Resolve to learn! Well, here we are in the new year, 2009. It's traditional to make resolutions. Sure, a healthy diet and more exercise are worthy goals. But how about other avenues to self-improvement? How about making the commitment to attend more training events and more trade shows? And maybe bring along some co-workers who can also benefit from the opportunities to learn and network. Here are a few such events to consider, listed in the order of when they are scheduled:

Jan. 20 - 23, International Builders' Show and NextBuild, Las Vegas, NV.

Jan. 27, 2 p.m. EST, Vormittag Associates Inc. hosts a Webinar "Are you prepared for the economic recovery?"

March 1 - 4, Activant Nashville Summit, Gaylord Opryland Resort, Nashville, TN.

April 30 - May 2, American Institute of Architects 2009 National Convention, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA.

Oct. 14 - 17, NetworkASA 2009: POWER at the J.W.Marriott Hotel, Washington, DC.

If you receive Supply House Times magazine each month, it's time for your annual renewal.  If you're not currently receiving Supply House Times, sign up today! Click here to answer a few quick questions and receive or continue your free subscription. Also, if you are a current subscriber or wish to subscribe to Plumbing & Mechanical (PM), please click here. And if you are a current subscriber or wish to subscribe to PM Engineer, please click here. Note: regardless of when you last renewed or when you first started receiving your FREE subscription to any of these magazines, you must confirm that you wish to continue.

Ronald C. Katz, executive chairman of Elkay Manufacturing Co., announced that Timothy Jahnke, Elkay's president and CEO, has been elected to serve on the company's board of directors. Jahnke joined Elkay in December 2007 as the company's president and CEO.

WIT & Co. Ltd. relocated its headquarters from Decatur, IL, to Dallas, TX , effective Jan. 2, 2009. The buying group's new headquarters is at 8600 Freeport Parkway, Suite 240, Irving, TX  75063, just minutes from the DFW airport. The main number at the new Dallas location is 972-957-2022.  Contact information for all WIT staff members is available at WIT's Web http://www.bathandkitchenpro.com www.wit-co.com.

ASA has ended its relationship with ISH North America. Read more...

California Faucets promoted Noah Taft (left) to senior vice president of marketing & sales. Taft joined the company in 2002 as director of marketing. He quickly rose to director of marketing & sales and then vice president of marketing & sales.
In other news, California Faucets named Frederick Desborough (right) vice president commercial business. Desborough joined the company in 2000 as chief operating officer. He began his career in the United Kingdom where he worked as a plumbing and heating engineer and systems design engineer. His 30+ years of plumbing industry experience include key positions held with major faucet manufacturers in Switzerland, Germany, Canada and the U.S.

Todd Talbot, former president of BrassCraft, Alsons and Cobra Products, has joined Mega Western Sales, a manufacturers rep firm that serves Las Vegas, Arizona, northern and southern California, as a principal partner. Read more...

Wales-Darby, one of A. O. Smith's leading representatives in the metro New York/Long Island/New Jersey area, recently opened an energy-efficiency showroom at its Islandia, NY, location. Designed as a multipurpose facility, the Wales-Darby Energy Room displays functional HVAC/plumbing products and systems that present energy-efficient and eco-conscious alternatives to standard efficiency options. Wales-Darby represents the entire line of A. O. Smith residential and commercial water heaters and high-efficiency copper tube boilers.

Neo-Metro and Kristin Kahle, with Extell Development designer  Roy Kim, will host a showcase of their custom, eco-friendly Ebb basins with White Gloss Powdercoat tops at the Lucida, New York's first LEED-certified green condominium, located on the Upper East Side and designed by Cook + Fox Architects. To ensure sustainability, the water flowing through Neo-Metro's wash basins will be irrigated only with rainwater. Neo-Metro is a design and manufacturing firm of luxury plumbing products and a legacy division of Acorn Engineering.

Caroma is supporting a portion of the replanting of more than 123,000 pine and true fir seedlings following the 2002 McNally fire that burned more than 150,000 acres in California's Sequoia National Forest.
Also , Caroma donated another 250 high-efficiency toilets, urinals and sinks to Greensburg GreenTown, Greensburg, KS, which was devastated by an EF5 tornado May 4, 2007.  Greensburg now has 450 high efficiency toilets from Caroma and is projected to save at least 4,600 gallons of water per person per year.

Speakman Co. received the 2008 Delaware Quality W.L. (Bill) Gore Award of Excellence, which recognizes Delaware-based companies that demonstrate high level of performance excellence.

The American Institute of Architects selected the 2009 recipients of the AIA Institute Honor Awards, the profession's highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design. Selected from more than 700 total submissions, 25 recipients located throughout the world will be honored in April at the AIA 2009 National Convention and Design Exposition in San Francisco.

 Leonard Valve has unveiled its Showermaster 7600 thermostatic mixing valves. The concealed models provide dependable control of water temperature for showers or baths. Features include a copper encapsulated thermostat; built-in shutoff, single-handle operation; integral checkstops on hot and cold inlets; bronze, brass and stainless steel construction; and automatic shutdown. Standard options on various models include SANIGUARD coating on the handle, vandal-resistant screws, and strainers.

Sterling expanded its line-up of multi-piece fixtures that require no caulk in the seams to include a shower-only model. The Sterling Accord shower is made of proprietary Vikrell material. The shower features a single pivot point installation system, making it a snap to interlock the walls with the base. The wall clips, in turn, provide an audible click that notifies the installer that they have been installed in the proper position - one that is snug and water-tight.

Bradley introduced its Navigator lead-free valves to meet the lead-free requirements in California's lead law, CA AB 1953, and a similar law in Vermont, which mandate the reduction of lead levels in fixtures used to convey drinking water to be less than 0.25%. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2010. As of February 2009, all Navigator thermostatic mixing valves - standard, high-low and emergency - will be lead-free.  Each valve is made with lead-free brass as the main raw material, with lead-free brass castings and bar stock, and stainless steel.

 Bath & Kitchen Pro, a publication created for bath-and-kitchen installers, distributors with showrooms and designers, looks at customizing kitchens and baths and profiles a contractor's showroom in the Fall 2008 issue.

Contact Publisher Bob Miodonski at 630-694-4007, e-mail: miodonskib@bnpmedia.com or visit the Web http://www.bathandkitchenpro.com www.bathandkitchenpro.com for more details.

 2008's BESTSELLERS:

 College of Product Knowledge CD - $89.85

Designed for wholesalers, manufacturers, agents, designers, contractors, technicians, engineers, architects and other pros, this simple-to-navigate CD provides information on more than 100 products, with 4-color diagrams showing product cut-aways and flow direction. It has a new section on tankless water heaters.  Expanded content includes: residential faucets, supply piping, general application valves, water heating, fixtures, DWV pipe fittings, water treatment products, disposer dispensers, shower valves, tubular goods, chemicals & compounds, drains, sump pumps and more. It includes an overview, glossary and section quizzes (with answers). CLICK HERE for more info.

This course provides an overview of fixtures and faucets, water closets, bidets, lavatories, sinks, showers, whirlpool baths, hot tubs and commercial faucets and fixtures. It includes definitions of common industry terms, descriptions of the major types of fixtures, and information on the supply and DWV fittings most commonly specified for installation. CLICK HERE for more info.

 Watch for the next January edition of Bath & Kitchen Pro eNews for two more bestsellers from 2008.
 Visit AECStore.com to view more than 800 resources for industry pros!