ABSDA Held it's Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, June 18th in Dartmouth, Nnoa Scotia with approximately 25 Members in attendance.

The election of the 2019/20 ABSDA Board of Directors to place at that time. Three Directors retired from the Board following five years of dedicated service:

Paul Adair, Northumberland Co-op Supply Centre

Rene Landry, Shaw Resources

Malcolm Orr, IKO/CRC

New Directors welcomed to the Board include:

Tanya Hanson Rocca, Roblynn Home Hardware Building Centre

Cheryl Allen, Johns Manville Canada Inc

Richard Boulet, Resisto Division of Soprema

ABSDA is pleased to congratulate the successful applicants for the 2019 Scholarship & Bursary Program. These selections were chosen through external adjudication.

ABSDA Scholarship Recipients

Kaitlyn Allaby of McLeod Hill, NB
$2,500 Scholarship Recipient
Member Sponsor Firm: Percy Jones & Sons Ltd.
Enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts Program at St. Thomas University

Samuel Anderson of Goulds, Newfoundland & Labrador
$2,500 Scholarship Recipient
Member Sponsor Firm: Mount Carmel Building Supplies
Enrolled in the Bachelor of Science Program at Acadia University

Dylan Corkum of East Amherst, Nova Scotia
$2,500 Scholarship Recipient
Member Sponsor Firm: Kent Building Supplies
Enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce Program at Mount Allison University

Hayley Elliott of Brookfield, Nova Scotia
$2,500 Scholarship Recipient
Member Sponsor Firm: Brookfield Lumber & Building Suplies
Enrolled in the Business Administration Program at Nova Scotia Community College

ABSDA Bursary Recipients

Alvenia Eleponga of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
$1,500 Bursary Recipient
Member Sponsor Firm: Proudfoot's Home Hardware Building Centre
Enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Psycology Program at St. Marys University

Courtney Guy of Plate Cove West, Newfoundland & Labrador
$1,500 Bursary Recipient
Member Sponsor Firm: Kent Building Supplies
Enrolled in the Bachelor of Science Program at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador

Essa Hashem of Halifax, Nova Scotia
$1,500 Bursary Recipient
Member Sponsor Firm: Kent Building Supplies
Enrolled in the Bachelor of Science Program at Dalhousie University

Aubry MacDonald of Hunter River, Prince Edward Island
$1,500 Bursary Recipient
Member Sponsor North Rustico Home Centre
Enrolled in the Construction Technologies Program at Holland College

 
July 4

ABSDA Golf Tournament     * SOLD OUT *

Dieppe, NB

August 7 - 9

Castle Buying Expo

Halifax, NS

August 22 - 24

Orgill Fall Dealer Market

Chicago, IL

September 11 - 12

BMR’s Seasonal Products and Imports Buying Show

Saint-Hyacinthe, QC

September 22 - 24     

Home Hardware Fall Dealer Market

St. Jacobs, ON

October 17 - 18

RONA and Ace Canada Buying Show presented by Lowe’s Canada

Montreal, QC

November 6 - 8

BMR Fall/Winter Buying Show

Quebec City, QC

November 13 - 14

Hardlines Conference

King City, ON

EAB EXCHANGE-A-BLADE announced that it has joined the “Well Made Here / Bien fait ici” program. The program promotes the purchase of quality building materials and other items manufactured in Canada.

             “We are very proud of our commitment to sustainable manufacturing and remanufacturing while focusing on local production, supporting the local economy and creating jobs in Canada.  We are positive that our partnership with the Well Made Here program will help us share our vision while increasing the awareness of Canadian Quality products” said Danny Wight, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at EAB Exchange-A-Blade. 

Some of the benefits of this new partnership include: 

·         Customers can find good quality, Canadian made products

·         Well Made Here will increase trust in Canadian-made products

·         Together we will support our economy and Canadian manufacturing jobs

                    Sean MacCormack

Home Hardware Stores Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean MacCormack as Chief Financial Officer, effective June 12th. 

A 25-year finance veteran of Canadian retail, Mr. MacCormack has extensive experience in food, pharmacy and general merchandise categories in roles supporting corporate and franchise business models. His past roles have included extensive financial planning & analysis, corporate finance (treasury, investor relations and risk) and internal audit.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sean as our new Chief Financial Officer,” said Kevin Macnab, President & CEO, Home Hardware Stores Limited. “He is a results-focused leader with extensive financial experience and a deep understanding of Canadian retail and will play a critical role in our journey to be Canada's most trusted and preferred home improvement retail brand.”

“I am excited to join Home Hardware, an organization with a strong brand and reputation,” said Sean MacCormack. “I look forward to contributing my knowledge and experience working with business partners and Home Dealers to support the growth of the company.”  

Prior to joining Home Hardware, Sean held senior executive roles at major retailers including Loblaw Companies Limited and Sears Canada. Most recently, he served as SVP for Loblaw Companies’ largest division, including the operator-owned No Frills banner. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University, followed by completing his CMA designation with the Society of Management Accountants of Ontario.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, our Dealer-Owners and the team at our Dealer Support Centres, I want to thank Vice-President, Finance, Grant Knowlton for 30 years of service at Home Hardware,” added Kevin Macnab. “He leaves behind an incredible legacy and has contributed greatly to our growth and success. We wish him all the best in his upcoming retirement.”

Orgill, Inc. will be expanding its network of distribution facilities with the addition of a 780,000 square foot distribution centre in Rome, New York.

The new facility will be Orgill’s eighth full-service distribution centre, in addition to locations currently operating in Tifton, Georgia; Inwood, West Virginia; Sikeston, Missouri; Hurricane, Utah; Kilgore, Texas; Post Falls, Idaho; and London, Ontario.

“We are excited to announce this expansion to our distribution network and look forward to the enhanced efficiencies this will create for our customers as we move forward,” says Ron Beal, Orgill’s chairman and CEO.

The primary reason for the addition of the new Rome, NY, facility is to provide faster and more efficient service to Orgill’s growing customer base in the northeastern U.S.  The new facility will service customers in seven states throughout the Northeast, including New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

These customers are currently served out of the Orgill distribution centre in West Virginia but the addition of the new facility will streamline the delivery process.

“As we continue to see our customer base expand, we are committed to making the investments that will deliver better, more efficient service to them both now and well into the future,” says Boyden Moore, president. “This announced distribution expansion is a perfect example of that commitment in action.” 

Home Hardware has announced the strategic realignment of the LBM Merchandise Manager roles with the hiring of Susan Ryan to the new created position of Merchandise Manager – Millwork as well as the appointment of Mark Pardue to the role of Merchandise Manager – Building Materials effective June 3rd, 2019. 

Susan Ryan joins Home Hardware with over 20 years of Millwork experience with Rona/Lansing. Prior to the appointment, Mark Pardue held the position of Merchandise Manager – LBM Ontario.

Both will now report to Doug Shantz, Director, Merchandise LBM.

“We believe that this realignment will serve to enhance our strong national and regional LBM merchandise programs, optimize our supplier partnerships and enable us to execute on our vision to be Canada’s most trusted and preferred home improvement retail brand,” said Marianne Thompson, Vice-President, Merchandise LBM, Home Hardware Stores Limited. “Both Susan and Mark bring a significant amount of expertise to their new roles and will be execute driving our LBM growth strategy National in their perspective categories.”

ABSDA offers a series of on-line Training Videos for Members and Staff. This on-line training program is specifically designed to promote sales skills & customer service and is available on the ABSDA Website as a Member Benefit.

The series incorporates five programs listed below, each with a compliment of videos which last between 6 minutes and 15 minutes in length.

• A.C.E.S. – Around Customers Everyone Sells - 14 Videos

• Contractor S.A.L.E.S. – Skills and Attitudes Leading to Exceptional Selling - 13 Videos

• Building A Championship Team - 18 Videos

• On The Bottom Line - 17 Videos

• The Big 8 Most Important Selling Skills - 8 Videos

You and your staff can access these programs on the ABSDA website (www.absda.ca) or by clicking on the following link.

http://www.absda.ca/online-education-program