Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) members elected Belinda Wise as president of the 2025 PMI Board of Directors during PMI’s 70th Annual Meeting of the Membership yesterday. A member of the Neoperl USA Board of Directors, Wise succeeds Chip Way, director of OEM sales at Lavelle Industries. Way will remain on the board as immediate past president. The meeting was held during the PMI24 Manufacturing Success Conference in Atlanta, where PMI celebrated its 70th anniversary.

In addition to Wise and Way, the members of the 2025 board will be board vice president Bob Neff, Delta Faucet Company; board secretary/treasurer Lowell Lampen, Kohler; and at-large directors Troy Benavidez, LIXIL; Kate Olinger, Uponor-GF Building Flow Solutions; Michael Reffner, Moen; and Paige Riddle, LSP Products.

In remarks after her election, Wise encouraged all members to leverage the power of their collective network.

“The strength of our association lies in the knowledge and experience of each one of you. I look forward to fostering even greater collaboration among our members, facilitating the exchange of ideas, and creating platforms where we can work together to solve the challenges of today and tomorrow,” she said.

Wise recognized Way for his contributions as the 2024 PMI board president. Wise also announced that the 71st Annual Meeting of the Membership will be held as part of the PMI25 Manufacturing Success Conference from Nov. 3-6, 2025, at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago.

In remarks summing up 2024, Way recognized new PMI manufacturing members Falcon Water Technologies, represented by president and CEO John Confrey, and LSP Products, represented by Paige Riddle, senior director, product management. Way also presented the PMI President's Award to C.J Lagan of LIXIL.

During his state of the association report, PMI CEO/Executive Director Kerry Stackpole spoke of how the plumbing manufacturing industry is a force for global change, making leading contributions toward better water efficiency and hygiene, access to clean water and sanitation systems, and sustainable building and green living. These contributions ultimately save water, reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, prevent illness, and save lives. Stackpole named Lars Christensen of BLANCO as the recipient of the PMI Ambassador Award, given each year to an employee of a PMI member company.

The Nov. 4-7 PMI24 meeting earlier featured the inaugural PMI Women’s Breakfast, a celebration of the contributions of women to the plumbing manufacturing industry, and the presentation of the Paul Patton PMI24 Manufacturing Success Award to Jake MacDonald, director, quality, BLANCO North America.