With April in the books, and FDIC 2014 successfully complete, we have a bunch of updates that have been itching to get out. So here we go.
FDIC Winners — This year at FDIC 2014 we hosted an in booth Challenge where attendees competed in three short workouts to earn themselves some awesome, Limited Edition Elkhart Brass swag, lunch for their firehouse, a $250 Visa Gift, and the Grand Prize of a Rogue Fitness gym setup for their firehouse. Congratulations to all winners and everyone who stopped by the booth to win some free gear!
– Grand Prize: Jason Gayken: Garner Fire Department (Garner, Iowa)
– $250 Visa GC: Kevin Christian: Sioux Center Fire Department (Sioux Center, Iowa)
– Thursday Leader: John Spanbauer: Richmond Fire Station 5 (Richmond, Virginia)
– Friday Leader (Tie): Jim Chaplin: Adams Markleville Fire Territory 7 (Markleville, Indiana)
– Friday Leader (Tie): Britt Gammon: Murfreesboro Fire Rescue (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
– Saturday Leader: Kyle Van Holland: Sioux Center Fire Department (Sioux Center, Iowa)
New Hires — We’ve had a few new hires over the past couple of months.
– Mark Hu: International Sales Manager. Responsible for further developing strategic and tactical sales plans to expand Elkhart’s presence in the Asian market (China, Japan, Taiwan & Korea).
Mark joins the Elkhart team with over 18 years of international sales, marketing and sales channel management experience within the Asia Pacific region, including selling manufactured products & equipment through multi-channels (distributors/retailers). In addition, Mark is fluent in English and Chinese Mandarin.
– Jim Burge: Regional Sales Manager for the Midwest. With over 28 years of sales and marketing experience, including 18 years in the emergency services marketplace, Jim will be responsible for enhancing relationships and building partnerships within the fire service industry.
Jim’s experience encompasses the creation of three trade organizations — one for fire equipment manufacturers, one for fire equipment dealers, and one for law enforcement equipment manufacturers. Additionally, Jim served on the FEMSA Board of Directors.
– Dennis Berry: OEM Account Manager. Dennis brings over 25 years of experience in the fire and emergency services industry and will focus on enhancing relationships and building partnerships directly with Rosenbauer.
With a diverse industry background that includes success in direct apparatus sales to the end user, Dennis also brings a level of expertise in apparatus concept design for fire departments and apparatus builders.
– Greg Brennecke: VP of Operations. Greg comes to Elkhart Brass with 20+ years leading operations functions for world class organizations including Boeing, Quixote and most recently Weil-McLain. His hands-on approach to leading organizations through growth transitions will complement the existing team members and unleash the potential of this core function of operations at Elkhart Brass.
Greg will provide increased focus on key operational initiatives vital to maintaining the high level of performance that our customers expect. He brings a wealth of experience and a vision which will build upon the progress we’ve made toward optimizing our operations and delivering a consistent customer experience.
Promotions — Elkhart has also made some internal promotions of individuals who have shown growth and dedication to the company.
– Eric Combs: VP of Marketing and New Product Development. Previously Director of Marketing, Eric had continued to drive forward and support Elkhart’s strategies and core values through new marketing initiatives and processes.
– Derrick Hesser: Director of Marketing. Previously Channel Segment Manager, Derrick showed tremendous enthusiasm and dedication to drive the company forward. His commitment brought multiple aspects of marketing to a new level, both internally and in the marketplace.
– Keith Chard: Supervisor of Customer Response. Previously OEM Market Specialist, Keith dove head first into his role and got hands on with customers around the country. This fearless approach made Keith a natural fit to lead Elkhart’s Customer Response Team.