Author: Steve Guglielmo

In Memoriam: Bill Baxter GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of Bill Baxter, who passed away on August 18, 2024, at the age of 71, following a “relatively short battle with an aggressive form of cancer.” Bill was a giant, not only in the gases and welding industry but in Tennessee politics, known not only for his business works but also his philanthropy. In the August 15th issue of the GAWDA Connection, Holston announced that the company had transitioned to its third-generation of leadership, with Robert Anders moving to a CEO role and Bill’s son, Joe Baxter…

In Memoriam: Mary Ann Bennear GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of Mary Ann Bennear who passed away on August 9, 2024. Mary Ann is survived by by her loving and devoted husband of 38 years, Harry; sons, Christopher married to Jen (Bennett) and Evan married to Lindsay (Carpenter) both of Johnstown and the granddaughters she so adored, Callie, Lyla, Aimee and Melanie. She is also survived by her sister Patty Spangler married to Forrie and brother Mike Reilly (Jami Zipf) both of Johnstown, brother Jim Reilly of Niantic, CT and sister Barbara Reilly (David Ray) of…

How AWG has grown and evolved for three-quarters of a century “On behalf of the more than 860 teammates of AWG across 23 states, our thanks to GAWDA for the opportunity to share some of our history, parts of our strategy and our outlook for the future. We have a very strong teammate-focused leadership team and culture. We thought it would provide better insight into our business by letting you hear directly from them. They and their teams are the ones that deliver the results we have come to expect.” – Jason Krieger, AWG President and CEO. American Welding &…

In Memoriam: Paul Slizik GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of Paul Slizik who passed away on June 16th at the age of 86. Butler Gas announced the tragic news of Paul’s passing in its company newsletter: “Paul started with Butler Gas as a Truck Driver and retired decades later in 2002 as Vice President of Sales. His heart and passion for the customer built the service culture of our organization. By 1975 in Butler Gas History, founder Jack Butler’s son, John T. II (also, Jack), began taking responsibility for running the company. Founder Jack had developed…

Congratulations to all GAWDA Members celebrating anniversaries in 2024 The past several years have represented a dramatic shift in the gases and welding industry. We’ve seen the industry get leaner, as M&A activity continues to shrink the industry, while the internet, and the rise of AI and other technology makes the entire world smaller and more connected. But, in a larger sense, the fundamentals of the business remain the same. This industry remains a relationship business. While the X’s and O’s may look different today than they did 100 years ago, the overall playbook remains very similar. And there’s a…

Congratulations to all GAWDA Members celebrating anniversaries in 2024 The past several years have represented a dramatic shift in the gases and welding industry. We’ve seen the industry get leaner, as M&A activity continues to shrink the industry, while the internet, and the rise of AI and other technology makes the entire world smaller and more connected. But, in a larger sense, the fundamentals of the business remain the same. This industry remains a relationship business. While the X’s and O’s may look different today than they did 100 years ago, the overall playbook remains very similar. And there’s a…

Congratulations to all GAWDA Members celebrating anniversaries in 2024 The past several years have represented a dramatic shift in the gases and welding industry. We’ve seen the industry get leaner, as M&A activity continues to shrink the industry, while the internet, and the rise of AI and other technology makes the entire world smaller and more connected. But, in a larger sense, the fundamentals of the business remain the same. This industry remains a relationship business. While the X’s and O’s may look different today than they did 100 years ago, the overall playbook remains very similar. And there’s a…

Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Against FTC Non-Compete Rule A federal court judge in Texas has issued a preliminary injunction against the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on non-compete agreements for departing employees, which is scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. By its terms, the preliminary injunction only applies to the specific Plaintiffs and Plaintiff-Intervenors in the case: Ryan LLC, a tax services firm located in Texas; the Chamber of Commerce of the United States; the Business Roundtable; Texas Association of Business; and the Longview Chamber of Commerce. Although the business associations generally file suit on behalf of…

In Memoriam: Dave Sullivan GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of David “Sully” Sullivan who tragically passed away recently. Sully retired from 3M and was a long-time dedicated member of GAWDA, as well as AWS and WEMCO. Everybody who knew Sully around GAWDA loved him and will remember him. He will be missed. According to a post on LinkedIn from Bob Ranc, “His family is going to have a celebration of life on Saturday August 31 in Westerville, Ohio. This is a suburb of Columbus. If you are interested some of us will be coming in on…

Thank you to GAWDA Members who continue to make the GAWDA Seven Springs Regional such an incredible event year after year. GAWDA continued its Regional Meeting season with the East/Midwest Regional Meeting, which took place at Seven Springs Resort, in Pennsylvania from June 25-26. The Seven Springs regional is traditionally the highest attended regional of the year. With a star-studded speaker lineup and top-notch networking opportunities this year was a grand slam.   Sales Workshop  The event kicked off with a half-day sales workshop from Jay Spielvogel from Venator Sales Group. It was an interactive workshop talking about how to…