By Dotti Foltz, Vice Chairman
“Every man owes some of his time, money and efforts to the upbuilding of the profession to which he belongs.”
--Theodore Roosevelt
From mentoring to peer alliances, membership in a professional organization has countless benefits on both a career standpoint and a personal level. Sales and Marketing Executives International is a worldwide association of Sales and Marketing Managers founded in 1935. An international not-for-profit organization, SMEI works with its members to create and promote professional development and standards in sales and marketing. Here in Akron, I am proud to say we have one of the strongest affiliates in the entire organization, winning the Gold Award for three years running and last year the organization’s coveted Allstate Award at the annual convention.
Each year, Sales and Marketing Executives (SME) International identifies February as National Sales and Marketing Month throughout the United States and Canada. It’s at this time that we will recognize and honor those who impact our profession on a local level. As Bill Davis, President, SMEI so aptly reminded us at our January dinner meeting, “Sales and Marketing is the engine that drives the free enterprise system.”
This year SME Akron will pay tribute to Fred Krum, Director of Aviation for the Akron Canton Regional Airport, as its Executive of the Year as well as 12 others as Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award recipients. They are executives who have made major contributions to our profession, in their industry and at their place of work. In addition, we will recognize a University of Akron sales and marketing student with the Exceptional Sales and Marketing Collegiate Award. To top off the evening, for the very first time ever, a Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Willis Wolf, longtime SME Akron member and mentor to hundreds of sales and marketing professionals.
So mark your calendars for Tuesday, February 19th and join us in this celebration of excellence. It’s the best investment in you possible -- both on a professional and personal level. As a member of SME Akron, you may sit at a reserved VIP table with other members by calling Sue Warren, Executive Director, at 330-945-7740. If you would prefer, you may also choose to host a table of your friends, colleagues, co-workers or employees.
And finally . . . something to think about from, SMEI managing director, Willis Turner:
“In a fast-changing transition from the old economy to the new, professional associations allow individuals to leverage powerful collective strengths to manage those changes effectively. Partnering with professional associations can overcome unexpected hurdles and further develop ones career and business success.”
I look forward to seeing you on February 19th!
Executive of the Year
Frederick J. Krum Airport Director, Akron-Canton Airport
Frederick Krum is responsible for all facets of airport operations, planning, policy, staff and development. The airport has grown from 400,000 passengers in 1995 to 800,000 passengers in 2000, the highest level ever. During 1996 to 2000, the Akron-Canton Airport was the eighth fastest growing airport in the United States.
In the next five years, Krum will oversee $50 million in capital improvements including a major runway extension, expanded baggage claim, the renovation of the food area, and rebuilding the gates. In addition to capital improvements, private companies have invested more than $100 million in projects at the airport, creating hundreds of aviation related jobs and income. There are three industrial parks at the airport, including a Foreign Trade Zone.
Fred's contributions to the airport go back to 1975. Prior to his current position, he was Airport Manager, Assistant Airport Manger and Airport Accountant.
Krum earned a BS-BA in Management from John Carroll University and his Juris Doctorate in 1980 from the University of Akron.
Fred is involved in many professional activities and distinctions. He serves on the following boards:
Board of Trustees - Greater Akron Chamber
Board of Trustees - Stark Development Board
Board of Education for North Canton City Schools
Board of Associates for Mount Union College
Board of Directors - Village Savings Bank
Board of Directors for Canton Region YMCA
Member of the Kent State Stark Advisory Board
Krum received the 1986 North Canton Jaycees Distinguished Service Award in 1991; Marketing of the Year Presented by Sales and Marketing Executives of Stark County; and the 1998 Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award, presented by Sales and Marketing Executives of Akron.
Mr. Krum and his wife, Diane reside in North Canton. They have three children, James, Lisa, and Michael.
2002 DISTINGUISHED SALES AND MARKETING AWARD RECIPIENTS
John R. Adams, CLU, ChFC, Financial Representative, The Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
John joined the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, one of Fortune magazine's "Most Admired" corporations in 1987. In his work with professionals and entrepreneurs, he is committed to providing valued advice and innovative solutions needed to succeed in today's financial world.
John believes, "You make a living by what you do, you make a life by what you give." A 1988 graduate of The University of Akron, John served as president of the College of Business Alumni Association and the National Alumni Board. John is involved with civic organizations including Junior Achievement, Stan Hywet Foundation, Boy Scouts and his church.
Bill Considine, President of Children's Hospital of Akron, says of John "His beliefs and values set a standard of excellence for others in our community and he practices those values on a daily basis."
John and his wife, Sarah Adams, M.D., have two sons, Gabriel and Benjamin and reside in Hudson.
Cynthia Carlin, President, Carlin Communications
Before founding Carlin Communications in 1996, Cynthia worked at IBM's Corporate and Group Headquarters for 21 years where she managed product announcements with major New York advertising agencies. Her business provides marketing assistance to companies that lack in-house marketing expertise. The company's services include: web site development, press releases, brochures, newsletters, and marketing plans.
Her memberships include: The Cleveland Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (Visions Award winner in 2001); Canton/Akron Chapter of the American Marketing Association (Director of Public Relations for year 2000-2001); the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce (Marketing Committee); Alliance Rotary, Stark Network and The Women's Network.
A Mount Union College graduate, Cynthia has a Master of Arts in Communications from the Annenberg School of Communications; University of Pennsylvania.
She resides in Alliance with her husband, Charles Manypenny and cat, Boston Blackie.
Heather Carlson, Senior Sales Director, Mary Kay Cosmetics
Heather joined Mary Kay Cosmetics 16 years ago and has been a director for the last 14 years. She manages more than 125 consultants and four offspring sales directors. Heather earned her first pink Cadillac 14 years ago and is now driving her seventh. She has been in the top two percent of the company for personal sales for nine years, and has twice received an award for being the number one salesperson in her national area. She and her husband have been on several international trips courtesy of Mary Kay.
Heather earned Bachelors degrees in Vocal Music Performance and Music Education from Wittenberg University and a Masters degree in Music Education from Edinboro University. She sings in the choir at the First Congregational Church of Hudson and has held several leadership positions with the church.
Heather lives in Stow with her husband, Larry, and their three children, Vanessa, Jeffrey and Natalie.
Lisa M.Craine, Vice President, Superior Staffing, Inc.
Lisa joined the company in 1989 as Placement Counselor. She was named Operations Manager 1995, and promoted to Vice President over sales and marketing operations in 1999. She is a board member of Heart-to-Heart and its Breakfast Speaker Committee and is currently a member of Leadership Akron’s eighteenth class.
Lisa also serves on the Red and White Committee, Arthritis Foundation; Relay for Life Committee, American Cancer Society; enshrinement committee, Football Hall of Fame; and is co-chair for the St. Hilary's Summer Fest.
One of Lisa's main business tenets is that "Leadership is not about power, but about empowering others." Therefore, she devotes much of her time to mentoring other staff members so that they can reach their full potential. She continues to maintain key client accounts so that she can set an example for her teammates.
Lisa resides in Fairlawn with her husband David and two sons, Jacob and Noah.
James W. Horne, Jr., Executive Vice President, United Way of Summit County (UWSC)
Horne joined UWSC in 2000 after working for six years at United Way of Eastern Fairfield County (UWEFC) in Bridgeport, CT. After joining UWEFC in 1994, he assumed increasing responsibility for campaign and resource development.
Horne's first campaign in Summit County was an unqualified success - raising an all-time record high of $11,720,423. Working with an experienced staff and hundreds of dedicated volunteers, he strengthened UWSC's resource development programs, including the annual campaign, leadership and major gifts, foundation support, special gifts, and endowment and planned giving programs.
Horne said, "I'm very excited about this opportunity to be a part of the ongoing implementation of the Strategic Vision 2003. I see the role of fund raising as engaging the community, and it takes a great deal of cooperation between United Way staff and volunteers, the general public and corporate community."
Horne resides in Akron with his wife Kathryn and their children, Melissa and James, III.
Bryan L. Kinnamon, Vice President, Original Equipment, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
Bryan joined The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in 1969 and worked in various sales and marketing positions until becoming Vice President, Original Equipment. He works closely with the major automotive tire companies; Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, etc. Bryan is responsible for accounts headquartered in North America and is accountable for the development of global strategies for all accounts and execution of plans as required in North America.
Bryan earned a B.S., Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University; M.B.A., Marketing from The University of Akron; Masters of Science in Management from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
Bryan is very involved in various organization and his community. He is current Chair for The University of Akron Alumnus Hilltoppers, serves on the Board for the Automotive Hall of Fame and also The University of Akron Fisher Institute.
Bryan resides in Bath, Ohio.
J. William McCallum, III, Vice President National Account Sales, The Step2 Company
Bill, a 16-year veteran of the sales and marketing effort in the toy industry, joined The Step2 Company as Vice President, National Account Sales in 1998. Bill is responsible for strategic direction and business planning for Step2’s largest customer, Toys “R” Us. In addition, his responsibilities extend to Kmart and KB Toys, as well as regional sales activity for the East Coast (US) and Canada.
While attending Bowling Green State University, Bill started his career in the toy industry in manufacturing at The Little Tikes Company in 1981. That experience lead to his decision to join their sales team in 1985. Bill has enjoyed many successes including Salesman of the Year, 1989, Rubbermaid President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement, 1994, as well as multiple awards for outstanding customer service.
After serving for two years as Vice President, Worldwide Sales for Flexible Flyer Toys he “came home” to join the team at Step2.
Bill resides with his wife Polly in Stow, OH.
Bill Monbeck, Owner/Broker, Bill Monbeck Realty, Inc.
Bill founded his business in 1979 after spending 11 years in the teaching field. His business specializes in residential and commercial real estate sales with an emphasis on senior residential sales. Five years ago he developed a buyout program for seniors enabling them to make an expedient move to new housing.
Bill has been active in the community for many years. He is presently serving his third term as a board member for the Stow-Munroe Falls Schools. He was a charter member of the Stow Schools Foundation, served two terms as president of Blue and Gold of Kent State University, is past president of the Stow-Munroe Falls Chamber of Commerce, and is a long time member of the Rotary Club of Stow-Munroe Falls. Bill was named Stow-Munroe Falls Business Person of the Year for 1986.
Bill received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Kent State University. He and his wife, Karen, have two daughters, Julie and Erin.
Donzell S. Taylor, President & CEO, Welty Building Company Ltd.
Don joined the company in 1992 as Vice President and oversaw the construction of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and BF Goodrich's world headquarters. He became Executive Vice President of Operations in 1996, President in 1998 and CEO in 1999.
Don opened his own residential concrete company during high school, and after attending The University of Akron, held field and project manager positions at a number of construction firms.
Don is a member of the American Institute of Contractors, Secretary of Builders Exchange of Akron, and Treasurer of the Associated General Contractors of Akron. He is a board member of the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, Akron General Medical Center Foundation and YMCA and Summit County American Red Cross. Don is a graduate of Leadership Akron, serves as President of Green Schools Foundation and is a member of the Green Chamber of Commerce and Young Presidents' Organization.
Don and his wife, Mary, reside in Uniontown with their sons, Joe and Michael.
Thomas F. Turner, Vice President for Business Development, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron
Tom joined Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron in 1999. He works with a multidisciplinary team that has grown the hospital's market share more than 20 percent.
He negotiates alliances and new opportunities and administers nine departments, including Child Advocacy, Marketing, Medical Staff Services, Managed Care and Strategic Planning and Business Development.
Tom earned an MBA from Pepperdine University and a B.S.B.A. from The Ohio State University. Memberships include: ACHE, the National e-Health Technology Committee for Child Health Corporation of America and Government Affairs and Strategy sections of the National Association of Children's Hospitals & Research Institutions. He serves on the Vestry and Foundation at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and is a member of the WKSU radio Advisory Board; March of Dimes tribute dinner, Government Affairs Committee, Akron Regional Chamber; Leadership Akron Alumni and OSU TBDBITL Alumni. He is an Adjunct Professor at Walsh University.
Tom and his wife Sandy reside in Jackson Township with their 6-year old twins Jeffrey and Timothy.
Kristie E. Van Auken, Director of Marketing & Communications, Akron-Canton Airport
Kristie created the airport’s marketing program in 1996. Among her responsibilities include: advertising, corporate communications, promotions, media and community relations, special events, travel agency outreach, airline service development and advertising.
During her tenure she helped attract AirTran Airways; upgraded United Express and Comair to jet service; assisted in adding four new non-stop destinations; implemented a travel agency incentive program, created a Travel Agency Advisory Board, and expanded the airport's community outreach. As a result, passenger traffic has increased by 85 percent in the last five years.
Kristie earned a BA in Political Science from Austin College in Sherman, Texas and a MA of Public Administration from Western Michigan University. She is VP of Public Relations for SME Akron; Executive Vice President, Board of Directors of the Summit Choral Society; Steering Committee Past Chairperson, Canton/Stark County Convention and Visitors Bureau; Leadership Akron alumnus and a member of the Public Relations Society of America, Akron Chapter.
Kristie and her husband, Mark, reside in Akron and have a daughter Tori.
SME Akron Bestows Lifetime Achievement Award
For the first time in its 35-year history, SME Akron will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to a member. Willis Wolf, President of FLOW Corporation and a member of SME Akron for 16 years, will accept his award at Accent on Excellence, SME Akron’s 30th annual awards banquet Tuesday, Feb. 19 at Tangier at 6 p.m.
This is the first time the award has been given and will be awarded in the future solely at the discretion of SME Akron’s Board of Directors, according to Donna Early, President of Providence Personnel Consultants and committee chair. “This award will not necessarily be an annual event, and will be given only in recognition of outstanding achievements based on several criteria,” she explained. Future award winners must:
o Be a member of SME for at least 5 years
o Be distinguished in his or her profession
o Have served one full term on the Board of Directors
o Be highly regarded as a mentor in sales and marketing
o Have given back significantly to the community his or her time, talent or influence
He’s Not in Kansas Anymore -- Farm Boy Achieves Sales and Management Success
A Profile of Lifetime Award Winner Willis Wolf
Willis Wolf, SME Akron’s first Lifetime Achievement Award winner, describes himself as a “little old farm boy from Kansas.” Wolf took his first steps along his yellow brick road to success as a youngster of eight, selling his family’s farm products door-to-door. (OK, Akron isn’t exactly the Emerald City, but if you squint just so on a summer day, you can maintain the illusion!)
He soon traded the dusty fields of Kansas for the U.S. Army Air Force, which took him to China, Burma and India, where he ended up volunteering his time in an orphanage with a staff member named Mother Teresa.
“We had a buddy in the barracks who was a little depressed, and my best friend and I were concerned about him,” Wolf related. “He was an orphan himself, so we thought volunteering at an orphanage would help him out.”
They were directed to one in Calcutta. “When we saw the little babies just lying on a wooden bench, all lined up, facing the wall, we knew we just had to do something besides help with office supplies,” Wolf said. So, unbeknownst to the sisters, Wolf got mattresses for the children, along with clothes. “Most of those kids never had any clothes of their own. You just don’t know what it is like unless you’ve been there,” he explained.
Wolf also was their Santa Claus for the two years he was there, in an outfit provided by the Red Cross. “We found gifts for them all, I’m not sure how. We didn’t steal them though,” he declared.
That was how Wolf made the acquaintance of Mother Teresa. “I don’t know how she accomplished everything she did. Dogs got more attention in that part of the world than women did, yet she has helped millions of people around the world,” he stated. “It’s like what we espouse in SME, with ethics, attitude and desire you can do anything.”
After leaving the Army, Wolf finished his degree at Wichita State University and began his career with Montgomery Ward in 1948. Three years later he was promoted to store manager, the youngest Ward’s has ever had. In 1960 he joined Olsen Electronics, and assumed the helm as president in 1962. Under his leadership, the company grew from seven stores to just under one hundred coast-to-coast.
Somehow Wolf squeezed in business trips to six of the seven continents (he passed on Antarctica, not seeing much market opportunity there), moved 16 times and lived in twelve cities, but has called Akron home for more than 41 years with his wife of 59 years, Peggy. They have four children, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, one of whom is Willis R. Wolf IV.
When he wasn’t working or adventuring, Wolf also served on the 3M Company’s Advisory Board for 15 years, served on The University of Akron’s Business College Advisory Board, founded the Greater Akron Export Association and was appointed to the Advisory Council for Small Business in Northern Ohio for a six year term. He also is a member of SCORE, the Society for Retired Executives, and recently received SCORE’S Distinguished Service Award.
Wolf has mentored hundreds of successful sales and marketing professionals who credit their success to his guiding hand. Below are just a few former and current SME members he has mentored:Anne Armao, Bill Barrows Claudia Bowers, Clark Burns, Jim Butler, Jan Culp, Donna Early, Ed George, Jon Hawes, Carole Hayden, Don Jacobs, Sid Landskroner, Hal Maskiell, Paul Schmitz, Willie Smith and Martin Tass.
Other prominent professionals mentored by Wolf include:
Fred Shockey, Chairman & CEO, International United Research;
Don Philabaum, President, IAC;
Robert Handelman, President, Chemstress Consultant Co.
Walter Mirapaul, Director, Mirapaul Foundation
Stephen Zimmerman C. Frank Swain, Chairman, SCORE
Ted Poulos, President, Ohio Tuxedo
Laurie Zuckerman, President, Zuckerman Consultant Group,
and many, many others.
“Willis Wolf played a significant role in my student accomplishments as a business mentor," said Anne Armao, Director of Provider Relations and Contracting, SummaCare Health Plan. “He has encouraged and challenged me throughout my college and professional career. He uncovers the potential in each person he helps and inspires each one to accomplish greater goals,” she added.
“He is just a wonderful human being and so generous and giving of his time and talent. I can’t tell you how glad I am that we are honoring him in this way for his lifetime of achievement.”
