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CONNECTIONS

CONTENTS

Connections is a publication of HD Supply Electrical.

HD SUPPLY ELECTRICAL2902 South 44th Street • Phoenix, AZ 85040

602.426.1377

PublisherINNOVATIVE PUBLISHING INKw w w. i p i p u b l i s h i n g . c o m

To advertise in Connections, please contact Richard Ochsner at 520.546.0623.

WINTER 2007

Connections 5

FEATURES16 Humuhumunugous Fun

Whether or not you can properly pronounce the name of

Hawaii’s state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapua’a, check out

the photos taken by the participants in HD Supply Electrical’s

customer incentive trip to Maui!

28 Local IEC Apprentice Electrician Competes NationallyGrant Haughn, apprentice electrician with Alliance Service and

Control Specialists, talks with Connections about his experiences

at this year’s regional and national wire-off competitions.

EXTRAS32 Getting & Giving Respect

Respecting others is a crucial part of success. Find out how

incorrect assumptions can lead to disrespect, and learn how

you can create a more respectful atmosphere in your workplace.

DEPARTMENTSPeople to People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Mahalo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Cover photo by Joe Davenport, HD Supply Electrical

If we haven’t met already, I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself as the regional vice president for HD Supply Electrical’s Western division andthe pen behind future “People to People” columns.

My family and I packed the bags andmoved west on November 1, but I havebeen traveling back and forth for a coupleof months now. I am learning the rich history behind our Arizona business, therelationships developed over the yearsand how they have shaped the way wework together. I am looking forward tomeeting each of you and building onthose relationships.

During my past 15 years in electrical distribution, without a doubt, the most rewarding part of my career has been andstill is the relationships built with associ-ates, customers and suppliers. There’snothing like a professional relationshipbuilt on trust, service, quality and value.

How do these four important attributescontribute to our evolving businessestoday and going forward?• TRUST that we will follow through on

our commitments and that you canrely on us to fulfill your important business needs

• SERVICE that consistently deliverswhat you need, when you need it and

proactively provides solutions and new ideas to help you run your business better

• QUALITY of the sales process, theproduct, order/delivery accuracy and payment

• VALUE contained within our products,services and personal touch

Consider this issue of Connections anhomage to our strong customer and sup-plier relationships. The pages that followwill photographically take you throughour annual customer rewards trip, held re-cently in Maui, Hawaii, for one week.

I hope you enjoy what we’ve put together— a magazine chock-full of good timesand great memories from Maui. In the fu-ture, we will carry out this important tra-dition through a national program called“Connect the Customer.” Begin lookingfor details on this exciting program nowand going forward!

Thanks to all of you for your contributionto our business and for the relationshipsyou continue to grow with us. I look for-ward to our combined success as wetackle the next year together!

All the best,

signature to come

CORPORATE OFFICE/CUSTOMER DISTRIBUTION CENTER602.426.1377602.426.1388 fax

DEER VALLEY623.869.9339623.869.6776 fax

GILBERT480.497.1900480.497.1780 fax

PHOENIX WEST602.269.3301602.269.3392 fax

SCOTTSDALE480.368.8860480.368.0123 fax

TOLLESON623.907.1466623.907.2943 fax

COTTONWOOD928.646.5050928.646.7103 fax

FLAGSTAFF928.779.5194928.779.2298 fax

PAYSON928.474.5192928.474.0435 fax

PRESCOTT VALLEY928.772.7887928.772.7006 fax

TUCSON520.622.0068520.622.1519 fax

Lake Havasu928.453.9027

People to PeopleCONNECTIONS

VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 3

Connections 7

Dear Associates, Customers and Suppliers,

Tim KleiRegional Vice President HD Supply Electrical’s Western Division

Connections 11

Greetings and mahalo to our customer and manu-facturer friends! In case you missed the Hawaiiantranslation, “mahalo” means “a very deeply felt personal sense of gratitude.”Having recently completed a fantastic time in Maui with so many of you (at leastthe lucky 273 of you who were able to participate this time!), I wanted to thank youone more time for making the trip possible. Thank you to our customers for anoth-er record-setting trip attendance. That means you purchased more than ever fromHD Supply Electrical here in Arizona, and we appreciate it! Congratulations to RexReinbold of AME Electrical, who won the Harley-Davidson motorcycle drawingsponsored by Philips Lighting. All trip attendees were eligible to win the drawingand the randomness made it exciting as we anticipated the drawing. We were allsurprised that such a well-known (or is that “notorious”?) contractor personalitywound up the chance winner. We’re all happy for you, Rex. Thank you also to ourlongtime travel fulfillment partner, The Travelmart, and to our team members MegFanire and Phil Kinney for working so hard to address the many details that result-ed in the pampered feeling we all received. I hope you enjoy viewing the Maui pic-torial trip summary story here in the HD Supply Electrical Connections magazine.

We announced in Maui a newly formatted national customer incentive trip that willtake place in less than 12 months to the Dominican Republic in October 2008. Thisnew format offers many benefits, including a faster-paced trip interval of just 12months, exposure to contractors and market conditions in other regions of theUnited States and a tiered structure that rewards purchase levels up to and includ-ing earned trips. Please look for registration information on the one-page“Connect the Customer” ad later in this issue of the magazine.

As we rapidly approach the closing days of 2007, I want to wish each of you andyour families peace and tranquility — HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

Skip LenfestDistrict ManagerSouthwest Region

Mahalo

Dottie9127

14 Connections

HD SUPPLY ELECTRICALMEETING ARIZONA’S ELECTRICAL NEEDS

HD SUPPLY ELECTRICAL

Flagstaff928.779.5194

Cottonwood928.646.5050

Prescott Valley928.772.7887

Payson928.474.5192

Deer Valley623.869.9339

Scottsdale480.368.8860

Tucson520.622.0068

Gilbert480.497.1900

Phoenix CDC602.426.1377

Phoenix West602.269.3301

Tolleson623.907.1466

Lake Havasu928.453.9027

Humuhumunugous Humuhumunugous

FunEverybody had fun trying to pronounce thepopular name of Hawaii’s state fish, thehumuhumunukunukuapua’a. Most peopleget as far as “Humuhumunukunuku — yada,yada, whatever!”

Connections 17

Fun

18 Connections This photo shows the winding road to Hana.

That was some kind of fun in Maui! From October 4through October 8, 273 customers, manufacturers,manufacturing reps and HD Supply Electricalemployees participated in our eighth customerincentive trip. Thank you to all of our loyal customerswho have made these trips possible during the past10 years, and thank you to our manufacturer part-ners for covering a portion of the tab!

Our destination in Maui was the five-star Grand Wailea resort.This location was actually selected as a close number-twochoice location by customers who attended our Mayan Rivieratrip back in 2004. Costa Rica was the number-one pick, whichwe visited in 2005. Time sure does fly!

Connections 19

Some sought out the sunrise atop a chilly, misty and cloud-covered 10,000-foot Mount Haleakala. No sunrise was observed this time, but they hadlots of laughs and a great breakfast at 5,000 feet on the way back down.

Many people made the all-day drive on the road to Hana to observe beautifulwaterfalls that meet the ocean. This group rented motorcycles for the windy, curvyroad that makes Arizona’s 89A look like switchback child’s play.

20 Connections

Thank you to the many customers who submittedsightseeing photographs so we could include them inour closing-night slide show. We’ve reprinted many ofthose photos here in the Connections magazine so youcan enjoy them too.

The colors of fishing were incredible as displayed by Bob Swier ofRDS Electric.

Above: Jim Fetzer landed one too.

Right: The fishing was spectacular and enjoyed by several groups. Here,Jerry Hayden of Hayden Electric reels in another one.

Pho

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Connections 21

22 Connections

Meg Fanire, our party-planner extraordinaire,gets a hug from party co-sponsor Bob Jonesof Bob Jones and Associates.

Even the kids got into the tattoo-themed clos-ing-night biker party.

Getting into the biker theme at the big party.They’ve definitely got the look down pat.

Rocking on the stage with Mac of Mac’s Maniacs – our excellent party band

Connections 23

Our happy winner of the Harley-Davidson drawing, Rex Reinbold of AME Electrical, Phoenix

The highlight of our time together in Maui wasthe closing “Born To Be Wild” biker-themeparty, where we gave away a $14,000 Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle and leatherpackage. All customer companies who partici-pated in the trip, including first-time atten-dees, were eligible to win the drawing. Thewinner was Rex Reinbold of AME Electrical(Phoenix). Rex was shocked as he commented,“I’ve never won anything!” Congratulations toRex and Connie.

24 Connections

Thank you to everybody for making this event thefun success that it was! Be sure to sign up for the new national incentive trip program,“Connect the Customer.” Your purchases will becontributing to your eligibility for this new multi-level rewards program, including an exciting tripto the Dominican Republic in October 2008. Visithdsupply.com/electrical/connectthecustomer.htmlto register and review the program rules.

Real bikers get ready to leave the resort on a trip around Maui.

Right: The pool at the Grand Wailea was huge, colorful and fun!

Below: Enjoying a sunset sail cruise

Pho

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h b

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nda

Fetz

er

Connections 25

26 Connections

Connections 27

28 Connections

Connections 29

Local IEC ApprenticeElectrician CompetesNationallyYou may or may not know about the “wire-off” competition that takes place everyyear among the nation’s regional apprentice electricians of the IndependentElectrical Contractors Association (IEC). The IEC-Arizona branch is very active chap-ter. Each March, HD Supply Electrical works with IECA to host an event that servesas a forum for the current group of apprentice electricians to compete against oneanother. Last March there were 13 apprentice competitors in the parking-lot eventat HD Supply Electrical in Phoenix. The local winner was 28-year-old Grant Haughn.In October 2007 he had the chance to go to Houston, Texas, to compete against 28other regional wire-off winners at the national IEC event. Congratulations to Grantfor his commitment to excellence in the electrical contracting industry! And addi-tional congratulations for scoring sixth place in the national event. We thought itwould be fun to interview Grant so we can hear how he’s wired up!

30 Connections

Tell us how you got your start down the path of becom-ing an electrician.My twin brother is an electrician in Sacramento, California. Iwas a tire technician in 2003 and I wanted to gain experiencein something else. My brother encouraged me to becomean electrician. I had wanted to be a firefighter. With thosetwo options, I couldn’t decide which career I wanted, so Iactually flipped a coin. That is how I started my path ofbecoming an electrician.

How long has your apprentice program lasted? The apprenticeship is a four-year program throughIndependent Electrical Contractors of Arizona (IECA).

What is the most surprising experience you have had to date asan apprentice electrician? Anything surprising since graduation? When I first started out as an apprentice electrician, it was asurprise to see how much is involved in a job as far as electri-cal. There is definitely more to it than I thought there was.

How did it feel to participate in the Arizona wire-off and then towin the right to represent Arizona in the national IECA wire-off?When the fourth year of the apprenticeship started, my classmates and I were eager to participate in IECA’s wire-offcompetition. After the competition happened, everybody inmy class seemed to have enjoyed the whole experience. The competition was very fun. The whole event was very well organ-ized thanks to IECA’s executive director, Nancy Levey. Nancyputs a lot of time in setting up these events. The competitionincluded several categories, including conduit bending, a logicdiagram that we had to draw, a written test and the actual wire-off, which included points for safety; points for our installationmeeting code; and points for neatness, measurements andcorrect operation. Since I scored the most total points in thecompetition, I represented Arizona in IEC’s national wire-offcompetition in Houston. Several people helped me prepare forthis national competition. It was a pretty exciting experience tocompete in the national wire-off and it was also an honor torepresent Arizona. I had a fun time with the whole competitionin Houston. My competitors from all around the country hadfun as well and everybody was supportive of each other.

Were any family members able to join you on the trip to the national competition? My parents were able to join me in Houston inside Houston’sConvention Center.

Did you get to do anything fun and relaxing while visiting inTexas? How many days were you there? Did the Arizonachapter pay your expenses for the trip, or was that up toyour employer or you or some combination of the above? I was in Houston for five days and for the most part, I was pret-ty busy with the competition, so I didn’t have a lot of time to doanything else. In-West Electric paid for my airfare and IECApaid for all other expenses for the trip. CPR Electric donated$250 to my parents.

Was the national competition wiring schematic a much moredifficult project than the Arizona one? If so, what magnitudeof greater difficulty would you say that it is? Were there anymajor surprises or stumbling blocks at the national event? The national competition logic diagram (schematic) that wehad to draw was very challenging, especially having only 30minutes to draw it and the small amount of information thatwas given to us. I think it was a little harder than the logic dia-gram we had to draw in the competition in Arizona. I wish wecould have checked the operation of our own projects that wewired up. I don’t think there were any major surprises or stum-bling blocks at the national event, although one new additionto the competition was troubleshooting controllers that haddefective components inside the controller.

To date in your young electrician career, what is your favorite typeof wiring (i.e. residential, commercial, industrial) to do and why?My favorite type of wiring is motor controls. Motor controls canbe very challenging. I like a challenge. I learn something newevery day when I am working with motor controls.

What company are you currently working for? I am currently working for a company called Alliance Serviceand Control Specialists. ASCS specializes in well pumps.

What observations or trends can you share about being an elec-trician (i.e. safety, apprenticeship participation increasing ordecreasing, residential, commercial, municipal regulations, etc.)?Some observations or trends about being an electrician that Ihave noticed are the increasing number of people joining theapprenticeship program with IECA. I have also noticed manyemployers are sending their employees to other programs thatIECA has to offer, like CPR training, the Foreman Seminar,Project Management, Estimating, Lock Out/Tag Out, OSHAtraining, Code Update and much more. Another popular trendin the electrical industry is prefabrication of the material thatmany electricians use on jobsites every day.

Are you married and do you have children?I am not married and I have no children.

What benefit do you see to being an active member of IECA?Some benefits I see to being an active member of IECA areincreased leadership skills developed from going to IECA’sclasses, meeting new people, learning different approachesto wiring up a building due to what vendors can offer any-body to make the job get done more efficiently, and increas-ing safety awareness.

Do you have any long-term goals that you’d like to share?Right now I enjoy working out in the field and I hope to con-tinue doing so for several years. A long-term goal I have is toeventually get into company management. I also want to be incharge of a really big job someday.

Connections 31

Getting & GivingR E S P E C TLessons Learned in the Arizona Desert

I used to hang out with a motorcycle gang. It lasted only an hour,but what an hour. It all started when I left the Grand Canyon for arental-car drive to Las Vegas. Surely my half-full tank of gas wouldbe sufficient. Even if it wasn’t, surely there would be gas stationsaplenty along the way.

Getting & GivingR E S P E C TLessons Learned in the Arizona Desert

Connections 33

I saw wondrous things during that drive: towering rock formations,delicate flowering cacti, an open view as far as the eye could see.And as far as I could see, there wasn't a single gas station anywhere.Pretty soon, I didn't really care about the rocks or the cacti or what-ever the heck the plural of cactus was or is. All my attention focusedon the fuel gauge and that looming “E.” And in the middle of suchbeautiful country, which inspires soaring hopes and dreams, all Ihoped for was a big reserve tank. It wasn’t there. And just when Ithought my luck couldn't get any worse, my car sputtered to a stopwithin a stone’s throw of 10 or so resting bikers, none of whomlooked like they had shaved for a decade.

Let me pause this story for some important background informa-tion. Having grown up in Maple Heights, Ohio (town motto: “Justlike Mayberry, only not as wild”), I didn't get much exposure to bikers. In fact, a “biker” was someone who drove a basket- and bell-equipped Huffy or Schwinn. So, when several of the bikers walkedup to my car in the Arizona desert, I took a deep breath, gripped thesteering wheel, squared my shoulders, and promptly made an idiotout of myself by uttering these words: “Sure is a nice view.”

Instead of laughing in my face — an impressive show of respectfulrestraint, if you ask me — the bikers asked where I was from, wel-comed me to Arizona, and offered to help. One of them raced offto the one gas station that’s located in all of northern Arizona, and Ispent the waiting time with nine others talking and laughing andfeeling entirely too clean-shaven. And you know what? We had agreat conversation. It got to the point where I wanted to hold off onVegas and head for the nearest tattoo parlor.

Before long, I drove away with a couple gallons of gas, side-roaddirections to an open station, and a powerful lesson in respect. Foryears, whenever I saw a biker, I’d make a harsh value judgment. I’mashamed to admit it, but I didn't have much respect for them. Now,my respect runs so deep I could be their public-relations director.I’m still tattoo-free, but the lesson will stick with me forever.

Interestingly, the words “respect” and “regard” (as in “how I regardyou”) are derived from Latin and French words that capture variousnuances of the verb “to look.” How appropriate. When I look at you,or when you look at me, what kind of quick judgments are made?

34 Connections

Sure, respect (or the lack thereof) ultimately manifests itself as anaction; it comes across in what we say or do or not do. But it orig-inates between our ears. And it’s in that very personal space thatwe have our biggest opportunity to increase the level of respectin our workplaces.

More on that in just a second. First, ponder this vision: In a mean-ingful workplace, everyone holds everyone in high regard,regardless of what they see (tie, big office, fancy car) and whatthey know (several advanced degrees, big title, close friend of theCEO) about each other.

Decisions that affect employees are made with greater care.People’s opinions are valued, and so are their judgment andknow-how. When there’s conflict, it’s worked out in a way that

keeps everyone’s esteem intact. And, not insignificantly, the work-place is more pleasant. If I truly respect you, and we happen tocross paths, expect a warm greeting.

OK, so a workplace is not quite akin to a barren stretch of Arizonahighway. But respect is respect, wherever you are, and it’s alwaysan inside-out proposition. If you want to get it, you have to giveit. And to give it, you first have to pay attention to those thoughtsand judgments and notions that are ever incubating in your graymatter. If you’re sorting people into mental file folders — “impor-tant,” “not so important,” “totally worthless,” and so forth —you're setting yourself up to be an accessory to disrespect.

Ditch the file folders, and start thinking and doing anew. But how?

Here are some ideas:

• Don’t wait for the proverbial empty gas tank to act on this.Start conversations with some of the people you’ve filed awayinto one of the less desirable folders. Perhaps there’s a func-tional area, office or section you’ve tended to hold in lowregard. Or maybe it’s an individual. Take the initiative andengage them in dialogue.

• Organize a conversation with colleagues on the topic ofrespect. What does it mean to each of you? How do youknow when it’s thriving? What are the warning signs whenrespect is waning? Questions like these will prompt people toshare their respect-related stories from past and present worksituations. All of this will give life, meaning and a remarkabledegree of tangibility to an otherwise hazy concept.

• As one of your general working principles, apply the equiva-lent of “due process” in the workplace. When negative situ-ations arise and the fingers of blame start pointing, operateunder the assumption that people are innocent untilproven otherwise.

• Look for opportunities to address respect in any formal orinformal conversations regarding vision, mission, values, goalsor working principles. Somewhere in there, respect should bestrongly implied — or, better yet, explicitly stated and (to thedegree possible) defined.

• Take a visible, vocal stand against disrespect wherever it rearsits ugly head. If you’re in a meeting where people are unfairlydisparaging someone’s hard work, speak up in their defense.If another session finds someone strategizing on how to sneaka new policy by the employees, again, speak up in favor ofopenness and honesty.

And, when you’re in a one-on-one situation where someone’scomments or behavior strikes you as disrespectful, again, take adeep breath and give them a diplomatic piece of your mind.

Tom Terez is a speaker, workshop leader and author of 22 Keys to Creating aMeaningful Workplace. His Web site, http://betterworkplacenow.com, is filledwith tools for building a great work environment. E-mail tom@betterworkpla-cenow.com or call (614) 571-9529. Copyright ©2002 by Tom Terez WorkplaceSolutions Inc.

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36 Connections

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Connections 37

38 Connections

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