Associate Spotlights

The President’s Choice Award winner for October pays attention to the details.

Chuck Beireis, the night shuttle driver for Mansfield/Columbus, plans his night before he starts his shift. He communicates with the warehouse managers to determine the most efficient strategy for handling that evenings’ work load. Many times that involves combining loads to less trailers in order to reduce time, fuel and equipment wear and tear. Chuck often loads and unloads his own trailers allowing the production crew to keep building pallets. He will help load, pull kegs, move and fuel trucks to keep that production crew on task.

In October, Chuck covered for another shuttle driver that was on vacation without disruption. He is a great team player and communicator, has an excellent attendance record and is always prepared with completed DOT forms.

Congratulations Chuck!

The President’s Choice Award winner for October continuously strives for self-improvement.

Chris Moore, a delivery driver and trainer out of Glenwillow, understands how important it is to keep equipment in good working order. He meticulously conducts his pre-trip inspections and his post-trip inspections every day. On numerous occasions, Chris has brought to management’s attention the need for maintenance on other equipment in the lot. This attention to detail has lessened equipment downtime and increased efficiency.

Chris is always willing to help his peers, often times helping another driver finish his route, dropping off an order on his way home or helping move vehicles in the lot. In October, he delivered 10,530 cases to 445 stops with only 6 cases of delivery damage.

Congratulations Chris!

The President’s Choice Award winner for September has a passion for the business and the success of his customers.

Matt Vyhnalek, an Account Manager in the Dedicated Wine Division, has a talent for finding an opportunity, putting a plan together to maximize that opportunity and successfully executing his plan. His attention to detail on distribution, pricing, displays, cold box and shelf placement are evident in his stores. Matt played an important part in the success of the Ernest Gallo survey and his accounts looked fantastic. He is a veteran Account Manager that continues to strive for self-improvement. His knowledge and work ethic quickly earn him the trust of his customers and enable him to win at retail. Matt’s planning and industry knowledge led to impressive September results.

Congratulations Matt! 

The President’s Choice Award winner for September is a true team player.

Hamidou Sondo, a mid-shift warehouseman, has a positive attitude every day, even during a busy holiday season when the pressure is high. During the month of September, Hamidou picked an average of 216 cases per hour for a total of 32,529 cases. He has averaged over 200 cases per hour since April. That’s more than 50 cases per hour above the shift average! Hamidou has an excellent work ethic. He is always willing to help the night shift with extra picking and loading trucks when he knows they need the help, often times before
being asked to help by management.

Congratulations Hamidou!

The President’s Choice Award winner for August is committed to excellence. Aaron Waldo, a Draft Services Specialist, is responsible for draft service calls and special events. August was a very busy month for the special event team as four of the largest events fell on the same weekend. Aaron was critical to the success of these events. His attention to detail for loading product, staging equipment, making the delivery and product signage and POS brought praise from both the customers and our suppliers. Aaron’s planning, follow up and customer service is simply awesome! His seamless transition from managing a special event to handling draft calls, all with a positive attitude, exemplify the desire for excellence we all strive for.

Congratulations Aaron!

The President’s Choice Award winner for August continuously strives for self-improvement.

Chelsea Cigic, a member of the first shift warehouse team, is primarily responsible for working in returns but is well versed in other areas of warehouse and production. Chelsea is a “big picture” thinker. She has been determined to learn as much about the operation as possible and the effect of how she does her job can influence the success of others. Chelsea leads by her actions. She has a positive attitude and great communication skills. She has excellent attendance and is willing to come in early or stay late if needed. If there is a problem to be solved or a task to complete, Chelsea is eager to be part of the solution.

Congratulations Chelsea!

The President’s Choice Award winner for July lives by tenets of our Vision Statement daily.
Sam Pritchard, an Account Manager in the Universal West Division, is well prepared with preplans and POS before he starts each day. Sam has built trusting relationships with his customers due to his diligent service and desire to help them maximize their profitability with our portfolio. He understands that distribution is the gift that keeps on giving and that effective distribution requires proper promotion.

Congratulations Sam!

The President’s Choice Award winner for July is dedicated to self-improvement and exceeding the expectations of management. Matt Lambert works the keg room on the night shift. He has an excellent work ethic, a positive attitude and the ability to motivate those around him to work efficiently. Matt leads by his actions and is always willing to assist others, often helping to clean up any area or assist in breakers. He also helps to train new associates in the keg room. Matt was instrumental in the smooth 4th of July holiday operations. Along with his keg room duties, he often helped to pick cases and load trucks as needed. In July, Matt picked kegs with 99.9% accuracy.

Congratulations Matt!

The President’s Choice Award winner for June handles every task with a sense of urgency and pride.

Joe Stein, an IT Specialist, continuously contributes to our desire to be the preferred beverage distributor for the customers and suppliers that we serve. Joe works diligently to assure that each associate can perform to their potential. Behind the scenes, he keeps our teams running efficiently, allowing all departments to spend their time affecting change and driving our business forward. Joe has a positive attitude and takes great pride in a job well done handling each task with determination and a sense of importance. Joe’s position requires him to be knowledgeable and technology savvy but what makes him shine is his drive to seek the information he doesn’t know.

Congratulations Joe.

The President’s Choice Award winner for June has a great work ethic and is motivated to do more. Jared Peters, a third shift material handler in Glenwillow, has mastered several positions on his shift and continually strives to learn more. During the very busy month of June, through hard work and attention to detail, he significantly increased efficiency in the flow racks. A leader by example, Jared works hard at his assigned tasks, thoroughly cleans up and quickly moves on to help others where he can. He is a favorite amongst his peers for his positive attitude and helpful nature.

Congratulations Jared!

The President’s Choice Award winner for May is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. Eddie Wolfcale, a Dedicated Wine sales representative in the Akron/Canton market, has a passion for his business and the business of his customers. On-point program and display execution have made him a force to be reckoned with in the marketplace. He has built strong relationships through excellent customer service and high merchandising standards. Eddie is hands-on, self-motivated and takes ownership for his performance in every
account. He welcomes feedback and constructive suggestions and makes the necessary changes to win.

Congratulations Eddie!

The President’s Choice Award winner for May always puts our customers first. Jeremy Ingland, a delivery driver for the Grove City area and 20+ year veteran of Superior Beverage is a true partner to his sales representatives and customers. He has great relationships with his sales reps, largely due to Jeremy’s commitment and helpful nature. He is an excellent communicator with Sales and Customer Service. Jeremy has a knack for efficient solutions to correct issues in the market. His customers trust and respect him and appreciate his attention to detail and the extra effort he provides. One customer says “he is the best driver I have ever had, from any company” and another is thankful for the way he stacks the cases so they are easier for her to put away.

Congratulations Jeremy!

The President’s Choice Award winner for April is very much aligned with our Vision Statement. Jane Kemer, a sales representative in the Universal West Division, is committed to her craft. Always professional, Jane pre plans her stops and executes chain programming and
pricing with Day 1 standards. The excellent customer service she provides and the relationships she has built have cemented her reputation as the preferred beverage representative, as proven by her April results. Congratulations Jane!

The President’s Choice Award winner for April comes to work every day with a zest to learn new things and a willingness help others.  Michelle Harris, Sales Administrative Assistant in Lewis Center, keeps the sales and marketing departments on track. Accurate information allows the sales department to plan and execute more efficiently and Michelle is vital to that process. Tracking key initiatives, identifying MBO goals, assigning KARMA tasks, allocating inventory and managing report requests requires exceptional organizational skills and hers are second to none. On top of her responsibilities to the Sales Department, Michelle also helps in Customer Service and reception when needed. Her positive attitude, bright smile and ability to learn quickly make Michelle an asset to the entire organization.

The President’s Choice Award winner for March is a shining example of all that our Vision Statement stands for. Harry Rouch, a first shift warehouse associate, has mastered many positions in the warehouse but his primary responsibility is receiving. He had the highest accuracy percentage among the receiving team at 97%. Harry has a perfect attendance record for the year, comes to work with a positive attitude and continuously looks for ways for the team to work more efficiently. Certified and skilled to operate all pallet jacks and tow motors, Harry has not logged a single preventable accident in the last 12 months. He uses his experience and knowledge to train new associates. Congratulations Harry.

The President’s Choice Award winner for March has a great work ethic and a willingness to learn. Matt Link, a route driver in the Columbus outlying territory, has been with Superior Beverage less than one year and has excelled at several positions in Operations. Transitioning from third shift warehouse to driver helper, Matt brought a positive attitude and was often requested by other drivers. In March, he earned his own delivery route covering the Marysville and Springfield areas. Matt’s route has the highest daily average of stops compared to other outlying territory routes. Excellent customer service and ongoing communication with the sales representatives and management have earned Matt high praise as a delivery driver. Congratulations Matt!

The President’s Choice Award winner for February is always willing to go the extra mile for Superior Beverage and our customers.
Chris Hinegardner, a shuttle driver, demonstrates dedication to a job well done every day. He stays in constant communication with his management team throughout the night in order to ensure that our trailers reach their destination in a timely manner. Chris regularly handles situations such as breakdowns, driver issues and scheduling conflicts calmly and swiftly. He has been described by management as someone who “runs towards the fire” to help find a solution, often times being the solution himself. He assists in the training of new shuttle drivers and consistently has a positive impact on the shuttle driver team. 

The President’s Choice Award winner for February is always willing to lead a discussion or share best practices with the sales team. Mitch Tomazic, a general market sales representative in the Eastern outlying territory, covers a very diverse footprint both economically and geographically. Building strong relationships with his customers, he has worked diligently to become a true and trusted beverage consultant. Mitch is highly engaged in his daily business and is aware of the importance of both the big picture and the smallest details. He has consistently maintained his position as one of the top growth routes in the company.

The President’s Choice Award winner for January is the model of consistency. Washington Gatimu, a material handler on our night shift team, has not missed one night of work since he was hired. He arrives early every night for his shift and communicates with management when he sees an issue building or loading a truck. Washington takes great pride in his work and it shows in his production level and the quality of his work. His good attitude and work ethic continuously have a positive impact on the night shift team.

The President’s Choice Award winner for January has excelled in their role since day one. Kelli Petchal, a dedicated wine sales representative in the Youngstown market, has quickly become a high performing sales representative. Striving to add value and enhance
the business of her customers and suppliers, Kelli can often be found doing wine tastings in her stores and providing consistent extraordinary service. Dedication, hard work and daily tracking were key to Kelli's success during the month of January. 

This year’s Annual Winner stood out for a number of reasons, including:
- Integrity. This sales associate is a leader amongst his peers, has trusted relationships with his customers, and is a true beverage consultant.
- Self-Improvement. He is an active participant in the organization’s management readiness program.
- Enhancing the businesses of our customers and suppliers. Quoted from an unsolicited email received ironically the day after the decision was made about this award. “He is always available and willing to help and is by far the best sales rep I have ever had in any of my 10 years in the business.” That was from the manager of a major on premise account.
- Insistence on Excellence. He grew revenue on all 9 of his largest brands. And last but not least, he led the on premise, for the entire company, in both volume growth and revenue growth.

Please join me in congratulating the 2018 President’s Choice Award Winner, Ryan Bruns.

Our December winner has solution focused perception and would not let anything like the calendar get in his way. He is motivated and passionate as a winner. He is driven to find better ways of doing things, not for himself, as much as for others. He is a veteran of Superior Beverage Group with over 20 years’ experience. With the delivery days outside their normal synchronization, this driver communicated to his customers, offered to help with inventory levels, and extra deliveries if needed. His route ran smoothly. For some of his late openers, he made arrangements with the customers, and took their product to them on his way home from work. To quote one of the sales managers who recommended him. “For years I’ve heard accolades from our customers on Danny and how he services their accounts. In the 14 years that I’ve been in this market, I haven’t heard a single negative comment from a retailer.” This associate clearly insists on
excellence from himself. Please join me in congratulating Danny Sexton, our December President’s Choice Award
Winner.

Andy is motivated and passionate as a winner. He is truly dedicated to enhancing the business. What really makes our winner unique is that most of what he was nominated for by the management team, have very little to do with his actual job title. Some of his accomplishments from the year which continued through December include, creating efficiencies and integration through VIP’s Karma, iDig, the Superior Bridge, the Google applications, 99 Bottles, and Adobe products. Those are areas that many of us use but really have little to do with his job as a print designer. As a print designer, in addition to the 102 print requests he did in December, he also continues to help with the Buzz newsletter, our seasonal product books, and gathering data for visual implementation. This associate clearly insists on excellence from himself.

Please join me in congratulating Andy Woods, our December President’s Choice Award Winner.

This year’s winner stood out for a number of reasons, including:
· Impressive Results. The associate’s efforts outperformed the peer group by over two times.
· Creative solutions. This associate identified opportunities, quantified the possible results, worked with other departments to implement, and saw the ideas through to execution.
· Self – Improvement. This associate had positive results in 2017, and grew them again, the year after. Both times at the top of the peer group.
· Respect. This associate was nominated by managers from many departments like: outside sales, marketing, customer service, the warehouse, driver recon, inside sales, and purchasing.

She is a great planner, an excellent communicator, consistently positive, and a solution finder.  She is an absolute pleasure to work with and hits every tenet of the vision statement. Please join me in congratulating the 2018 President’s Choice Award Winner Shannon
Horvath.

The President’s Choice Award winner for November is a model of consistency. Kevin Holland, a Dedicated Beer sales representative, is committed to showcasing our portfolio and making it dominant in his accounts. In November, Kevin grew 11 of the top 12 suppliers on his route. His dedication to enhancing the business of our customers and suppliers, outworking his competition and maintaining great relationships shows in his monthly numbers. Often referred to as having “the best execution in the building, hands down, no question” Kevin is a true ambassador for our Vision Statement.

The President’s Choice Award winner for November was a top performer in his division. Pat Frangos, an On Premise sales representative, owned his accounts for one of the largest on premise nights of the year, the night before Thanksgiving. Planning his business and early execution of those plans set Pat up for continued success and helped to drive volume throughout the holiday. Passionate about hitting goals, growing revenue and providing top notch customer service, Pat sets himself apart from his competition and enhances the business of our customers and suppliers.