MIA Leadership Changing Hands at Year’s End
A Certified Association Executive, Distelhorst received the association industry’s highest honor, the Key Award, in 1984 from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). He was Chairman of the ASAE Board of Directors from 1995 to 1996 and Chair of the Board of Directors of the ASAE Foundation from 1992 to 1993.
Bob Stasswender, president of Southwest Marble & Granite, was a member of the search committee that hired Distelhorst in 2002. He says Distelhorst’s association experience and preparation put him head and shoulders above other candidates.
“Gary had done all his homework three times over. He knew more about the MIA than we did,” Stasswender recalls. “It was all over with. We said, ‘We’ve got to have this guy.”
Stasswender believes that Distelhorst’s leadership and member focus have transformed the MIA.
“Gary made the MIA a professional organization,” Stasswender says. “His first and foremost concern has always been, ‘what value are we giving members in return for the dollars they spend?’” As a result, Stasswander says, “MIA has surpassed the other associations by membership, by dollars, by recognition, by global authority. Now everybody looks to the Marble Institute for guidance, education, and assistance.”
“Gary brought a professionalism to the stone industry by the leadership he provided and as a result, MIA is a totally different entity now than it was ten years ago,” says Tony Malisani, president of Malisani Inc. and MIA board secretary. “Our industry now has an association group to advocate for the industry, where we weren’t doing much of that before. He’s done a great job of marshaling resources and taking on challenges.
“Seeing the association as a business was a new concept for the Marble Institute,” Malisani adds. “Gary has made the association more professional, more recognizable, and more functional. We have better strategic planning and a better-organized staff. He has helped to develop a more business-minded industry and also given our members the resources to learn how to grow and develop their own businesses.”
The MIA board selected Hieb to take on the executive vice president’s position. The group previously announced Hieb’s promotion via its Facebook page on July 13.
“The board has made a superb choice in selecting Jim Hieb to be executive vice president,” Distelhorst says. “He will be an excellent leader. I look forward to a successful transition and helping Jim take the reins of this wonderful organization.”
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