Distributor-only Networking*

Poolside

Board of Directors Meeting & Working Lunch

Committee Forums:

Program (PDC)

Membership & Marketing

Associate Member

Education, Industry & PR

Distributor-only pre-Reception* (30 minutes)

Welcome Reception & Dinner Party

Scholarship Fund Board of Directors Meeting

General Business Session

 Education:

Wholesale Trends

Human Resources

Economic Update

Future Leaders Council (FLC) Meet-up

All attendees are welcome!

Networking Reception

The Bernie M. Pipan Memorial 5K Walk/Run

Education:

Government Affairs Update

Member-led Session (Roundtables)

Annual Golf Tournament 

Networking Reception

Board of Directors Meeting & Breakfast

Presenters: Wonil Gregg, Vice President of Customer Engagement and Experience, and Helgi Thor Leja, Senior Director, DCPerform

Our featured speakers, Wonil Gregg, and Helgi Thor Leja, will provide insights, commentary, and recommendations for both the eco-system of water globally and impacts to your supply chains locally. Topics include the following:

• Leading Headline H2O Awareness of Today – Hurricane Ian
• Natural consumption vs. man made
• Past 150 years and industrialization
• 100-year forecast using current trends
• How H2O is the new Liquid Gold
• Competing interests and increase in demand
• Politics of water (global regions and local municipalities)
• Impact on the end customer experience

About the Presenters:

Wonil Gregg

Wonil Gregg has 25+ years in supply chain and logistics with focus on delivering solutions enabling world class customer outcomes. With the end consumer in mind, Wonil has led teams including logistics/distribution SME’s, mechanical/industrial engineers, and software developers in designing solutions to meet the changing needs of the marketplace.

Wonil has a unique background from process engineering to sales/marketing, building a customer success organization, executive leadership, and as a prior officer in the United States Navy. He’s also a Red Sox enthusiast – Go Sox!

Helgi Thor Leja

Helgi works with leading Distributors to drive supply chain improvements that result in top-line growth and bottom-line efficiencies. He is an innovative supply chain strategist who helps customers transform their complex distribution operations for competitive advantage. He leads by developing a strong business case for investment through collaboration and gaining alignment across a diverse group of stakeholders. 

Helgi has helped Clients including Callaway Golf, Vallen Distribution, Intcomex, Go Plus, AutoNation, Tech Data, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Milwaukee Tool, Moen, Avnet, and MSC Industrial – whose projects resulted in the single biggest cost-down initiative in MSC Industrial’s long and storied history.  

He has a B.S. in Financial Management (International Finance) from Clemson University and a M.S. in Management (Operations and Production Management) from Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business!

Presenter: Chad V. Sorenson, Adaptive HR Solutions, LLC

Cultivating talent is tough these days. However, there are a few strategies that your company can employ to find, engage, and keep team members, especially individual who are new to the workforce or simply less seasoned.  

The following topics will be addressed:

• Discuss the reasons behind current recruiting and retention challenges,
• Identify techniques to attract more candidates,
• Review common onboarding mistakes and ways to correct them,
• Understand the importance of Company Culture and the impact on retention, and
• Discover how manager training is critical to an effective workforce

About the Presenter:

Chad Sorenson

Chad Sorenson is the President of Adaptive HR Solutions and has over 25 years of diverse business, communications and human resource experience.

He works with companies throughout the Southeast U.S. that range from 5 to 1,200 employees and focuses on leadership development, manager training, employee performance management and employer compliance in industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, construction trades, and professional services organizations. Chad also works with trade associations providing HR support to member companies.  Prior to founding Adaptive HR Solutions in 2008, Chad was Vice President, Director, and Manager of Human Resources for several companies in the Jacksonville area.

Chad serves as the 2021-2022 President of the HR Florida State Council which represents over 16,000 HR professional across Florida as the state affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management.  He was also the President of SHRM Jacksonville in 2015 and 2016.  He is certified as a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). Chad regularly speaks to other SHRM Chapters, business associations, and companies across the region on topics such as leadership development and employee engagement. 

In addition to giving back to the HR field, Chad is actively involved in his church and has been a volunteer leader with Boy Scouts for over 12 years.  He is an Eagle Scout and a graduate of Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. The keys to his success are Devotion to God, Dedication to Family, Continuous Service, Lifetime Learning, and Always Remembering to Laugh.

Presenter: Zack Perconti, Principal, Government Affairs Solutions, LLC and WASDA Director of Government Affairs

Join us for this update on what is happening on The Hill in Washington, DC! It’s a New Year with a new U.S. Congress in session. A review of current regulatory activity and the impact of H.R. 3684 – U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on the waterworks industry will be addressed.  

About the Presenter:

Zack Perconti

Zack Perconti, a graduate of the College of William & Mary and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, has worked on infrastructure and labor issues since 2016. He has deep knowledge of U.S. legislative, budgetary, and regulatory processes and is an expert on grassroots communication. This has translated into high effectiveness in achieving clients’ government-relations objectives. Zack is an accomplished home chef, and he enjoys hiking with his wife, Ariela, and their dog, Sadie.

Presenter: Chris Kuehl, Ph.D., Armada Corporate Intelligence

Last February in Naples, you heard this presenter offer in industry-tailored assessment of issues, challenges, and strategies to grow your business over the next year. He’s back in 2023 to review what has happened in the U.S. during the past 10 to 12 months and how it may impact your business.  

About the Presenter: 

Dr. Christopher Kuehl (PhD)

Chris Kuehl, PhD is a Managing Director of Armada Corporate Intelligence and one of the co-founders of the company in 1999. He has been Armada’s economic analyst and has worked with a wide variety of private clients and professional associations in the last ten years. He is the Chief Economist for the National Association for Credit Management and is on the Board of Advisors for their global division – Finance, Credit and International Business. He prepares NACM’s monthly Credit Managers Index. He is the Economic Analyst for the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association and writes their bi-weekly publication, Fabrinomics, which details the impact of economic trends on the manufacturer. 

Chris is the chief editor for the Business Intelligence Briefs, distributed all over the world by business organizations and he is one of the primary writers (with Keith Prather) for the Executive Intelligence Briefs. He also makes close to a hundred presentations each year to business and industry associations in the US and overseas. He is on the Board of the Business Information Industry Association in Hong Kong and serves as a resource for the media and for many trade publications.

Chris has a doctorate in Political Economics and advanced degrees in Soviet Studies and Asian Studies and was a professor of international economics and finance for over 15 years prior to starting Armada.