Evergreen Recognizes Member And Supplier Of The Year Award Recipients
Farmers Branch, TX – The Evergreen Marketing Group has recognized three distributor members and three manufacturer partners as 2011 Member or Supplier of the Year. The awards were presented at the group’s annual Partnership Conference in April.
Earning distinction as 2011 Distributor Member of Year were:
Acme Tools of Grand Forks, ND (Tier 1) (www.acmetools.com)
Jim & Slim’s Tool Supply of Largo, FL (Tier 2) (www.jimslimstools.com)
Jobsite Supply of Indianapolis, IN (Tier 3) (www.jobsitesupply.com)
Earning distinction as 2011 Preferred Supplier of the Year were:
Stanley Black & Decker/CDIY (Tier 1) (www.dewalt.com)
Sumner Manufacturing (Tier 2) (www.sumner.com)
ERB Industries (Tier 3) (www.e-erb.com)
The awards were created to recognize the top distributors and manufacturers based on a multiple criteria. Distributors and manufacturers were first divided into three tiers based on size. Within each tier, the distributor and manufacturer were then ranked based on a number of criteria including: contribution to the group, growth, participation, and member and supplier input.
Evergreen Honors 15 Certified Tool Specialists, Eight Diamond Recipients, Six Certified Operations Specialists, and Three Safety Specialists
Farmers Branch, TX – Fifteen sales professionals were recognized as Evergreen Certified Tool Specialists during the group’s annual Partnership Conference held in April. In addition, three others were recognized for achieving their first “Diamond Level,” two earned their third “Diamond Level,” two earned their sixth “Diamond Level,” and one earned his seventh “Diamond Level.” In addition, Evergreen also recognized six individuals as Evergreen Certified Operations Specialists and three as Evergreen Safety Specialists.
The 15 individuals earned initial certification by completing a multi-year training and education program that is sponsored by The Evergreen Marketing Group, a cooperative organization of 71 tool and fastener distributors with more than 280 locations in the U.S. and Canada. To earn certification, sales professionals must complete 137.5 hours of continuing education covering product, applications and selling skills. To achieve a “Diamond Level,” the professional must first become certified and then complete another 52.5 hours of professional development and have a teaching experience. There are a total of nine Diamond Levels available in the program.
Becoming an Evergreen Certified Operations Specialist requires more than 120 hours of training in areas such as purchasing, inventory management, human resources, and operations. Becoming an Evergreen Safety Specialist requires nearly 100 hours of specialized training in safety products and applications.
The newly Certified Tool Specialists and Diamond recipients were announced during a ceremony at Evergreen’s Annual Partnership Conference held in April in Dallas, Texas. Achieving their first Diamond Level were:
- Eric Steinbrecher, Lincoln Contractors of Milwaukee, WI
- Jason Bedel, Northern States Supply of Willmar, MN
- Gee Bridges, PBC Industrial of New Orleans, LA
Earning their third Diamond Level were:
- John Becker, Construction Tool Service of Pittsburg, PA
- John Blackwell, PBC Industrial of Baton Rouge, LA
Earning their sixth Diamond Level were:
- Leo Fay of Pro Tool & Supply, Waltham, MA
- John Calhoun of United Tool & Fastener, Houston, TX
Earning his seventh Diamond Level was:
- Paul H. Connelly of Construction Tool Service, Pittsburgh, PA
The following sales professionals earned their initial certification:
- Jamie Ackerland of Acme Tools, Grand Forks, ND
- Bernie Haim of Bernie’s Tools & Fasteners, Jacksonville, FL
- John Higginbotham of Bernie’s Tools & Fasteners, Jacksonville, FL
- Jack Zunich of California Service Tool, Hayward, CA
- Ken Huddleson of Construction Tool Service, Pittsburgh, PA
- Mike Robey of Dixie Construction Products, Atlanta, GA
- Corby Pardue of Ft. Worth Bolt & Tool, Ft. Worth, TX
- Matthew Burrows of Lincoln Contractors Supply, Milwaukee, WI
- Jered Piencikowski of Lincoln Contractors Supply, Milwaukee, WI
- James Samuelson of Lincoln Contractors Supply, Milwaukee, WI
- Brian Zeinert of Lincoln Contractors Supply, Milwaukee, WI
- Kevin Dobson of Pro Tool & Supply, Waltham, MA
- Clint Amos of Total Tool Supply, St. Paul, MN
- Ben Owens of Total Tool Supply, St. Paul, MN
- David Oquinn of United Tool & Fastener, Houston, TX
“There are now nearly than 180 sales professionals in the tool and fastener industry who have earned the designation as Evergreen certified,” said Kevin Higginbotham, chief executive officer of The Evergreen Marketing Group. “Through this program they have demonstrated their commitment to this industry and their own professional development.”
Evergreen Certified Tool Specialists earn the right to wear a championship-style gold ring or a handsome, custom-made gold watch. Following initial recognition, sales professionals build toward the Diamond Levels by taking additional classes and workshops designed to sharpen their skills further.
Diamond Levels of certification require the sales professional to complete additional 52.5 hours of professional development programs, take Evergreen developed online training modules and have a “teaching experience.” The teaching experience is designed to drive the training effort deeper into the distributor’s organization by requiring the Certified Tool Specialist to share what they know with others. Each higher level of certification is marked with a diamond placed on the ring or watchface.
The group launched a companion certification program for professionals involved in operations or management over a year ago. These individuals are recognized at Evergreen Certified Operations Specialist once they complete more than 120 hours of training in areas such as purchasing, inventory control, human resource management, and operations. Three individuals earned recognition as Certified Operations Specialists:
- Pete Molloy of Jobsite Supply, Indianapolis, IN
- Rand Okemura of Slim’s Power Tools, Honolulu, HI
- Tina Erpenbach of Northern States Supply, Willmar, MN
- Chris Wharton of Northern States Supply, Willmar, MN
- Brandon Weber of PBC Industrial, Baton Rouge, LA
- John Calhoun of United Tool & Fastener, Houston, TX
In addition, the following individuals earned designation as Evergreen Safety Specialists by completing a rigorous set of courses related to safety products:
- Neal Thivierge of Ensco Supply, Charlotte, NC
- Kirk Burzynski of Jim & Slim’s Tool Supply, Largo, FL
- Trevor Osborn of Jobsite Supply, Indianapolis, IN
The Evergreen Marketing Group is a member-owned cooperative organization founded in 1989 by six construction/industrial supply distributors. It currently consists of 71 distributors with more than 280 locations in the United States and Canada and has combined revenues of over $1.2 billion dollars. The group is focused on driving growth and profitability of its distributors and preferred suppliers through an on-going program of training & education, business development and partnering. Evergreen maintains a state-of-the-art 17,000 square foot training center in Farmer’s Branch, Texas and offers the industry’s only professional certification program for distributor sales people.
For more information, contact Kevin Higginbotham at 1-800-859-8733.
The Evergreen Marketing Group is a member-owned cooperative organization founded in 1989 by six construction/industrial supply distributors. It currently consists of 71 distributors with more than 280 locations in the United States and Canada and has combined revenues of over $1.2 billion dollars. The group is focused on driving growth and profitability of its distributors and preferred suppliers through an on-going program of training & education, business development and partnering. Evergreen maintains a state-of-the-art 17,000 square foot training center in Farmer’s Branch, Texas and offers the industry’s only professional certification program for distributor sales people.
