Tracy Lehman of Pacific Warehouse Sales (Chino, California) was elected president of the Pacific-West Fastener Association at a recent meeting of the Pac-West Board of Directors. Rick Peterson of All-West Components & Fasteners (Seattle, Washington) was elected as the association’s vice president, and Dallas Puckett of Valley Nut and Bolt (Olympia, Washington) was reelected secretary/treasurer. Russ Doran of Timberline Fasteners (Commerce City, Colorado) stays on the Board as immediate past president. Kevin Chavis of Porteous Fastener Company (Santa Fe Springs, California) and Tim Roberto Jr. of Star Stainless Screw (Union City, California) were elected by the Pac-West membership to serve three-year terms on the Board of Directors.

Other members of the Pac-West Board are Kristine Albertalli of H. W. Eckhardt (Huntington Beach, California), Josh Glaser of Glaser & Associates (Carmichael, California), Jennifer Harder of Empire Bolt & Screw (Spokane, Washington), Garth Jax of Copper State Bolt and Nut (Denver, Colorado), and John Wachman of Desert Distribution (Scottsdale, Arizona). At the association’s recent annual conference, tribute was paid to retiring Board members Andy Cohn of Duncan Bolt (Santa Fe Springs, California), Rosa Hearn of Brighton Best International (Santa Fe Springs, California), and Ed Smith of Porteous Fastener Company (Denver,Colorado).

Pac-West’s 2013 fall conference took place September 18-21 at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver, British Columbia. The conference featured the perfect mix of stimulating educational programs and fun events. The conference started off with more than 60 conference attendees learning the ice sport curling techniques and then competing against each other during a fun-filled and injury-free evening. Players were divided up into two leagues (Beaver League and Moose League) and then into smaller teams. Kevin Chavis, Bill Howe of H.W. Eckhardt (Huntington Beach, California), Alison Hubbard of North State Fastener (Sunnyvale, California), and Ryan and Sherri McCaffrey of R&D Fasteners (Rancho Cucamonga, California) all were on the winning team.

“Define Success and Make It Happen” was featured on the conference’s second day, with practical business planning and management tips from Vicki Merrill (www.dsamih.com) including guidelines for defining higher potential employees and for 360 evaluations. Lunch time that day included Ignite presentations. Ignite is a global phenomenon, operating under the motto, “Enlighten us, but make it quick.” Presentations are limited to 20 slides that automatically advance every fifteen seconds, giving speakers five minutes maximum to get their point across.

The Fall Conference Ignite presenters included Josh Glaser and Ron Stanley of Empire Bolt & Screw (Spokane, Washington). A last-minute addition to the conference program was an update on the threaded rod anti-dumping case by Andy Cohn and Rosa Hearn, with a statement from Greg Iverson of Bay Standard (Brentwood, California) read to the audience and an audio clip from a Fully Threaded Radio interview with Don Haggerty of Stelfast (Edison, New Jersey). Our popular Business Owners Forum and Business Executives Forum also occurred on day two of the conference.Always one of the most highly rated sessions of every conference, attendees share experiences and solutions in a frank interchange. The conference’s second day ended with a reception and dinner, featuring a Canadian trivia contest. The final day of the conference offered a panel presentation on “Disaster Planning for Your Fastener Business.” Panelists included Andy Cohn, Kelly Cole from WCL Company (City of Industry, California), Hans Fuller of Fuller Metric (Surrey, British Columbia), Jennifer Harder, and Tim Roberto Jr.

The conference closed with a “Party with the Canadians” at the beautiful False Creek Yacht Club. Pac-West is grateful for the generous hospitality of the party hosts Trevor Borland of Pacific Bolt Manufacturing (New Westminster, British Columbia), Hans Fuller, and Keith Shaback of Pacific Fasteners (Burnaby, British Columbia).

Pac-West’s next conference will be a joint conference with the National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA). It will take place February 12-16 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells, California. Also on the schedule for 2014 is the Pac-West Fall Conference, August 6-10 at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.