FARMERS BRANCH, TX — The Evergreen Marketing Group has recognized three distributor members and five manufacturer partners as 2017 Member or Preferred Supplier of the Year. The awards, among others, were presented at the group’s 29th Partnership Conference held in Dallas, TX in April.
Earning distinction as 2017 Distributor Members of Year were
- Acme Tools of Grand Forks, ND (Tier 1) (www.acmetools.com)
- Darragh Company of Little Rock, AR, (Tier 2) (www.darraghcompany.com)
- Constar Supply of Clovis, CA (Tier 3) (www.constarsupply.com)
Earning distinction as 2017 Preferred Suppliers of the Year were
- Milwaukee Tool (Tier 1) (www.milwaukeetool.com)
- Werner Co. (Tier 2) (www.wernerco.com)
- Diamond Products Ltd. (Tier 3) (www.diamondproducts.com)
- Klein Tools (Tier 4) (www.kleintools.com)
- Krylon Industrial Products (Tier 5) (www.kpg-industrial.com)
The awards were created to recognize the top distributors and manufacturers based on multiple criteria. Distributors and manufacturers were first divided into tiers based on size. Within each tier, the distributors and manufacturers were then ranked based on a number of criteria including contribution to the group, growth, participation and member and supplier input.
George A. Sheatz Excellence in Education Award
Evergreen Marketing Group awarded Raul Soto and Taylor Hoppe of Milwaukee Tool and Sean Millham of Stanley Black & Decker its 14th annual “George A. Sheatz Excellence in Education Award”.
Soto, Hoppe and Millham earned the recognition as the top manufacturer instructor participating in the group’s 2017 training program on behalf of their companies.
Supplier instructors are rated by students and Evergreen training center staff during each school. Those instructors who achieve the highest ratings earn the award, which was named after George A. Sheatz, a former tool and fastener distributor who was instrumental in Evergreen’s Training & Education programs for nearly 20 years.
“George had a life-long commitment to professional development,” said Kevin Higginbotham, Chief Executive Officer of Evergreen. “His efforts inspired much of what we try to accomplish in the Evergreen program.”
“Over nearly two decades, thousands of tool and fastener distributor sales people were touched by George and his passion for learning. In winning this year’s George Sheatz Award, Raul, Taylor and Sean along with their companies join an elite group of professional trainers in the tool and fastener industry.”
Past winners of the award include Sean Cores (3M Fall Protection), Kevin Kauffunger (Freud Americas), Calvin Mixon (Construction Electrical Products), Keith Ripley (Diamond Products), J.C. Tiller (Greenlee Textron), Chris Mackzum (ITW Ramset), Jon Finch (Milwaukee Tool), Patrick Kearl (Relton Corp.), Mike Fraser (Stabila), Darrell Hammond (Stabila), Wil Granger (Stanley Black & Decker), Brendan Conway (Sumner) and Jack Zenor (Powers Fasteners).
Professional Development Recipients
Forty-one sales professionals were recognized as Evergreen Certified Tool Specialists during the Partnership Conference. Twelve others were recognized for achieving their next Diamond Level. Evergreen also recognized six individuals as Evergreen Certified Operations Specialists and another eight as Evergreen Safety Specialists.
The 41 individuals earned initial certification by completing a multi-year training and education program that included completion of 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 nine Diamond Levels available in the program.
Becoming an Evergreen Certified Operations Specialist requires more than 80 hours of training in areas such as purchasing, inventory management, human resources and operations. Becoming an Evergreen Safety Specialist requires nearly 70 hours of specialized training in safety products and applications.
Achieving their first Diamond Level were
- Derek Smith, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
- Dean Kirk, American Producers (Marietta, OH)
- James Samuelson, Lincoln Contractors Supply (Milwaukee, WI)
Earning their second Diamond Level were
- Heidi Becklund, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
- Scott Peterson, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
Earning their third Diamond Level were
- Matt Brevik, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
Earning his fifth Diamond Level was
- Jeff Johnson, Acme Construction Supply
- Joe Roeder, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
- John Szlenkier, Colony Hardware (Orange, CT)
- Chris DeBalsi, Pro Tool & Supply (Waltham, MA)
Earning his sixth Diamond Level was
- Eric Steinbrecher, Lincoln Contractors Supply (Milwaukee, WI)
Earning his ninth Diamond Level was
- John Becker, Construction Tool Service (Pittsburgh, PA).
The following sales professionals earned their initial certification:
- Cris Benitez, Acme Construction Supply (Portland, OR)
- Jared Edinger, Acme Construction Supply (Portland, OR)
- Andy Castaneda, Acme Construction Supply (Portland, OR)
- Jesse McCamey, Acme Construction Supply (Portland, OR)
- Tom Demers, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
- Bruce Campbell, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
- Josh Roehrich, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
- Dan Ritter, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
- Arlyn Van Beek, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
- Jordan Fulsebakke, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
- Terry Bell, Austin Tool (Austin, TX)
- Stacey Shank, Action Bolt & Tool (Riviera Beach, FL)
- Dan Lawson, Beerman Precision (New Orleans, LA)
- Scott Shelton, Care Supply (Nashville, TN)
- Chris Crane, Carson’s Nut-Bolt & Tool (Greenville, SC)
- Trey Hester, Carson’s Nut-Bolt & Tool (Greenville, SC)
- Michael Brown, Carson’s Nut-Bolt & Tool (Greenville, SC)
- Eric Sway, Colony Hardware (Orange, CT)
- Jim Phillips, Colony Hardware (Orange, CT)
- Matt Fridell, Colony Hardware (Orange, CT)
- Geoff Carr, Colony Hardware (Orange, CT)
- Chris Vick, Darragh Company (Little Rock, AR)
- Mike Gambino, Fasteners Inc./Southwestern (Las Vegas, NV)
- Chase Earle, Fort Worth Bolt & Tool (Ft. Worth, TX)
- Angie Hall, Fort Worth Bolt & Tool (Ft. Worth, TX)
- Brad Duncan, Frank’s Supply (Albuquerque, NM)
- Paul Matthews, Frank’s Supply (Albuquerque, NM)
- Hector Morales, Frank’s Supply (Albuquerque, NM)
- Aaron Knief, Lincoln Contractors Supply (Milwaukee, WI)
- Darrin Hogan, Lincoln Contractors Supply (Milwaukee, WI)
- Matt Harper, Lincoln Contractors Supply (Milwaukee, WI)
- Chris Werner, Lincoln Contractors Supply (Milwaukee, WI)
- Chuck Andreas Lincoln Contractors Supply (Milwaukee, WI)
- Quinton Craig, Morgan Tool & Supply (Shreveport, LA)
- Steven Barnett, Ram Tool & Supply (Birmingham, AL)
- Chris Paschall, Total Tool Supply (St. Paul, MN)
- Chris Jeffers, Total Tool Supply (St. Paul, MN)
- Luke Spannbauer, Total Tool Supply (St. Paul, MN)
- Brice Wood, United Tool & Fastener (Houston, TX)
- Marshall Petty, United Tool & Fastener (Houston, TX)
- John Johnson, Whitehead Hardware (Valdosta, GA)
“There are now nearly 350 sales professionals in the tool and fastener industry who have earned the designation as Evergreen certified,” said Evergreen CEO Kevin Higginbotham. “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 an 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 recognition program for sales professionals in the specialty area of safety products and applications several years ago. The following individuals earned designation in 2017 as Evergreen Safety Specialists by completing a rigorous set of courses related to safety products:
- Brett Vasey, Acme Tools (Grand Forks, ND)
- Jared Trebes, Colony Hardware (Orange, CT)
- Billy Schone, Colony Hardware (Orange, CT)
- Mike Gambino, Fasteners Inc./Southwestern Supply (Las Vegas, NV)
- Brad Duncan, Frank’s Supply (Albuquerque, NM)
- Wade Sugimoto, Slim’s Power Tools (Honolulu, HI)
- Mikele Lima, Slim’s Power Tools (Honolulu, HI)
- Amy Sexton, United Tool & Fastener (Houston, TX)
Evergreen also launched a certification process for employees in the operations side of a distributor’s business. Operations certification requires 80 hours of professional development. Earning operations certification this year included
- Bob Moore, Acme Construction Supply (Portland, OR)
- Matt Burrows, Lincoln Contractors Supply (Milwaukee, WI)
- Jared Piencikowski, Lincoln Contractors Supply (Milwaukee, WI)
- Scott Motyka, Pro Tool & Supply (Waltham, MA)
- Paul Ahrendt, Total Tool Supply (St. Paul, MN)
- Bob Salisbury, Total Tool Supply (St. Paul, MN)
The Evergreen Marketing Group is a member-owned cooperative founded in 1989 by six construction/industrial supply distributors. It currently consists of 62 distributors with more than 320 locations in the United States and Canada and has combined revenues of over $1.9 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 11,000 square foot training center in Farmer’s Branch, TX and offers the industry’s only professional certification program for distributor sales and operations people. Evergreen members are the leading distributors of tools, fasteners, concrete accessories and other construction/industrial products.
