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Newcomers’ Reception After making the difficult decision to move the Newcomers Reception inside due to the more than 100-degree heat, the Newcomers Reception kicked the Convention off in style, as more than 100 GAWDA New Members, Past Presidents, and members of GAWDA’s Member Services Committee gathered in the Wildflower Ballroom to mix and mingle and show off their hand in a fierce putting contest. Winners from last night’s putting contest will even bring home some hardware and be recognized from the stage during tomorrow’s Opening General Business Session, so stay tuned! Thank you to all who came and all who…

California Cylinder Corporation was established in 2001 in Montclair, California. We are a direct supplier of high-quality gas cylinders and are owned and operated by the Brown Family, which has been part of the welding and gas industry for over 50 years. California Cylinder carries new and reconditioned cylinders in steel and aluminum, featuring new aluminum cylinders by Catalina and Luxfer. We offer full lines of Industrial, acetylene, CO2, medical, propane, and liquid cylinders along with helium regulators, valves, caps, labels, balloon fillers, and accessories.

California Tool & Welding Supply opened its doors in 1976 offering quality products and unparalleled service at reasonable rates. Robert C. Craig (Bob Jr.) and Rick Davis started the business out of a wooden shed on a dusty sand lot with a few bottles of compressed gases, an oxygen cascade system, and a small selection of hard goods.

The last day of SMC began with GAWDA Announcements including the introduction of the new Technology Committee, the recognition of the inaugural Best in Show Winner and the introduction of the GAWDA Gives Back Recipient for the 2024 Annual Convention in Phoenix, HopeKids. Visit https://www.gawda.org/about/gawda-gives-back/ to learn more. Then Gary turned the stage over to GAWDA First Past President Robert Anders to introduce the 2024 GAWDA Scholarship Recipients and Donors. Thank you to all of those companies who made this year’s scholarships possible. Congratulations to the following students for for winning this year’s 2024 GAWDA Scholarship: Avery Abke Kaden Abke…

As has become tradition since the Nashville SMC, this year saw the return of the Educational Sessions. Following the morning’s two mainstage presentations, attendees had the option to attend two of six Educational Sessions. First, attendees had the option to attend presentations on Mega Gas Trends with Scott Rummans and Jeff Holyoak; Leadership with Dave Lambert; or Employee Retention with Ryan Craven. In the second session, attendees got to choose between sessions on AI & Cybersecurity with Allison Earlbeck, Tony Hopkins, and Aaron Turner; Building an Effective Compensation Strategy with Alex Chausovsky; and “Kickin Gas,” an interactive presentation from Bryan…

GAWDA Main Stage veteran Dirk Beveridge kicked off the educational portion of the SMC with a presentation about company culture. Dirk has traversed the United States over the past three summers, meeting with distributor companies who make up the “back bone of America.” And he was able to share lessons learned from the high-performing cultures of these companies practicing the noble art of distribution. Following Dirk’s presentation, GAWDA First Vice President Allison Earlbeck introduced ECI Software Solutions’ Dave Bent and Dr. Jonathan Bein, an author and AI Solutions Speaker who spoke about the important and hot-button issue of Artificial Intelligence.…