Reflections on an Anniversary Year

This, our December issue, is the official wrap-up of our year-long 70th Anniversary celebration—and I honestly wish there were a few more months in the year. I’ve had a great time delving into the history of this publication and the industry it serves.

It may be a cliché, but that doesn’t stop it from being true: the more things change, the more they stay the same. For all the amazing advances made in the trade, for all the new science and technology, plumbing is essentially the same work as when the ancient Romans practiced it. 1954 may be a lifetime away, but the people then—just like the people now—needed toilets that flush, hot showers and clean drinking water.

Yes, people will always need plumbers. But will plumbers always need a magazine like CONTRACTOR? I think as long as we keep serving their business and technical needs, as long as we stay engaging and informative, the answer will be “yes.”

And as those business and technical needs change, this publication will change to meet them. We have some big developments coming in 2025. While I’d love nothing better than to share them with you, our crack legal department has sworn me to secrecy! I’m afraid you’re just going to have to keep reading.

I will say this about spending a year working on anniversary stories: it puts things in perspective. History isn’t just a collection of names and events with dates attached to them; it isn’t just black-and-white pictures on a page. History is people living their lives. History is something that we, all of us, make happen. We’re making it happen right now.

As I write this, the election is over and the results are in. Now the markets and the businesses that comprise those markets have the one thing they so desperately crave, which is clarity about the future.

With that clarity, people can make their business plans and set their budgets for the coming year. And it looks like we have all the makings for a prosperous 2025. Recession fears have (for the moment) abated. Energy prices are stable. The supply chain looks healthy. Inflation is under control and interest rates are starting to come down. (We’ll do a deep dive on all the numbers and bring in some expert opinions next month in our 2025 Industry Forecast.)

But, as we’ve written here before, real success is measured not so much by the money you make as it is by the things that money allows you to do. The comfortable retirement once your working days are done. The good things you can do for your family, for the profession, and for your community. The feature this month is a collection of stories from around the industry of contractors and manufacturers giving back to their communities in ways large and small.

All of us here at CONTRACTOR wish you, our readers, a happy holiday season and a successful 2025. We appreciate the trust you have placed in us, both this year and over the past seven decades. And we hope to continue to serve the needs of plumbing, hydronic and mechanical system professionals for many more years to come.