Bellwether League’s Kowalski introduced Ted Almon, president and CEO, The Claflin Co., with some whimsical irony. He joked that Almon, whose brother played Major League Baseball in the 1970s and was the No. 1 draft pick in 1974, actually was voted into a hall of fame before his brother.

Almon laughed but quickly turned serious as he said he was "deeply honored and humbled a bit and probably a little embarrassed because Bellwether League is made up of so many individuals whose work I’ve looked up to for years.

"Anything I may have done to deserve this honor was probably done by them first," Almon continued. "I’m happy to take credit but will share this award with all of them."

Robert P. "Bud" Bowen, Bellwether League Inc.’s retiring secretary, accepted awards on behalf of Carter F. Blake and Franklin J. Marshall as two of his "oldest and dearest" friends that were group purchasing pioneers.

Bowen haled Blake for his "straight and narrow" business acumen from which he learned honesty and integrity. He also lauded Marshall as a "feisty little guy" who demonstrated passion for doing what he loved, "preached sticking together as a group" and "honoring the contracts you signed."

In a statement read by Bowen, Blake thanked his wife for "allowing me to spend many 12- and 14-hour days at the office, as well as many hours of flight time, and many missed ‘special occasions.’" Blake also singled out Les Adams who introduced him to group purchasing, and Brien Laing (Bellwether Class of 2008) who introduced him to exchange carts based in nursing stations and in patient care departments back in the 1960s.

"I started out as a hospital corpsman," Blake indicated, "[where] I washed a few bedpans, sharpened a few reusable needles, and soaked and cleaned many reusable syringes. It always seemed like one could never catch up, let alone get ahead. In fact, I’m not sure I ever caught up with what was expected of me. Healthcare was a very demanding occupation, with never a boring minute, and I assume it still is. However, I can’t think of [an] any more rewarding and satisfying career."

In Marshall’s statement he expressed humility at being "in the company of so many who have distinguished themselves" in the healthcare supply chain. "As the late Rev. Peter Marshall once commented, ‘The measure of life is not its duration, but its donation.’ Those who I have joined in spirit tonight have made that donation during their lifetime.

"I have during my career been the recipient of knowledge freely shared by others who have been willing to offer their guidance and counsel and to them I am extremely thankful," he continued, "for they forged the framework of my professional life."

Brother Kirt Gerber, a Benedictine Brother, accepted the award for fellow Brother in the Benedictine Order and brother-by-family Ned Gerber, CPA. Ned Gerber currently is stationed in Sydney, Australia, where he does healthcare consulting work on behalf of IBM for public and private hospitals, as well as Fortune 500 companies.

Gerber told the audience that his brother embraced this award with "humility and class," further noting that "it’s not often you get to do things like this."

Gerber said the two of them were "encouraged and heartened by the contributions being made" by supply chain and Bellwether League Inc. Both Gerbers spent part of their supply chain management careers at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Gerber highlighted their medical relief efforts in East Africa and then warned supply chain management professionals to concentrate on supply-oriented risk management, product protection and security measures. Given that roughly 25 percent of goods come from China, whose manufacturing processes have been linked to a flurry of product recalls in the United States, it’s important for supply chain managers to make sure products they purchase are safe to use, he emphasized.

Kim C. Gossett, oldest son of the late George R. Gossett, enlightened the audience about his father’s selfless, servant-oriented spirit as most attendees knew the elder Gossett by name only and not the man behind the name. AHRMM named its leadership award after Gossett who was the organization’s first president in 1962.

"My father had a heart for people and taught us to be a servant first," Gossett said. "He taught us that if you want to get ahead in life you serve others and be an example to them."

To Gossett, "healthcare wasn’t just a business," he continued. "He felt that everyone who walked into the hospital got the best healthcare they could so he worked diligently to help people who walked in to walk out healthy."

Gossett’s wholesome attitude and savvy business acumen motivated such renowned facilities as Johns Hopkins Hospital and Pittsburgh’s Mercy Hospital, for example, to recruit him to help with their budgeting and purchasing processes before his life was tragically cut short in 1965 at the age of 38 from a car accident.

Frank D. Kilzer repeated a recurring theme among the latest Honorees. "It’s humbling to be here among peers who have accomplished so much," he said. "To get where we are today takes a cheerleader." Kilzer cited his wife first, his high school sweetheart who has been with him throughout his career.

Then he mentioned his professional connection to fellow Inductee Frank Marshall whom he met when Kilzer was 19 years old. "He brought me into supply chain management and inspired me," he recalled. Kilzer called Marshall his "greatest teacher and probably the best friend you’ll ever have in industry."

Kilzer concluded by mentioning a plethora of awards he’s received throughout his career and a variety of world traveling experiences where he promoted the use of bar coding and electronic commerce, "but none of these experiences mean as much to me as this award from some of my peers. This is a moment I will never forget, a special moment in my career."

Michael Louviere expressed his humility at being included in the Bellwether Class of 2010. "There’s no greater honor than to be recognized by your peers," he said.

Louviere instead attributed his induction to all the great people who supported him throughout his career. "I’m not afraid to ask for help and not afraid to borrow ideas," he added.

As someone who early on had trained to be a Catholic priest, Louviere stressed being a servant and proper alignment as keys to whatever success achieved to date. Both concepts, he noted, help him deal with the continual orders to reduce costs more, "something that’s never ending in this economy."

Jean Majors, wife of the late Robert Bross Majors, who died in early 2007, accepted the award on behalf of her family. "We miss him greatly," she noted, before reminiscing how she and her family enjoyed reflecting on Bob’s career and life in the month’s leading to the Bellwether League event.

Referring to Majors’ notoriously jovial attitude, she added that "I should have a joke or song to share with you all but I don’t."

Daniel E. Mayworm orally walked through the highlights of his career, first as a manufacturer of medical packaging who battled against a "sacred cow" mindset of what truly defines a product as sterile, to an educator and publisher exploring the importance of supply chain’s reach into the clinical areas.

"I tried to get [supply processing and distribution] reporting to where it belonged – materiel management – and not the [operating room]," Mayworm quipped. "Some of you guys still don’t know how to spell it," he added, referring to his steadfast campaign to use an "e" versus an "a" at the end of material to signify a process more than a product.

Mayworm was one of the earliest advocates in renaming the profession "resource management" from materials or materiel management. "In my mind I knew that’s really what the job was," he said.

But he admitted his educational efforts, most notably his infamous "Dating Game" seminars that referenced product sterility, were high points in his career. "I never made a lot of money at it but I had a lot of fun doing it."

Kowalski next lauded the late Foster G. McGaw for his ethical, selfless and customer-focused reputation as the founder of American Hospital Supply Corp. that has developed, influenced and shaped supply chain management, and for his generous philanthropic efforts.

Kowalski then accepted the award on behalf of Mark M. McKenna, recognizing him for his distinguished career in group purchasing where he helped found and develop Novation and stalwartly defended the industry on Capitol Hill.

McKenna’s former colleagues at Novation, led by current president Jody Hatcher, issued a formal statement that highlighted his "trail-blazing" accomplishments. "We can’t think of a more deserving recipient, or one who better personifies the Bellwether League’s purpose of highlighting the influencers, innovators, pioneers and risk takers who have molded and shaped the healthcare supply chain," Hatcher stated.

G. Gilmer Minor III reflected on how Bellwether League gathered together so many people with different backgrounds to support the need and value of such an important function in healthcare.

"This has been a trip down memory lane this evening," Minor said. "What’s impressed me so much is that we’re bound by a supply chain that unites us. I’ve been part of a team that’s committed to success, and Bellwether League has given us a chance to recognize that.

"Supply chain is a link to success," he continued. "If we don’t do it right or consistently well, it will break down. As I look back on my career, every three to five years we’ve had to reinvent what we do. Think about how this industry has changed over the years and will continue to change. Supply chain needs to be in front of that."

Curt M. Selquist reinforced that "we’re all at one end or another of the supply chain" and that "everyone has a distinct role." He joked that as a Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems executive he’d sometimes go home a defeated guy after meeting with GPO executives.

Selquist recalled that the U.S. government publicly revealed the existence of the Internet in 1969 (The Defense Department commissioned what was known as ARPANET to link with universities and promote networking research) but that civilian and commercial use didn’t widely emerge until 1991 (with the release of point-and-click file navigation and World Wide Web software). He recounted the Internet bubble at the turn of the millennium "when people sought to make a buck" with online commerce before it popped. Yet his organization, GHX, weathered the hype and hyperbole, expanding with a primary motivation.

"We have one person in mind when we get up in the morning and that’s the patient," he said.

Phyllis Soth, wife of the late Donald G. Soth, picked up on the common theme of the event as she accepted the award for her husband who served as the popular face of American Sterilizer Co.

"I’ve heard the word ‘humbled’ so many times," she said. "Don would have been so humbled by this award."

Kowalski accepted the award on behalf of Louis Vietti who he credited with incorporating industrial applications and information technology within hospital-based supply chain management operations before it became "fashionable" to do so.

Bellwether League Inc.’s third annual Honoree Induction Dinner also marked the retirement of two Founding Board members, and the debut of their successors.

Robert P. "Bud" Bowen, retired CEO of Amerinet Inc., and Thomas W. Hughes, executive director of Strategic Marketplace Initiative, finished their founding terms after nearly four years of dedicated service.