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DPHA Council of Fellows
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Jeff Burton built the Bath and Beyond in San Francisco into one of the premier showrooms in the United States. Winner of numerous industry honors, including the 2003 DPHA Showroom of the Year, the Bath & Beyond is recognized one of the most visually dazzling showrooms in the nation. Burton has mixed a unique design with meticulously crafted displays and one-of-a-kind merchandising.
However, Jeff Burton is more than a savvy, astute and successful businessperson. He is a true professional. Burton became the first representative of the decorative plumbing and hardware industry to serve as President of the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). He continued to give back to his profession by serving as the first DPHA President. He provided the organization with instant credibility and laid the foundation for DPHA to become the nation’s largest decorative plumbing and hardware organization within 18 months of its formation. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Forte Buying Group.
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Charles Goldberg built Union Hardware into a market leader in the national capital region. He is best known for his willingness to help others in the industry and for taking chances on new products and product lines. He served as the other initial DPH representative on the NKBA Board and his service to the industry continues to this day.
Goldberg is a pioneer merchandiser who is a pioneer in introducing European and European-inspired decorative plumbing and hardware to the United States. Forward thinking, Goldberg and a group of his peers nearly 20 years ago laid the foundation for the creation of a organization dedicated exclusively to the decorative plumbing and hardware industry. DPHA is the result of that vision.
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Hank Darlington along with Charles Goldberg are the first two decorative plumbing and hardware dealers to have served on the NKBA Board of Directors. Through their efforts decorative plumbing and hardware became a distinctly recognized discipline. In recognizing Darlington at the DPHA Annual Meeting, DPHA President Bill Fiddler claimed, “Hank helped put the bath in kitchen and bath.”
Darlington along with his wife Carol built the Plummery in Sacramento and Oakland into one of the nation’s great showroom operations. After selling the business, Darlington continues give back to his industry by consulting with numerous showrooms and manufacturers, sharing his wisdom, business acumen and experience. He is the author of The Complete Business Management Guide for Kitchen & Bath Professionals, Human Resource Management, The Complete Business Management Guide and Kitchen & Bath Business Management.
Darlington writes bi-monthly columns for Kitchen & Bath Design News and Supply House Times. He also is the creator and presenter of the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s Business Owner Symposium. He has served in the NKBA National Executive Committee, as a member of the NKBA Board of Directors and a former chairman of the Decorative Plumbing and Hardware Council.
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Marilyn Hermance is another pioneer in the decorative plumbing and hardware industry. She held a variety of jobs before entering the world of decorative plumbing and hardware. She was a child model, owned an automobile and truck company and taught American Studies at Case Western Reserve University. In 1977, Hermance returned to her native Houston. She became frustrated by the fact that she could not find products for her new house that she wanted. As a result, she opened Houston’s first decorative plumbing and hardware showroom. For the next two decades, the business grew steadily thanks to Hermance’s sharp eye for innovative product and entrepreneurial passion to succeed.
Hermance recognized the need for her industry to come together and became one of the dynamic forces that helped to create the DPH sector within NKBA. She also understood and appreciated the challenges facing entrepreneurs who may not have had formal business training. That is one of the reasons she helped to establish the Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Houston and serve as one of the Program’s adjunct professors.
Hermance continues to give back to her industry. She is a founding member of DPHA and has served on the Board of Directors since its inception. She also is a member of the Board of the Forte Buying Group. Her passion for the industry is an inspiration to all of the employees at Westheimer Hardware where she continues to be the company’s leading sales person.
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Jack Fase is a pioneer in the decorative plumbing and hardware industry. During his four decades of involvement in the industry, Fase has seen decorative plumbing and hardware evolve from humble beginnings to a specialized niche industry. Fase started his career in the late 1960s with Chaueauqua Hardware which at the time was manufacturing hardware under its name and under the name of Period Brass. In 1969, Fase was hired to run Alno, Inc, a distribution facility serving the west coast of the United States. In addition to Chaueauqua Hardware and Period Brass, Fase diversified the operation by bringing in accessories from Europe and establishing a relationship with the Broadway Collection to become the west coast distributor of Broadway products.
Alno, Inc. quickly became the leading volume distributor of Broadway products in the nation. Working together, Alno and Broadway introduced the first coordinated suite of products where the faucet finish matched the finishes on door hardware accessories and other components in the bath.
In the mid 1980s, Fase guided Alno, Inc. to move from exclusively a distributor to a manufacturer. The company has gained a well-deserved reputation for manufacturing and importing innovative and quality products. DPHA recognized Fase for his unbridled support of his industry and his commitment to advancing the independent channel.
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Faye Norton is a pioneer in the decorative plumbing and hardware industry. Designer Hardware by Faye is the destination of choice in Oklahoma City and has been a decorative plumbing and hardware institution for many years. Norton has always felt the need to contribute meaningfully to her industry and advance professionalism. She, along with a number of her peers, was responsible for creating the Decorative Plumbing & Hardware Council for NKBA. Norton took on a leadership role in the Council from its inception, serving as secretary, vice chairperson and chair. She also served as chair of the membership benefits committee at NKBA.
During her tenure in leadership roles, Norton represented the needs of the industry with insight and integrity. In 2001, Norton was an influential voice in the need to develop a new trade organization that would focus exclusively on decorative plumbing and hardware. She attended the first organizational meeting that lead to the creation of the Decorative Plumbing & Hardware Association and has served as chair of the Education Committee since DPHA was established. During her tenure, DPHA has developed the industry’s most comprehensive training program and published the industry’s first point of purchase consumer pieces that relate the tremendous value a professional showroom provides to consumers and projects.
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Rod Denhart is an amateur magician. For more than 30 years, he has been pulling rabbits out of his hat in the decorative plumbing and hardware industry. However, Rod’s magic is not a lot of smoke and mirrors or hand-is-quicker-than-the-eye mumble jumble. It’s real in the truest sense of the word. The magic is his passion for the industry, his company, his employees and his family. Rod’s magic appears in an innate ability to convert passion into accomplishment, business relationships into life long friendships and vision into reality.
Rod is an attorney by training and practiced law until 1973 when he accepted a position with Artistic Brass. He recognized that decorative plumbing and hardware was an emerging industry. He spent 13 years at Artistic Brass and left when it was sold to a multinational manufacturer. Denhart’s next venture resulted in the creation of Auburn Brass. Moving from an executive position to an equity position provided him with new perspectives and taught him the importance of eliminating subjectivity from the decision making process.
In 1990, Denhart created Legacy Brass, distinguishing itself from the competition by offering superior customer service. It is more than a coincidence or fate that has made Legacy Brass successful. The company’s rising star has been linked to the significant growth of DPHA. When Artistic Brass was purchased in 1986, Denhart, along with Hank Darlington, Charlie Goldberg, Glenn Rider and Phil Brill, among several others, got together and determined there was a need for their industry to come together to represent the interest of decorative plumbing and hardware. That need resulted in the creation of DPHA.
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Walt Diamond built Snyder Diamond in Southern California into one of the largest and most successful showrooms in the United States. Diamond is credited as a master merchandiser. He was one of the first showroom owners to introduce European faucetry to America and created a reputation for innovation and unique product lines that remain hallmarks that differentiate Snyder Diamond to this day.
Diamond also is credited with expanding the use of the modern vignette display. His showrooms were among the first to showcase bathroom cabinets, medicine cabinets, marble tops, decorative faucets and bath lavs with custom or painted decals to match wallpaper and table top accessories as a coordinated package.