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kudos
YKK AP Honors Sales Award Recipients
Winners of this year’s YKK AP sales achievement awards for the 2007 calendar year gave credit to the pervasive team spirit among employees of the architectural product manufacturer.

The Austell, Ga.-based company presented awards to Orlando branch manager Barry Wampler, whose team won Branch of the Year, and to Mark Knapp of the Boston branch, sales representative for New York and New Jersey, who won the YKK AP President’s Award for outstanding sales achievement. The awards were presented during YKK AP’s annual sales meeting on February 26 at the Evergreen Resort in Stone Mountain, Ga.

Orlando won Branch of the Year, recognizing outstanding achievements in sales, profitability, operations and customer service excellence. Wampler says the biggest factor in meeting or exceeding all goals for the year was having a seasoned staff that pulls together.

“You don’t hear ‘It’s not my job’ on this team,” Wampler says. “If someone gets busy, someone else steps up to help them out.”

In the New York-New Jersey territory, Knapp was recognized for increasing sales by more than 200 percent over the previous year. He says the support and attitude of the whole YKK AP organization made the impressive numbers possible.

“It really comes down to the team effort that this organization has,” Knapp says. “You don’t win with one individual. You win as a team.” In addition to these award winners, YKK has added several new personnel members. 

Greg Taylor is the new regional sales manager for the Southern United States. Taylor has 23 years of experience in architectural aluminum products. He lives in Dallas and will be based there for YKK AP.

Ed McMahan will manage the new YKK AP branch in Houston. McMahan has more than 25 years of experience in the architectural aluminum products industry. 

Wes Thorpe has been hired as the company’s national accounts representative. Thorpe spent recent years in national account operations and business development within the architectural aluminum products industry. He will be relocating from Dallas to the Atlanta area.

new hires
Glass Distributors Names New VP of Sales and Marketing 
Bill Rhodes is the new vice president of sales and marketing for Glass Distributors Inc. in Bladensburg, Md. Rhodes has 24 years of experience in the glass and mirror industry as an independent sales representative for Gardner Glass Products and Glasscraft, as well as national sales and marketing manager for Carolina Mirror Co. “Bill’s professional sales experience and strong leadership skills will help us in our efforts to better serve our customers as well as direct us with new products and market opportunities,” says Steve Bouchard of Glass Distributors Inc.

associations
Dwyer-Owens Named First Vice Chairwoman of Franchise Association
Dina Dwyer-Owens, chair and chief executive officer of The Dwyer Group, has been promoted to first vice chairwoman of the International Franchise Association (IFA). The IFA is based in Washington, D.C. The Dwyer Group Inc., based in Waco, Texas, is a holding company of six franchise businesses, including Glass Doctor®.

Dwyer-Owens accepted the post at the IFA’s 48th annual convention recently held in Orlando, and she will hold the position for one year.

“This is an exciting time to be in a leadership role representing our industry,” Dwyer-Owens said. “And I’m honored to be part of such an important organization whose members lead by example through the very brands they have grown into household names across our country.”

GICC Elects New Officers
The Glazing Industry Code Committee (GICC) met in New Orleans in January and as a part of that meeting, elected new officers. Julie Schimmelpenningh of Solutia Inc. was elected as chairperson, while Darrell Smith of the Association of Industrial Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (AIMCAL) Window Film Committee was elected as vice-chair. Schimmelpenningh succeeds Greg Carney, technical director of the Glass Association of North America, who served as chair of GICC for two years. Cliff Monroe of Arch Aluminum and Glass Co. Inc. was elected secretary/treasurer for the organization, his first officer position for GICC.

In addition, GICC has retained Dr. Thomas Culp of La Crosse, Wis.-based Birch Point Consulting to assist the organization in becoming more actively engaged in the energy code process. Culp joins William Koffel, GICC’s code consultant on fire, building and life safety issues. “The Glazing Industry Code Committee plays a vital role in representing the fenestration industry in the International Energy Conservation Code,” says Culp. “Our goal is to actively advocate the needs of the industry to make a difference.” 

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