By Gary Halter and Steve Guglielmo
Gary Halter officially took the oath of office as GAWDA President in Maui, Hawaii in 2023. Since then, he has devoted each day as President to fulfilling his promise of “Leading with Purpose and Serving with Heart.” When he took the office of President, Gary laid out his agenda as President, coming back to the acronym IMPACT Leadership. Now, as Gary prepares to hand the baton of President off to Eric Wood in Phoenix, we had the opportunity to speak with Gary during the Northeast Regional Meeting as he reflected on this long and wild journey as GAWDA President.
The following is a lightly edited transcript of the interview. To see the full interview, watch the September 1st episode of GAWDA TV, which can be seen by scanning the QR Code below.
Welding & Gases Today: Gary, we’re entering the home stretch of your year as GAWDA President. Can you tell what this whole experience has been like for you?
Gary Halter: It has been awesome. Probably one of the best experiences of my 40-year career. As I said to Natasha, John Ospina and Eric Wood just last week, I’m going to truly miss this.
WGT: You’re obviously a planner and you did your homework before you started this process. But has there been anything about your year as president that has surprised you at all?
Gary: That’s a good question. I’ve been part of the board since 2019, mainly because of the COVID year. So, I think what I can say is that I really understood what was taking place within GAWDA and how it worked, before becoming president. But the one thing that really surprised me was the passion and the energy that exists within the entire GAWDA membership. From the vendors, the distributors, the Board of Directors, the co-chairs of the Regional Meetings, the committee chairs, and especially the GAWDA staff and GAWDA Media. It’s really amazing the passion that they bring to it. I knew it was a very strong organization, but until you are really in the middle of it, you really don’t understand the passion and the loyalty that the GAWDA membership brings.
WGT: You’ve sat through planning meetings for SMC’s and Annual Conventions before, but how different is it now that you’re planning for YOUR meetings and the buck ultimately stops with you? What has it been like to see your ideas grow from concepts to reality?
Gary: You know, of course, when you are leading these meetings, it’s different than just sitting in them and participating. You’ve got to drive the conversation, you’ve got to ask the right questions. Whether it’s the SMC planning committee or the Annual Convention planning committee. You know what it’s like, Steve, because you were on the AC planning committee. One of the things that I wanted to make sure that I really worked on was talking less and listening to the group more, because that’s where you learn and that’s where you get great ideas. We were a team of great individuals, and we really came together and came up with some really great concepts.
The bottom line is, as the president, and as the person leading these committees, you really have to trust the group and trust their input. I think that’s what we did. And we also had a little bit of fun. At one of our committee meetings, the Spring Management Committee planning sessions, Gene Simmons, from KISS showed up, which I thought was really funny, and we had a great time with that.
WGT: With the huge caveat that we still have the Annual Convention still to come, to date, what has been your biggest memory and proudest moment as GAWDA President so far?
Gary: I think my biggest accomplishment, and this is, again, back to the teamwork concept, was the President’s Reception at the SMC at the Espie. The weather was great, the camaraderie, the networking was out of this world, and by the way, the food was delicious too. And I really enjoyed the rock and roll theme, as many of you could probably tell.
As far as proud moments, I was really honored when the Young Professionals asked that I speak at their lunch and learn. You have to prepare for those things, and I took it really seriously, because mentorship in GAWDA is critical, and it’s one of the reasons that we keep growing.
Of course, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t mention my family, who was there. My wife, my son and his buddy, and my daughter and her good friend from the volleyball team at the University of Texas were there, and it was really a proud moment for me to watch them mingle with a lot of my best friends in the industry.
Another proud moment, I would say, is George Ratermann, and his daughter, Marie, asked that I be part of their podcast, and that was an absolute blast. We talked business, we talked about our families, and basically we had a lot of fun.
WGT: How difficult has it been to juggle your responsibilities at Indiana Oxygen with your responsibilities as GAWDA President and how has the team at IOC helped to make this year as GAWDA President such a success?
Gary: I can’t say enough about the Indiana Oxygen team. It’s really hard for me not to be present at the company. But I have to tell you, our team stepped up. The leadership, their dedication to the customer, their dedication to their respective teams, has been second to none. I could not have asked for anything more, almost to the point where we have been so successful, through this term of mine, that I’m not even sure I’m going to have a job when I get back. So, Wally, hopefully I do!
But I’m just so proud of the team, and I honestly can’t thank them enough for their understanding and, more than anything, their attendance at the events has been awesome. They’ve been to the Regional Meetings, several of them have been to the SMC, several of them are coming to the Annual Convention. It really means a great deal to me. And I’ll tell you what, I could not have done this without them. So, I want to thank the entire Indiana Oxygen team, all of you back home. Thank you so much.
WGT: Do you have any advice for your successors, specifically Woody, Allison and Kevin, based on your experience so far as GAWDA president?
Gary: First of all, let me say this, the next three presidents are going to be awesome. Great decisions. They’re really good at what they do. They’re great at running their companies, and I think they’re going to be awesome. But let me first say to them: Be yourself. Take what you know and what you’re passionate about and that’s the topic that you should bring to the membership. Communicate on a consistent basis with the GAWDA staff. They really know what they’re doing, they’re a great team, and they’re more than willing to help you with anything that you have to do, including organizing and setting up the SMC and the Annual Convention, they’ll help with the regionals, they’re just an outstanding group of people, so lean on them. Trust your planning committees. Like I mentioned earlier, ask questions, do more listening than talking, and learn from them. And lastly, embrace the opportunity. Yes, it is a lot of work. But, more than anything else, you need to make it a fun experience.
WGT: It wouldn’t be a Gary Halter interview without you leaving us with a quote or two. So, can you summarize your year as President with a quote?
Gary: I love quotes, as everybody knows. The first one, and I’m not sure if I’ve shared this one with the group before, but everybody that you meet has something going on in their life that is challenging, so be kind. The next one: Get out of your comfort zone. Doing so may take you on a journey that you may never forget.
WGT: Is there anything else about your year as president that you wanted to mention as you prepare to transition to first past president?
Gary: I think it’s worth revisiting one of your first questions about is there anything that surprised me. The one thing that I would say has been surprising is the number of interviews like these that you have to prepare for. But I have learned to enjoy them. I’ve learned to enjoy the preparation and, as Bob Knight said, “The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.” I have learned so much through this experience, but that is something that has surprised me. I have to tell the whole group and everybody reading this, if you decide to become president or if somebody asks you, get out of that comfort zone and as the Nike slogan says, “Just Do It.” Because it truly might become, like it has for me, one of the best journeys and adventures of your life.
WGT: Gary, thank you so much for everything you’ve done this year, and we can’t wait to see it all come together in Phoenix.
Gary: Thank you, Steve, and thank you GAWDA staff and GAWDA Media. You have been unbelievable to work with and our friendships that have developed are very special to me.
