice of the Plumbing Industry. Member companies of PMI produce a substantial quantity of the nation's plumbing products. For more information on PMI or its semi-annual meetings, contact the Institute at 1340 Remington Road, Suite A, Schaumburg, Ill., 60173; or via phone (847) 884-9PMI (9764), facsimile (847) 884-9775, or website www.pmihome.org.

PMI will hold its 2007 Fall Meeting October 7-10, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA.

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