President's Log

The Difference Impact Makes
 

Recently, my daughter gave me a Christmas gift that’s turned into something pretty meaningful—a subscription to StoryWorth. The idea behind it is simple: each week I answer a question about my life, and over time it becomes a collection of stories that my kids, grandkids, and future generations can read someday. You know… so they can remember the good stuff—and maybe confirm a few of the stories I’ve been telling all these years are actually true.

 

As I’ve been working through those questions, I noticed one coming up that I haven’t answered yet: What is the meaning of life? Or maybe better said, how do you define a life well lived? Even though I haven’t written that one yet, I realized I answered that question years ago without even knowing it.

​

About 10 or 12 years ago, my wife asked me what my goal in life was. That question stuck with me, especially because of what had happened just days before. That week, I attended two funerals. The first was for a relative of mine. He had lived a tough life, made some bad decisions, and ultimately passed too young. To be honest, he wasn’t well-liked, and it showed. There were only a handful of people there. At one point, we weren’t even sure if there would be enough people to serve as pallbearers.

​

A few days later, I attended the funeral of a high school friend, Tim. Tim was the kind of guy you don’t forget. He was always smiling, always encouraging, always the first to step up when someone needed help. If you knew Tim, you liked him—it was that simple. That funeral home was packed. Standing room only. And as I stood there, looking around, it hit me—the difference between those two services wasn’t about success, money, or titles. It was about impact. Tim had touched people. He cared about people. And because of that, people cared about him.

​

So when my wife asked me what my goal in life was, my answer surprised even me. I said, “I want to fill a funeral home.” Not because I’m looking for recognition or some kind of legacy built on status. But because I want to know that along the way, I made a difference in people’s lives—that I showed I cared, that I helped, that I left people a little better than I found them. That’s what I believe a life well lived looks like.

 

And when I think about our business, I see a lot of parallels. I don’t want our customers to think of us as just another company that sells tools or supplies. Anyone can do that. What I want is for our customers to feel like their business is better because they work with us—that we’ve helped them solve problems, improve, and grow.

​

Over the years, I’ve said it a lot: put on the customer’s hat. Live with their problems like they’re your own. Help them help themselves. Or as I’ve said before—be their aspirin. Fix headaches. Don’t be one.

​

Now, I know we’re not perfect. None of us are. And there are days where it’s easy to just get through the day, check the boxes, and move on to the next thing. We’ve all been there. But if we can pause every once in a while and ask, “Did I make this customer better today?”—that’s where the difference is made. Because when we truly care—when we go that extra step—that’s what people remember.

 

And when I look across our team, I see a whole lot of people doing exactly that every single day. We’ve built something special here. Not just a company, but a group of people who care—about each other, and about the customers we serve. If we keep doing that, we won’t just grow as a business—we’ll make an impact that actually matters.

 

And in the end, that’s the kind of thing that fills a room.

 

The Next Chapter of Partnership

 

As I’ve spent time reflecting on where we are as a company, one thing stands out to me more than anything else—gratitude. Over the past several years, especially coming out of COVID and the uncertainty that followed, our team has been asked to do more with less. Many of our manufacturing partners have reduced the level of hands-on support they once provided—whether that was ride-alongs, in-person training, or opportunities for our team to learn directly at their facilities. A lot of that shifted to virtual platforms, and in some cases, it simply didn’t get replaced.

​

To be honest, I think that’s a loss—not just for us, but for the partnerships that used to define how we all grew together.

That said, what I’m most proud of is how our team has responded. We didn’t slow down—we stepped up. We’ve continued to grow, continued to serve our customers at a high level, and continued to build knowledge and capability internally, often without the level of support we used to rely on. That says a lot about who we are and the kind of team we’ve built.

But I also believe our vendor partners can—and should—do better.

​

That’s one of the reasons you’ve heard about the program we’ll be launching at the end of this year: the “Herbies.” Inspired by our Christmas video, this will be our way of recognizing and rewarding the vendors who truly partner with us.

 

We’ll be honoring performance across several categories, including:

• Best on-time delivery (company-wide)

• Highest sales growth

• Greatest cost savings contributions

• And at the local level, best overall manufacturer support

 

We’ll be working with Matt Rector and his team to pull KPI-based data, and we’ll also rely on input from our sales team—especially in capturing cost savings and value delivered through inside sales/outside sales reporting to Krista.

​

The goal here is simple: recognize the partners who show up, support our team, and help us win. But just as important, this is a chance for all of us to set expectations. I’d encourage each of you to continue pushing our vendor partners to engage—ask for training, ask for ride-alongs, ask for support. The best partnerships are not passive. They’re built through communication, accountability, and a shared commitment to growth.

​

At the end of the day, we appreciate the vendors who invest in us—and we want more of them to rise to that level. And to our team—thank you. Your effort, adaptability, and commitment have been the difference. Let’s keep building on that momentum.