In the fourth installment of The AD Report, Dan Kelly, AD’s president of the Plumbing — U.S. and Decorative Brands Divisions, posed some questions to Brad Shanks, president and owner of White Star Supply, a very new member of the AD family. 

White Star Supply is a family-owned and -operated business with stores located in Brunswick and Waycross, Ga. It offers plumbing and electrical supplies to local contractors; lighting and plumbing fixtures in its showrooms to designers, contractors and homeowners; and provides support for multifamily developers and management companies in the Southeast. 

It is equally focused on investing in the lives of its 45-employee team, giving staff the opportunity to grow, develop and provide for their families.

Guided by the vision of owners Brad and Kimsey Shanks, who reside on Georgia’s St. Simons Island with their three remarkable children — Siler Jane, Lee and Ford — the White Star Supply team is committed to delivering exceptional service and quality products. 

Dan Kelly: Brad, October is White Star’s first anniversary at AD, so happy anniversary! Over the past year, I have enjoyed getting to know you and your team. You and your wife, Kimsey, bought White Star in 2021 after a long and successful career in other industries. What surprised you most about this career shift? How do you like the independent distribution business? 

Brad Shanks: Wow, what an incredible three years it has been! Kimsey and I feel so fortunate to work with our team in southeast Georgia and all the customers, reps and manufacturers who support us and allow us to support them. The people in this industry have been both the biggest surprise and the biggest blessing. Relationships still matter in this industry; actually, relationships are the most important key to our success. 

The other surprising thing about this industry is how rare my acquisition was. With so much consolidation in the industry, a relatively small supply house rarely sells to another individual, especially someone from outside the industry. Just talking about it reminds me how grateful I am for this opportunity. 

People like Glenn Fuller at Texas Plumbing Supply, Fielding Alderman and Coley Herrin at PDI and Drew Roberts at ProSource, amongst many others in the AD community, have been eager to help and support. They take time out of their schedules to answer questions, share best practices and introduce me to other people who helped us grow our business. 

DK: AD was very happy to welcome White Star last year. What made you decide to join us? 

BS: If I must narrow it down, there were two driving factors. 

First, the reporting of and access to real-time data to help drive good decisions. All programs are clearly laid out in the rebate tool on adhq.com with full transparency, allowing my team to make solid purchasing decisions with a real impact on our bottom line. 

Second is everything AD offers beyond the rebate. Its corporate team is always available to help and provide real-time solutions, ideas or introductions. We have used its resources to search for other vendors, technology upgrades, solutions from service providers, talk through areas needing improvement, and network with other wholesalers. 

Steph McAllister, AD’s director of member engagement, visited us in person to give us a full onboarding, allowing us to use all the resources AD has available. She is a great resource to navigate the many resources within AD.

DK: It’s very rewarding for the AD team to support your business in three of our verticals: plumbing, electrical and decorative brands. Most recently, your team attended the Decorative Brands Division meeting in Dallas and the Plumbing Division spring meeting in Washington, DC. What was the feedback from those meetings, and how has the multidivisional experience been for you so far? 

BS: I have found these meetings to be well-run and helpful. AD is full of distributors in each division with the same growth goals as we do at White Star. Growing market share in multiple segments is challenging, but interacting with long-term successful distributors who share or have overcome these challenges is invaluable for me. 

DK: Bringing great companies together to network and share best practices continues to be one of the biggest draws to AD. This year, we took the initiative to revamp and refresh AD Networking with our owner/members to raise the bar and continuously provide value. How has your AD Networking experience impacted White Star? 

BS: AD has certainly lived up to its commitment to focus on creating networking opportunities. The network groups I have been fortunate to be a part of have been extremely helpful. Big or small, each distributor faces many of the same challenges. Sharing best practices and bouncing ideas off each other has been the most beneficial aspect of my network groups. 

With AD’s groups, I find myself learning from some of the best in the industry. I think of the innovative Sam Miller of Trumbull Industries, John Snover of Eastern Industrial discussing culture and giving back, Jeff Wool from Wool Kitchen and Bath on some of its vendor selections, and Andy Gander of Dakota Supply Group on how to better use the same ERP system we have. These are a few examples of individuals who helped us progress as a business.

DK: As a company, we value giving back initiatives. We noticed you shared a few great events on your Instagram account. Tell us a little about your company’s giving back efforts.

BS: Thank you for asking this question. Luke 12:48 states: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Kimsey and I feel strongly that there is great value in sharing what we have with the community that continues to be so good to us. 

These opportunities include being the presenting sponsor for the First Responders luncheon (after they saved our warehouse from a late-night fire caused by lightning), sponsoring the Alzheimer’s walk, providing scholarships to graduating seniors from our local trade school, giving to the local Victory Board for breast cancer awareness, donating t-shirts to local youth ministries, or working as a team to fill stockings for a Christmas in July celebration supporting the local foster care system. 

Owning a local business allows us numerous opportunities to give back, but maybe nothing more exciting than Friday night football in the South and seeing your company logo in the lights on the high school scoreboard!

DK: Brad, thank you for sharing some of your story with us. You and Kimsey are obviously in this business for the long term. How has AD helped you shape your vision for the future? 

BS: AD is full of larger businesses that are what we are striving to be. I can’t tell you how helpful it is to interact, learn from and collaborate with people who work for successful businesses. 

I have to say that you, Dan, have been an invaluable resource. Your network, ideas and experience have frequently helped us access solutions for the real day-to-day and strategic problems we face. 

The Shanks family has big plans for White Star Supply, centered around the idea that growth will create opportunities for our team, our community, our customers and our vendors. AD is clearly the right partner to help us achieve our goals. 

Dan Kelly is president of Affiliated Distributors U.S. Plumbing and Decorative Brands Divisions. He is responsible for the engagement and support of members and suppliers in using AD’s resources as well as plumbing and decorative brands recruitment efforts. Before joining AD, Kelly worked for 32 years at AD owner/member Thos. Somerville Co.