An ALLPRO® Publication JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
By: Scott Morath
Change is Inevitable but Never Easy Over the past few years we’ve discussed the changes that have been taking place here at ALLPRO HQ on more than one occasion. I dare say it’s almost to the point where this article may sound a bit repetitive. Still, our industry is not known for being the vanguard for change – quite the opposite. Let’s face it, if this were the tech industry we’d be driving the change just for the sake of it and enjoying every minute of it. That’s not our industry though. We’re in the paint industry, which doesn’t lend itself to frequent change. Perhaps that’s why we tend to resist it. Once we’re comfortable with a process, business practice or even a staff member, we like whatever it is to stay that way. The only exception is when the change is our idea. That makes how we handle change as an organization extremely important. It’s important to be as transparent as we can be and keep our members and other stakeholders up to date. If you know where we are in the process and that there is a plan, it tends to set people at ease. Most of our readers are probably aware that Vice President of Business Development, Vic Meier will be retiring at the end of this upcoming Spring Show. Vic has been with ALLPRO since 1999 and has been a fixture in our industry
since…well, let’s not go into that. Suffice it to say Vic’s been around the block a few times. Not far behind Vic will be the man himself, our Executive Vice President Joe Poliseo, whose official retirement date was announced at the recent Stockholder Meeting. Joe will be retiring from full time in 2016. Joe’s been at ALLPRO’s helm since 1978 and a fixture everywhere else for just as long. It goes without saying that’s a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge, and a lot of ALLPRO that will be leaving us. Couple that with the SAP software conversion, a reengineered website that we’ll be rolling out around mid-year, and a bunch of new faces we still haven’t gotten used to and that’s a lot of change in a short period. If you aren’t following along very closely, one day soon may wake up to a very different ALLPRO than you’ve ever known. Not different in our mission or scope of service – just different personalities and processes. The important take away from this article is that while these changes are inevitable and certainly won’t be easy, they are being managed. In past issues we introduced you to Jonathan Garrett, who came aboard as our CFO early in 2013. Marty Applebee was brought on later that same year as the
Distribution Manager for our two DCs. Each brings a specialized skill set that will ensure their respective areas of responsibility are effectively managed going forward. Additionally, we’ve added Jon Clemmons as our Warehouse Coordinator, Susie Fontana as our Marketing Coordinator, and Olivia Davis, and Danielle Hernandez as Account Reps. Each brings different competencies to their respective departments that’ll help ensure ALLPRO continues to provide value to its members and stakeholders. Regarding Vic’s retirement this year, the Board of Directors is actively engaged with Joe and the Business Team to ensure continuity of service to the membership. Likewise, the Board recently announced the formation of a Transition Committee whose purpose is to ensure the continuity of leadership within the organization once Joe retires. The committee is comprised of our current president, vice president and past two presidents and is actively addressing the biggest change that’s yet to come. So bear with us as we continue to address this in future articles and other platforms – our goal is not to be repetitive but to inform and set at ease.