Catching Up With NRHA Friends in Houston

An NRHA staffer got to catch up with some association friends recently in Houston.

Assistant editor Kate Klein traveled from Indianapolis to Houston with a full itinerary. In addition to covering a market while in the Lone Star State, Klein had the opportunity to visit retailers, tour their stores and chat with those the association has worked with closely over the years.

Walt Haralson, assistant store manager at Bering’s, gave Klein a tour of his business while she was in town. The operation, which the Bering family has owned for decades, is a home improvement store with an expansive housewares department and unusual niches, such as high-end children’s clothing. Haralson is a graduate of NRHA’s Retail Management Certification Program.

At the World and Main Spring Market 2016, a buying show previously known as the Handy Hardware Spring Market, Klein got to catch up with past NRHA president Ken Eilers and his wife Debbie. Eilers owns Borderland Hardware in Mercedes, Texas, and served as association president in 2008.

Klein also met Isaac Smith, a 2012 NRHA Young Retailer of the Year honoree, at the buying show. Smith is co-owner and head of purchasing and marketing for Matt’s Building Materials in Pharr, Texas.

Smith still appreciates that he was honored as a Young Retailer of the Year.

“It was good to be recognized,” he says. “It was a nice gesture.”