Tom Leahy of Border Construction Specialties is the 2017 president of the Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association and Michelle St. John of Industrial Bolt & Supply is vice president.

As vice president, St. John will succeed Leahy in 2018 and become the first woman president of STAFDA. The association was founded in 1976.

Leahy is COO of the Phoenix distributorship and he has 28 years in sales, marketing, operations, HR and purchasing experience.

St. John is co-owner of the Auburn, WA-based distributorship founded by her parents, Jack & Linda Butcher, in 1977. 

STAFDA announced 4,366 people registered for the 40th annual convention in Atlanta.  The 2016 trade show totaled 820 booths, STAFDA’s largest since 2008.

New board members are Jeff Brown of Brinker-Brown, Ft. Myers, FL; and Greg Hughes, Kinnunen Sales & Rentals, Stillwater, OK.

New members of the Manufacturing Liaison Committee are Tom Carroll, C.S. Unitec, Norwalk, CT; Jude Nosek, Keson, Aurora, IL; and Dave Steiner, Stanley Black & Decker, New Britain, CT.

Incoming Rep Liaison Committee members are Todd Offner, Baxter-Rutherford, Seattle; John Spadafora, McConnell-Spadafora Inc., Burlington, ON; and Rob Wallace, Ron Wallace & Associates, Clover, SC.

The 2017 STAFDA convention will be November 12-14, 2017, in Austin, TX. Web: stafda.org