Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
As it celebrates 125 years, the North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) contacted past board members to get their reflections on their time at the association. Dan Harris, owner of Palos Ace Hardware and Lamont Ace Hardware in suburban Chicago, was a board member from 2011 to 2020 and help guide the association through several major events, including COVID-19.
Hardware Retailing (HR): Why did you decide to join the NHPA board and what value did you find in your time there?
Dan Harris (DH): One of my fellow retailers in Iowa reached out to me and told me NHPA (then NRHA) was looking for board members and how they could use the perspective of someone like myself. After learning more from then managing director Bill Lee, I decided it would be a good opportunity. I’ve been a retailer for 30 years and very heavily involved with my wholesaler. I appreciate how NRHA brings focus to the larger industry. As a member of the board, I was sitting around the table with people from different wholesalers. While we were flying different flags, in many ways, we were all the same. We had the same unique problems and same successes. The best experience I had was to meet people with different perspectives and discuss business.
HR: You were on the board during the COVID-19 pandemic. How did NHPA navigate through the challenges presented by the pandemic?
DH: Not long after I took over as chairman, we were hit with the pandemic and all the issues that came with it. It got intense quickly. I vividly remember how NHPA went to bat for independent retailers to have us declared essential businesses so we could stay open. The association also kept the lines of communication open to our members to make sure we could understand their needs during that time. As a board, just figuring out our own communication proved to be a challenge, as we were used to meeting in person and then had to figure out how to do it virtually.
At the same time, NHPA moved to a new headquarters. Meanwhile, we were talking with the Paint and Decorating Retailing Association as they closed their doors to understand how we could best serve paint retailers and bring them into our association. All of these changes went remarkably smoothly.
Incidentally, I became the only chairman in NHPA history to serve two terms. With all of the changes happening, we thought it would be a good idea to have stability in leadership across two years. Fortunately, all of the board was in support of this move.
HR: What do you think was the biggest contribution you and the board made to the association during your term of service?
DH: I think we were able to bring stability during a turbulent time, making sure the association would be on solid ground for many years to come and continue to bring value to the industry. We also brought the paint people on board and made sure they continue to have a voice and an organization to represent them. We have been able to learn a lot from each other.
