Business of Convention Concludes With Thank You’s and The Changing of the Guard
The Closing General Business Session kicked off with the Industry Keynote presentation, as Linde CEO Sanjiv Lamba addressed the crowd. He discussed the historic evolution that Linde has gone through over the past 144 years, including the recent merger with Praxair and acquisition of nexAir. He then shared some of the exciting initiatives that Linde has in the process as well as his perspective on the impending energy transition.
Lamba was followed by a presentation from Will Bowen, the world authority on complaining. Will talked about how complainers are “energy vampires” and discussed strategies for dealing with people who complain, as well as strategies for recognizing why we complain and how we can stop doing it, and he did it all with his signature humorous and relatable style.
After Will’s presentation, GAWDA Past President Bob Ewing took the stage to introduce Laura Brumsey with the CGA, who presented this year’s 2022 GAWDA Distributor Safety Award Winners. This year’s winners are:
- 100,000 or Fewer Employee Hours – Core Industrial Gases
- More than 100,000 Employee Exposure Hours – Mid South Welding Supply
Then, Bob Ranc from WEMCO took the stage to present the WEMCO Award of Excellence. Congratulations to General Air for winning this year’s Excellence in Welding Award for the Distributor Category. Bob also announced that next year’s WEMCO and RWMA Annual Meeting will precede GAWDA’s SMC in San Antonio at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk from April 19-21, 2024. He encouraged GAWDA’s Supplier Members to come to San Antonio early to participate in the Annual Meeting.
And finally, Robert Anders took the stage to introduce this year’s President Award of Excellence recipient, Terry Hall. Terry becomes just the 10th Recipient of GAWDA’s highest award, in recognition of all his work throughout his long and storied career at Messer.
