The ceremony celebrated members and supplier partners in all three divisions who excelled in sales performance, marketing excellence, employee engagement, leadership and giving back.

Despite post-pandemic challenges, more than 1,000 AD members, suppliers and associates gathered for the 2021 AD PHCP North American Meeting Oct. 18-21, the most attendees ever at this event.

The buying group is reporting member sales in the first nine months of 2021 were $44 billion, an increase of 34 percent across its 13 divisions and three countries.

AD’s 5th annual eCommerce Summit, held Aug. 23-25 at the Gaylord National Resort in Fort Washington, Maryland, set a new benchmark for digital sophistication in AD’s independent distributor community.

The new partnership expands QuickDrain’s reach in the showroom space.

The microlearning platform is designed to train membership employees on soft skills in leadership, selling and merchandising.

AD is reporting member sales in the first six months of 2021 were $28.1 billion, an increase of 30 percent across its 13 divisions and three countries.

In her new role, Lugo will help build on the buying group's legacy of creating value for its members and suppliers.

The summit is one of two cross-divisional and functional summits held annually designed to extend the value of AD networking and best-practice sharing to additional disciplines within its member companies.

Associates in AD’s four U.S. offices assembled boxes filled with toys, coloring books, and other activities, along with inspirational messages, for The Jared Box Project.