I appreciate that many of the leaders are ones that I have worked with or for since I came on board over 20 years ago. Promoting good people from within has always been a strong suit of this company.

Don’t treat every role as just a necessary role to move up. Embrace where you are now. Always be learning about those you work for, those who work for you, and your internal “customers” that depend on you. Seeing co-worker’s perspectives and empathizing with the daily hurdles they face will make you a better person to work with overall, and you will find that those employees recognize that and will help you to succeed in your career path.

I began as a Field Service Technician in 1999, but left after a couple years for an out of state opportunity. I ended up coming back in 2004 as a Technician once again! I then moved through several roles including Parts Manager, Field Service Manager, Fleet Management to my current role of Business Analyst.

Associated reaches all kinds of customers so when one industry is down, another is up. We learn a lot about different industries and how they do business.

Our day-to-day work is autonomous, but we enjoy spending time together and often reach out to the group with questions. Everyone is responsive when they have input to share.

My manager allows me the freedom to do my job while offering the right amount of support when needed. The company leadership is serious about employee engagement and retention.

I hired in to Associated in 2014. There was still an Apprentice program then. My first day I was working the dock sweeping the floor. That same week a spot opened up in the shop and I transitioned to shop tech. After a couple months in that position, I was given my tech primer class and put in a van to begin being a road tech.

After about a year as a tech a position in the parts department opened up and since I'm not getting any younger, I decided to make the change to a less physical job. I was a Parts Correspondent for a couple of years until the warehouse supervisor position opened up in Indy. I was promoted to that spot and stayed there for 4 years until transferring to the parts Correspondent Superposition that I hold now.

I have done a few interviews over the years, and I tell them all the same thing. This is a great place to work, great people, and they really take good care of the employees.

My leadership team has been fantastic. I have been lucky to have people in the positions above me that are invested in my success here at Associated. I have worked either directly or indirectly for Dave Sweet my entire time at Associated. Never once has he steered me wrong, always willing to lend a hand.

I started out as a Field Service Technician, and became a Team Leader seven years later. I loved doing what I did as a Team Leader, and had the opportunity to help foster an outstanding service team in South Bend, IN, before the opportunity arose to take on new challenges as a Field Service Manager in 2022 for Northern Indiana.

I have a great management team that has a broad range of experience and we all work together to solve challenges. My service teams are highly professional, responsible, and dedicated to providing the best customer experience possible.

It was about two years before I actually had the opportunity to come to work for Associated.

A team member who was a good friend of mine, who also worked for the same company I was at the time, described a situation that had come up and how [Associated] handled it, and that convinced me without a doubt that Associated was the company I wanted to work with.

Everyday I looked forward to going to work and chatting with my techs. Dispatching at Associated was the 1st job I had where I felt like I could say, "I like what I do!" when I was happy to get up and go to work everyday. That's when I knew I made the right decision.

12 years ago I joined the Associated Dispatch team, with some already pretty seasoned dispatchers. I learned a lot from each of them and, with that guidance and all the experience I gained, I am now proud to say, I have been supervising our team of amazing dispatchers at our Germantown, WI location for the past 4 years.

We have such a great dispatch team at Germantown. Each member of our team brings with them an essential part of what makes us successful. Everyone is dependable, hardworking, and cares about the work they put forth and cares about each other. We are not only co-workers, friends!

I guess I am a bit of a "Poster Child" for progression. I started as a Parts Correspondent in our Ft Wayne Branch. I was the only employee who worked inside the branch, so I guess I was a bit of a Parts Correspondent, Parts Picker, Dock Worker, and Rental Administrator at the time.

After a few years, I was given an opportunity to be a Customer Support Representative in Ft Wayne and South Bend. I did this a few years and added additional responsibilities for Parts and Service Leadership of the Ft Wayne area.

In 2001, I moved to Indianapolis where I was appointed SE Division Aftermarket Manager - responsible for Parts, Service, Rental, RENEWED, and Shop for the Region. I held this position until 2011.

In 2011, I moved to Chicago as General Manager, Central Region. I held that position for a number of years, and, as the organization changed structured, I transitioned into my role as Vice President, Operations.

This company is a fine blend of being big enough to have competitive benefits, but you are not a number. People are still people. I like that.

I see so much "No Excuse Devotion". So many people are driven to make the company successful. That is not true in many companies; it shows a commitment to Care and the Overall Team.

My team is great! We have fun, we vent, we work together and are our own little family. We do things for one another to remind them we care about each other. We help each other out whenever needed and we work hard and accomplish a lot.

I am blessed that I get to re-join Associated. Associated is a great company. I appreciate the team spirit and the willingness of others to help.

Working with Associated, you will not find the stereotypical response from people of "That's not my job." Instead, co-workers go above and beyond to help each other and find answers to help each other out. Bottom line: we all work towards ensuring the customer is taken care of. Sometimes this requires being 'Selfless and Easy to Work With.'

1. The potential for growth within the company.
2. The stability of the organization.
3. Benefits.
4. Culture.

Once I was able to know my co-workers, I knew it was going to be a good fit. The first team I started working with took extra time out to teach me about the company and industry. Each team I have been a part of since has been great too.

Within the Marketing Department I moved from: Marketing Coordinator to Marketing Specialist to Marketing Supervisor to Marketing Manager. With Associated’s support and programs for continuing education, it helped me grow.

Shortly after I started I felt like part of a team. I had a lot of support from techs who had been around for a long time and were very willing to help and share what they knew. You don't always see that in other companies.

I started as a tech, then I had an opportunity to move into parts. I did that for a while and realized being a tech was much more rewarding to me at that point in my life. I went back to being a road tech for a few more years. Then an opportunity came up to become a Customer Advocate. I jumped at the chance to do that and have been doing it for a little over 5 years now.

Selfless and easy to work with. This one is probably my favorite. We need to make it as easy as possible to work with each other inside or outside our organization.

Early on in my career it was the people who worked for Associated that made the difference for me. It was a very friendly atmosphere where people always were willing to help others. Many times I would sit down with various departments so I could learn their role in the company, and give me a better understanding of what we did. I had many mentors in the sales team who took me under their wing to teach me the business, not because they had to, but because they cared enough about this place and cared enough for me and wanted to help me succeed.

When I was hired, it was go door-to-door cold calling for the sales team. I would spend my days driving around, walking in the back doors of businesses, handing out brochures, and taking notes for the salesman whose area I was in that day. After 3 months I received a call that a territory had opened up, and that I was going to take it over. I worked that territory for over 8 years. When I started in it, the territory was generating $600,000 in annual sales, and when I left the territory in 2015 it was a $5,000,000 territory. In 2015 I was promoted to a Strategic Account Manager with a list of 15 accounts to call on. I did that job for 3 years, when in 2018 I was promoted to a National Account Manager, where I reside today.

I have been recognized for my performance on 2 separate occasions. Both of these came in the year 2016. I was awarded the "Salesman Of the Year", and more importantly than that, I and Associated were awarded the "Vendor Of the Year" by Ferrara Candy. This was the first year that Ferrara decided to recognize their vendors for their outstanding support, and to win this honor was something that meant more to me than anything else. To be selected by someone who chooses to do business with us is a great honor!

That year we designed a racking layout for a new 1,000,000 SQFT DC, installed the racking, implemented over 80 new pieces of equipment, performed full maintenance on all of it, and installed iWarehouse on their entire fleet. Now on the surface the award was presented to myself and Associated, but behind the scenes this honor touched every single department in the company. None of this would have been possible without the entire Associated team at the time being involved.