TW Perry accepts Pro Dealer of the Year award

San Antonio -- TW Perry accepted the 2011 Pro Dealer of the Year award last week during the ProDealer Industry Summit held here at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio.

"We didn't win this award by ourselves," said TW Perry CEO Michael Cassidy, in his acceptance speech. "Without all this support, without all the mentors and vendors and people who helped teach us over the years, we wouldn't be here."

Cassidy's speech stressed the value of corporate culture, the importance of mentors and the close-knit nature of the LBM industry. 

The awards dinner was sponsored by Weyerhaeusuer. Before calling Cassidy to the stage, Weyerhaeuser's Clarence Wilkerson, VP national accounts, described TW Perry as a "huge influencer" for the industry and a good customer in the Washington, D.C., market. He also congratulated TW Perry for entering into an "elite club" of companies that have been operating for a century or more. The club includes Weyerhaeuser, which was incorporated in 1900.

Gaithersburg, Md.-based TW Perry was founded in 1911 and has seen a long history of innovation. One of the most dramatic changes came in the late 1990s, when the company decided to turn its emphasis away from the DIY customer and toward the remodeler and contractor. 

"I've worked in a bunch of other industries, and I have never seen an industry like this one in regard to our willingness to coach and support each other," Cassidy said. 

The 2011 ProDealer Industry Summit was hosted jointly by Home Channel News and the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA).