The National Plasterers Council has new management.

Going forward, The Sanford Organization, a Wauconda, Ill.-based association management firm, will handle operations for the group.

Jeff Henderson, the company’s vice president, will serve as NPC’s executive director.

“We’re positive and excited as a board; we’re looking forward to the new leadership,” said NPC’s Board Chair David Schilli.

Until late last year, the organization was managed by Mitch Brooks and his company, Visioneering Consultants of Port Charlotte, Fla. The two entities abruptly ended their relationship after 10 years.

The choice of The Sanford Organization came after a rigorous vetting process. The board looked at 12 applicants, and winnowed the group down to three finalists. They visited all three candidates’ offices, performed more interviews and came out with two prospects, before a last round of talks and final decision in mid-April.

With the addition of the plasterers organization, TSO now manages eight trade associations and professional societies. The company has a strong presence in the metals market, handling the International Magnesium Association and the Aluminum Extruders Council, among others.

“We thought [extrusion] was a trade similar to the plastering industry, with the same types of issues,” Schilli said. “And Jeff was very passionate about what he felt we could do and where it could take us.”

Before joining TSO earlier this year, Henderson was director of marketing and business development at Sapa Extrusions, North America’s largest aluminum extruder. He worked in the field of extrusion for 20 years and developed a relationship with TSO while serving as a board member on the Aluminum Extruders Council. He’s held a wide range of positions that includes sales management and plant operation.

TSO has 12 employees, several of whom may have minor responsibilities for NPC. However, the key point people will be Henderson and Ann Scheible, who will serve as NPC’s membership coordinator. She also is the director of member services for the International Magnesium Association, as well as the Chicago Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. Her past includes a stint as a project manager and process re-engineering analyst at Allstate.

In the short term, Henderson will focus on introducing TSO to NPC members. The next order of business will be to organize a membership drive in time for renewal season. The group also wants to expand the reach of its certification program to builders and service technicians as well as heighten awareness of its certification among consumers.

“That is a strength [of NPC’s] ... that they really have a significant message for purchasers, users and service companies for swimming pools,” Henderson said.

In the longer term, NPC will focus on website redesign and revenue enhancement programs. “The sky’s the limit for these folks,” Henderson said. “There’s a lot they can do. They just need to take their passion and knit it together with modern tools and a strong trade association theme to take it to the next level.”