WASHINGTON — George Pattee, chairman of the board, Parksite Inc., was elected chairman of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) board of directors during the organization’s Executive Summit, Jan. 29-31 in Washington, D.C.

Pattee succeeds Joseph C. Nettemeyer, president and CEO of Valin Corp. Nettemeyer will remain active on the NAW Board as immediate past chairman.

“On behalf of the 650 employee-owners of Parksite, I am honored to serve as the 2019 chairman of NAW,” Pattee said. “After receiving the benefits of NAW membership for almost 25 years, it’s my time to give back to the organization that has helped Parksite grow and achieve its goals. Over all these years, our team has benefited greatly from the networking and benchmarking opportunities, educational events, best practice thought leadership, and business services that offers. I’ve also developed wonderful business connections with other distributors through NAW. I look forward to working with this association and our members in 2019 and contributing to NAW’s ongoing important work for our industry.”

The following wholesale distribution industry leaders also were elected as NAW Officers for 2019: chairman-elect — Douglas W. York, Ewing Irrigation Products; first vice chairman — Michael Medart, Medart Engine & Marine; second vice chairman — Jeff McLendon, U.S. Lumber Group; secretary — Kevin Short, Polymershapes; and president — Dirk Van Dongen, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.

Completing the NAW 2019 Board of Directors are treasurer and chairman of the subcommittee on budget and finance, John Tracy, executive chairman, Dot Foods Inc.; chairman of the NAW association executives council (AEC), Ralph Suppa of the Canadian Institute of Plumbing & Heating; chairman-elect of the AEC, Rick Long of the Petroleum Equipment Institute; and past chair of the AEC, Deborah M. Hamlin of the Irrigation Association.

NAW comprises individual wholesale distribution firms and a federation of national, regional, state, and local associations and their members, which collectively total more than 30,000 companies. NAW represents the nearly $5.7-trillion merchant wholesale distribution industry, which moves to market virtually every kind of product in the U.S. economy and employs 5.9 million people.

For more information, visit www.naw.org.