102•
VIEWPOINT
Embassy Group celebrates 20 years in style O
BY MARY JO MARTIN Editorial director
ne of the great joys I’m afforded through my po- sition with The Wholesaler is the ability to con- nect with so many incredible people and
organizations from around the country. It was a real thrill for me to cover the Embassy Group
Ltd. Spring Conference this year for the very first time, and to see the chemistry that has developed between its mem- bers, vendors and staff. A heartfelt thank you to Wally Gumm and Maureen Cosyns of Embassy, two of the nicest
people you’d ever want to meet, who went out of their way to make this rookie feel at home at their event. The JW Marriott Hill Country Resort near San Antonio was the venue for the Em-
bassy meeting this year. This phenomenal property and very attentive and personable staff had everyone singing its praises, and hoping for an opportunity to return. The conference opened with a day of meetings for Embassy’s HVAC members and vendors, before kicking off the Plumbing Division the following day. A lot of important business was accomplished during these conference booth sessions. Of course, there were also plenty of networking opportunities at various receptions, lunches and as folks gathered in the evenings in the different venues around the hotel. But the highlight of the conference had to be the spectacular 20th anniversary party Embassy threw at Knibbe Ranch. Tour busses picked everyone up at the hotel and transported us to the ranch about 30 minutes away, with — appropriately — highlights from City Slickers playing on the TV monitors to put everyone in the mood. Upon ar- rival, guests were greeted by a delicious spread of down-home cooking, including steak, chicken, shrimp, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, biscuits and much more. Shortly after dinner, Embassy’s Wally Gumm took the stage for a very special pres- entation. Wally began by sharing some background on the history of Embassy, which was initially spearheaded by Coburn Supply, International Supply and Mountain Coun- try Supply. Ten more distributors were soon added, which helped officially get the or- ganization off the ground. Out of the original 13 distributors, nine are still with the group today, along with 10 of the original 14 vendors.Wally gave special recognition to both John Vogt — formerly with International and now at National Wholesale — and Don Maloney of Coburn’s for their foresight, vision and dedication in forming the group and laying the groundwork for its success. He laughed when describing how the group’s name was chosen: “Being the brainiacs we were, and since all the meetings were held at the Embassy Suites around O’Hare,
Advertisers Index
A.Y. McDonald............................BC
www.aymcdonald.com American Express.........................15
www.open.com/plum Anderson Metals.............................6
www.andersonmetals.com Anvil International........................34
www.anvilintl.com
Apollo .....................................35, 89
www.apollovalves.com Arrowhead Brass ..........................52
www.arrowheadbrass.com Black Swan...................................42
www.blackswanmfg.com Bradley Corp.................................45
www.bradleycorp.com Bradford White .............................87
www.bradfordwhite.com BrassCraft .....................................91
www.brasscraft.com
Briggs............................................99
www.briggsindustries.com Bonney Forge................................95
www.bonneyforge.com
Cash Acme....................................83
ww.cashacme.com CBM Sales....................................79
www.cbmsales.com C&C Industries.............................43
www.candcvalve.com
CD Sales .......................................77
www.centraldistributionsales.com Central Components .....................71
www.centralcomponents.com Century Brass................................30
www.centurysalesmfg.com Clearwater.....................................44
www.scaleblaster.com Core Pipe ......................................25
www.corepipe.com DDI System ..................................31
www.ddisys.com
Forgings, Flanges and Fittings......28
www.onestoppvf.com Franklin Electric ...........................73
www.franklin-electric.com/lg General Pipe Cleaners, a div. of General Wire Spring............11, 68
www.drainbrain.com Global Stainless Supply................29
www.onestoppvf.com Holyoke Fittings ...........................64
www.holyokefittings.com
JMF...............................................18
www.jmfcompany.com John Guest ....................................58
www.johnguest.com
Kessler ..........................................39
www.ksdusa.com Kinka Kikai...................................75
www.kinkavalves.com
•THE WHOLESALER® —MAY 2011
some genius suggested ‘Why not Embassy Group?’ Thus enter the lawyers — and after about $5,000 worth of researching the name, we became Embassy Group Ltd.” After some brief comments by John and Don, they introduced the original member companies that are still involved in Embassy, and invited everyone representing those companies to come to the front of the room for a special presentation with a 20th an- niversary cake. Also in honor of the occasion, Anvil’s John Martin — a regular con- tributor to The Wholesaler — read a special poem he had penned. But that certainly wasn’t the end of the evening! We were also treated to incredible music by two very special groups. The first, our
very own all-industry band called “The Incentives,” was led by lead singer John Mar- tin, and included Steve Harper from Chris-More in Memphis, Randy Grebel from Bemis, John Kane from Mission Rubber, and Jim Doerfler from Mill-Rose. They did a number of traditional country hits, including “Living on Tulsa Time” and “Rambling Fever.” There was also a fantastic local band that played a wide variety of country and Southern Rock, which helped spur everyone to get on the dance floor. Every detail was meticulously planned, and took advantage of the grounds surround-
ing the main ranchhouse. A red pickup was conveniently set up nearby, filled with ice and beer, and adorned with a beautiful ice sculpture commemorating the 20th anniver- sary. Cigars were also readily available. Nearby, a mechanical bull drew those who wanted to try to go “8 seconds.” And I must say, there were quite a few who showed the crowd some pretty good moves. A live bull drew a lot of interest as well, and its handlers enthusiastically helped the brave souls in the crowd mount up for pictures. And as darkness fell, we were treated to our own private fireworks show; a perfect way to cap off this spectacular night. Once again, a special thanks to Wally, Maureeen and everyone involved with Em-
bassy for their hospitality — but more importantly for their dedication and hard work in keeping this group vibrant, relevant and valuable to members and vendors alike. It is organizations like this that are helping to ensure the future of independent wholesale distribution across our industry. For more about the Embassy Conference, be sure to check out pages 76 and 78 for
photos I shot on site. There is also a photo collage and news article on pages 72 and 74 from the recent WIT Spring Meeting that I attended in Dallas. I invite you to check out a number of videos from both events in the “On the Road” section of our website. And stay tuned for the next issue of The Wholesaler, when I’ll bring you an up-close look at the insightful remarks on the status and future of the economy that were made by Fortune Brands CEO Bruce Carbonari, who was WIT’s keynote speaker.
n
Mary Jo Martin is editorial director of TheWholeSaler. She can be reached at 972- 315-9803 or
editor@thewholesaler.com.
Kohler ...........................................65
www.kohler.com
Legend Valve ..............................IFC
www.legendvalve.com Liberty Pumps...............................19
www.libertypumps.com
LG.................................................17
www.lghvac.com Lubrizol.........................................26
www.fbcsystemcompatible.com Matco Norca ...................................9
www.matco-norca.com Merit Brass....................................33
www.meritbrass.com
Navien...................................51, 101
www.navienamerica.com
Pentair...........................................61
www.youbleedgreen.com Precision Plumbing Products........20
www.pppinc.net Quietside.......................................59
www.quietside.com Red-White Valve Corp..................81
www.redwhitevalvecorp.com
Stainless Imports...........................37
www.sanitube.us
Ta Chen ......................................IBC
www.tachen.com
Taylor Forge Stainless ..................97
www.taylorforgestainless.com United Pipe ...................................13
www.united-pipe.com
Val-Fit, Inc. ...................................67
www.valfit.com
W.O.I.............................................21
www.woihouston.com
Walworth.......................................93
www.twcousa.com
Warren Alloy...................................7
www.warrenalloy.com
Rheem...........................................53
www.rheem.com Service Metal Products.................41
www.servicemetal.net Slant/Fin........................................10
www.slantfin.com Smith Cooper..................................5
www.smithcooper.com Speedclean ....................................12
www.speedclean.com
Ward Mfg. Co ...............................63
www.wardmfg.com
Webstone.......................................49
www.webstonevalves.com
Weldbend ................................22, 23
www.weldbend.com
Westbrook .....................................57
www.westbrookmfg.com
J.C. Whitlam .................................27
www.jcwhitlam.com
Your Other Warehouse..................47
www.yourotherwarehouse.com Zurn Plumbing Products...............69
www.zurn.com
Tapco...........................54, 55, 84, 85
www.tapcogenuinepartscenter.com
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