Prest-O-Fit Named Supplier of the Year

George Keller Honored by WDA

RV Aftermarket Association Executive Conference Gets High Marks

George Keller, founder of Keller RV and Marine, received the WDA -- RV Aftermarket Association's (WDA) top honor last month during the 1996 Annual Executive Conference in Chandler, AZ. Keller received the Jim Barker Memorial Award during ceremonies at an awards banquet during the conference. Citing Keller's many years of service to the association prior to his retirement, John Roba, John Roba and Associates, said that George Keller served on every committee and held every elected position within the association during his many years of service. Roba said, "George felt a responsibility to give something back to the industry and his service to WDA was one way of doing that."

In other awards, Keller Marine and RV, Port Treverton, PA, was named the Eastern Division, Distributor of the Year.

Mike Keller, president, and his father George who founded the business, accepted the award on behalf of the company. Also, accepting the award were John Fisher and Jonas Lantz.

Winner of the Distributor of the Year award for the Western Region was Tweedy's, Inc., North Little Rock, AR. Phillip Tweedy, vice president, accepted the award.

Winner of the Distributor of the Year award for the Western Region was Tweedy's, Inc., North Little Rock, AR. Phillip Tweedy (r), vice president, accepted the award presented by Randy Beckum.

Every year the association honors a company for its catalog, and this year's recipient was StagParkway, Inc., Atlanta, GA. Stan Sunshine, president, and Mike McKay, vice president sales and marketing, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

The 1996 Distributor Catalog of the Year honors went to StagParkway, Inc., Atlanta, GA. The award was presented by Randy Beckum, national sales manager, Thetford Corporation, and Stan Sunshine, president, and Mike McKay, vice president sales and marketing, accepted the award.

Prest-O-Fit, Tempe, AZ, was selected as the 1996 Supplier of the Year, and the award was accepted by owners Dave and Shirley Prest.

Prest-O-Fit Manufacturing, Inc., is the 1996 Supplier of the Year. Dave Sr. and Shirley Prest, president and vice president, accepted the award. Pictured (l -r) are Dave Prest, Jr., General Manager; Mike Keller, Keller RV and Marine, who made the presentation; Sherrie Kincheloe, administrative assistant; Dave Sr., and Shirley.

The awards banquet was the highlight of what many are calling the best orchestrated Executive Conference in recent memory. The primary function of the Executive Conference is an extensive two-day schedule of private meetings between warehouse distributors and supplier-manufacturers where problems, programs and new products are discussed. One of the reasons for this year's successful meeting was the large number of both distributor and supplier members that attended the event. In addition, more than 20 wives of conference attendees participated in a special "spouse's program" organized by Shirley Prest, Prest-O-Fit manufacturing. Spouses were treated to various events including a trip to Sedona, AZ; a guided tour of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley; and shopping tours. The wives of the attendees praised Shirley Prest for such a valuable and entertaining program. Prest was honored with a special award by WDA for her extraordinary efforts to make the spouse's program such a huge success.

The leadership for this year's Executive Conference came from WDA president Jay Hesse, president Automatic Equipment Manufacturing Co. A key element in the success of the conference was Hesse's personal attention to details and a willingness to invest staff time from his company's resources. Hesse told RV News, "Overall I am pleased with how the conference came off. There were some glitches, but it was a learning experience and that experience will help us as we start planning next year's conference in Nashville (TN). Generally speaking, the feedback we are getting from members is very positive and I think that most people had productive business meetings and enjoyed the entertainment and events that surrounded the conference."

The architect of the successful fund raiser golf tournament and auction was Bill Horton, CEO and president of RV Wholesale, Mesa, AZ. WDA's coffers are $15,000 fuller because of his leadership and the generosity of members and those who donated items for the auction.

The association has been criticized in the past for devoting a day of the conference to a fund-raising golf event, but those critics may be silenced after this year's successful program. The association which was nearly broke eight years ago, added more than $15,000 to its accounts thanks primarily to RV Wholesale, a Mesa, AZ, warehouse distributorship. Bill Horton, CEO and president of RV Wholesale and its parent company, Quality Decisions, Inc., put the program together which turned out to be the association's most effective fund-raising effort ever, surpassing the previous record many fold. Horton turned the golf outing over to Dave Rabuck and Rick Rose, both of Specialty Vehicles, Inc., also a Quality Decisions company, and both former golf professionals. In addition to the golf event itself, there was a pre-tournament auction of sports memorabilia, political collectibles, and a variety of other items including a web site on RV America On Line and a four-color advertisement in RV News. Horton received special recognition for his efforts on behalf of the association.

An important part of the Executive Conference are the scheduling sessions. Here StagParkway's Mike McKay makes an appointment with Suburban's Frank Blair and Art Klee.

In other events at the conference, luncheon speaker Don Magary, webmaster for RV America On Line, entertained and educated the group about the value of and need for a business presence on the Internet.

All in all, the 1996 WDA Executive Conference was a great success, and the conference committee, the volunteers, the WDA staff headed by Jim Stanley, as well as the elected officers of WDA all put forth extraordinary effort to bring the conference together and their reward is knowing that through their work, this years Executive Conference was among the best ever produced.

It's like college registration day when the doors open at the Scheduling Session to allow suppliers and distributors to fill in their appointment calendars for the next two days of business meetings.

WDA president Jay Hesse said, "We learned a lot this time out, and my goal for WDA is to put this experience to work for us so that we can provide our members even more value in upcoming WDA events. I was especially pleased by the time and dedication our members put forth for their association. It is an honor for me to serve with such a distinguished group of individuals who represented their companies with such a high degree of professionalism."

Carolyn McLaughlin, Aim Wholesale Inc., Phoenix, AZ, gives her undivided attention to a supplier stopping by to make an appointment to show new products.