From The Editor

At Metal Center News, the arrival of the dog days of summer means it’s time to start thinking about our highest honor, the Service Center Executive of the Year. This December, MCN will bestow the distinction on the 22nd recipient. Last year, we sent Kloeckner Metals’ Bill Partalis off into retirement with a fitting gift.

The award was designed to recognize those individuals who have been leaders of their companies, the service center industry and in their communities. They are templates to follow for any and all who run a distribution business.

Since its creation in 2007, the Executive of the Year has honored the biggest names in the history of the business, including David Hannah of Reliance Steel & Aluminum, Bud Siegel of Russel Metals and the late Norm Gottschalk of Marmon-Keystone. Many of our recipients remain leaders in the industry today, including Gary Stein of Triple-S Steel, Dave Lerman of Steel Warehouse, and, somewhat remarkably, our very first winner, Olympic Steel’s Michael Siegal.

We’re sure the 2018 winner will fit comfortably with these giants of the past. But we need your help to make that happen.

We’re now accepting nominations for this year’s honor. You can call or send me a letter nominating an individual, whether that’s a boss, an industry peer or a family member. Explain what he or she has done that makes him or her a fitting recipient. The more information you can provide on your candidate’s attributes, the better.

We will accept nominees through mid-October. The winner will be announced a short time later, and a feature on the 22nd honoree can be found in the year-end issue of Metal Center News.

Thank you in advance for any help you give us in this endeavor.