LaValley Building Supply honored with Retail Beacon Award

LaValley Building Supply, with 12 home center locations in Vermont and New Hampshire, was one of four retailers honored as Beacon Award winners during the Beacon Awards banquet held Aug. 19 at the JW Marriott in Marco Island, FL. The Beacon Awards are a premier national industry awards program developed by The Hardware Connection magazine and The Hardware Conference to recognize the “best of the best” independent hardware/home improvement retailers.

The Beacon Awards are sponsored by Epicor Software Corp. and Ettore Products Company, with wholesaler sponsorship support from Orgill Inc. and other wholesalers.

The Beacon Awards, now in their 10th year, honored the Retail Beacon Award winners for each of the two participating wholesalers, plus two winners for Best New Store. LaValley Building Supply was honored with Orgill’s Retail Beacon Award.

“LaValley Building Supply is very worthy of its inclusion in the 2022 class of Beacon honorees,” stated Chris Jensen, editor/founder/principal of The Hardware Connection, the hardware industry’s leading digital publication. “Over the past 60 years, the company has developed into a one-stop shop to supply customers with all their building needs. The LaValley Family has built a lasting legacy of achievement with the business.”

An overview of LaValley Building Supply:

LaValley Building Supply was founded in 1962 by Harold and Gerry LaValley, who are still active. Their son-in-law Larry Huot has been with the company since 1975 and serves as president, while the third generation of the family is now involved in the business.

The company today consists of 12 locations in New Hampshire and Vermont that offer customers a one-stop shop for all of their building needs. The company also has a paint and decorating center, one of the largest eastern white pine sawmills in New England, a truss plant, a wall panel plant and a custom modular home division.

Reliable service and honest dealings have been the cornerstone of the company through three generations of the family business. The company is very active in the communities it serves, supporting hospitals, food banks, senior centers, Habitat for Humanity and numerous charities as well as many youth, arts and recreational programs. They organized a contractor golf tournament and raised $32,000 to assist in the aid and reconstruction of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. “We believe that building strong communities is beneficial to everyone,” says Larry. “Ultimately, we are in the people business. Supporting our communities and providing not only our products, services and systems, but any additional aid, is important to us.”

The company's focus on people flows into the treatment of its employees as well. With 600 employees, many with 20 to 40 years of service with the company, continued education and the freedom to make decisions brings a sense of ownership to employees and encourages exceptional engagement. They developed an extensive in-house training program for employees, while relying on Orgill’s merchandising and marketing programs to keep them successful.

Reflecting on what it means to win the Beacon Award, Larry says, “Every decade has volatility, but leaders push through and are steadfast. Winning the Beacon Award gives us a moment to look in the mirror and evaluate what our continued leadership is about and what we need to do to hold onto our legacy. We’re focused on what needs to be done next to be trusted by our customers. We are humbled and grateful, together with our employees, to develop long lasting relationships while serving our customers and communities near and afar. You have to be appreciative and bold every day.”

The Hardware Connection The Hardware Connection is the only magazine designed and distributed solely in an electronic format for independent hardware retailers. With a circulation of nearly 60,000, The Hardware Connection has been honored with 16 awards for editorial excellence in the past nine years.

LaValley Building Supply and other 2022 Beacon Award winners will be featured in the September/October 2022 issue of The Hardware Connection magazine. For more information on the Beacon Awards, go to www.thehardwareconnection.com.