NWSA President 1992-1993 Butler Gas Products
By Jack Butler
In my GAWDA (then NWSA, National Welding Supply Association) President Year of 1993, time was the currency and speed was the base, as the internet was rapidly accelerating business methods and Peter McCausland was consolidating our association membership under the Airgas marquee. We had the initial wave of Baby Boomers joining the industry, and I had the honor and fun of serving NWSA alongside Jack Dammann, Randy Squibb, Dan Paris, Jim Robertson, Gary Armstrong, Bill Higley, Chip Valentine, Dave Mahoney, and current GAWDA Hall of Famers Bob Roberts and Wally Brant. My Fab-Five mentors of Ken Thompson, John Beringer, Bob Jackson, Larry Kissler, and Andy Castiglione Sr. imprinted on me their industry actions and behavior. I was a lucky 41-year-old in 1993 with a team of industry titans supporting me.
Our spring meeting theme was “Why Technology? Because it Works!” and in Maui in the fall, I suggested “Chart A New Course” to turn headwinds to tailwinds as the internet, gas manufacturing and distribution safety, Total Quality Management, and NWSA membership consolidation were hot topics for our industry. Our Executive Committee of two Jacks, Randy, John, and Dan with enlisted Board Vice Presidents Jim Robertson (safety), Gary Armstrong (technology), and Bill Higley (training /education) met in Nashville, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Reno, and Fort Worth throughout the year with about 200 people at each meeting. We created two learning forums: The “Industry Forum,” where supplier CEOs shared their technology and safety ideas, and “Operation Interchange,” where NWSA distributors shared best practices about specific new technologies. The great people skills of our speakers, combined with our members’ willingness to share, made “Why Technology? Because it Works!” an exposé of industry success stories and near misses. The Baby Boomers were stepping up, and our NWSA mentors kept challenging us with difficult assignments. The Great Generation was passing the baton to the Baby Boomers, and it was inspirational to follow behind these trailblazers.
My father, Butler Gas founder John A. Butler (Jack), always taught me that luck is the crossroads of preparedness and opportunity, and NWSA received a bolt of luck in the early 1990s. As our NWSA Safety Committee, led by Jim Robertson and Bonnie Stanage, was rapidly developing new safety and compliance manuals to meet federally mandated deadlines, we met Rick Schweitzer on this safety journey, and the rest is history. Our early 1990s NWSA Safety Committee evolved from basic manuals to the industry’s first publications of advanced safety and compliance procedures rooted in established CGA standards. This journey took less than 365 days. Jim, Bonnie, and Rick created this 1993 safety quantum leap for the entire packaged gas distribution industry.
When my daughter, Abydee, became GAWDA President at 33-years-old in 2020 and 2021, it was more eventful and exciting than my year in 1993. Abydee had the COVID Pandemic, with the collapse of in-person collaboration, to deal with in her years, so my brush with the early internet hassles seems pale by comparison. My wife, Elissa, and I were so proud of Abydee’s leadership during these unforgiving times, and thanks to Wally Brant, Gary Halter, and Indiana Oxygen Company, a shuffling of the GAWDA Officer terms was implemented, and Abydee had a second presidential year in 2021 to have in-person Conventions. Thank goodness for the GAWDA Consultants and PPP-funding during these years. Our business and association were lucky to have Abydee lead during these tough times with her innovative thinking, volunteering skills, and industry network across GAWDA, IOMA, and CGA.
My father told me on his deathbed, “Become a lifetime learner; get active in these associations, they will help you and teach you the business,” and obviously, we followed his advice for generations. Abydee and I believe that Butler Gas’s active engagement in GAWDA, IOMA, CGA, BIG, IWDC, and the University of Pittsburgh IEE (Family Business Center) is our secret sauce for continuous improvement over the last 77 years. We participate and volunteer actively, meet friends for life, and have fun as we keep sharpening the saw, utilizing associations to train our colleagues, and learning best practices and new ideas.
At Butler Gas, we strive to be the region’s best gas manufacturer and distributor, excelling as the packaged gas supplier of choice by driving sustainable customer growth and relationships, exceeding our 100-Year Plan. We believe customers do not have to sacrifice service for capabilities. We are a safe, customer-focused manufacturer and distributor of packaged gas products and mutually profitable business solutions. GAWDA enables the secret sauce.
Back home at Butler Gas in Pittsburgh, Abydee is leading our talented team, growing our 100-Year Plan of striving daily for 100% safety, nurturing our colleagues and empowering them to succeed, wowing our customers, and earning responsible levels of profit for continual investment in the business. Our family business succession plan is 3rd-gen-complete with Abydee as President and CEO, alongside Elissa’s and my active roles as Treasurer and Chairman, respectively. At 73 years old, I still enjoy the competition of the game of business, and the fun from actively coaching and mentoring. My job is being the “Head Scout and Tribal Knowledge Coach,” and I still sell wholesale gases (acetylene, specialty gases, hydrogen, and helium) to many
industry friends whom I’m grateful to also call customers. I have fun analyzing gas-centric continuous improvement projects, but my favorite duties now involve my granddaughters, Ivy and Coda. I am Papa; Elissa is Gramme, and we try to bring our A-game to cherish our 7-year-old and 4-year-old next generation. Being Papa is my new passion, and we all know that time is much more important than money, so I am taking time to smell the roses. You will see me and Elissa chasing Ivy and Coda at GAWDA and IWDC as they network with their “industry sisters and brothers,” as Ivy calls her new friends. Butler Gas is a business-first family business, and we all travel well for networking and learning.
Our GAWDA Officers are all next-gens just like our NWSA team back in 1993. It has been so cool to watch Woody, Allie, Kevin, and Colleen sprout their wings during my career and become such strong industry leaders and public speakers, too. GAWDA has great next-gen talent now, and these four rising stars are ready for prime time play in 2025. Thank you, Woody and team, for your time, energy, and industry passion. As history repeats itself, technology and safety still dominate the landscape with artificial intelligence, FDA/DOT/EPA rising regulations, and industry consolidation. Maybe our 1993 themes of “Why Technology? Because it Works!” and “Chart A New Course” still ring true in 2025.
