Jun 1, 2021 Ron Barlet's term as AED chairman grew from 12 to 16 months as he helped guide the association through uncertain times. AED "I'm proud that I was part of an unprecedented situation that we were able to navigate smoothly," says Ron Barlet, who saw a 12-month term as chairman of the Associated Equipment Distributors stretch to 16 months. With his term now behind him, Barlet, who's the president of Placentia, California-based Bejac, took time during last week's AED Summit to talk with Equipment World about a time in which the word "pivot" became overused. AED focused immediately on member communication, Barlet says, detailing everything from PPP loans to COVID protocols to what was happening in Washington. "The net result is that we ended up with more than 90% engagement, we added new dealers and we financially did well," he comments.