For the eighth consecutive year, SGR magazine held its annual Supplier Rep of the Year and Customer Service Rep of the Year contests, based on distributor nominations. This year’s winners are: Cristina Ysselstein of ETS Express (asi/51197) as the Supplier Sales Rep of the Year and Meghan Kory of Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125) as the first runner-up; Ludy Sousa of Hub Pen Company (asi/61966) as the Customer Service Rep of the Year and Alexandra Gadpaille of Perry Ellis International (asi/77715) as the first runner-up.

As sales manager for the Northern California territory at ETS Express, Ysselstein thrives on solving the unique daily challenges of the industry and fostering loyal relationships with her diverse clients. Since joining ETS five years ago, she has more than doubled her sales, fueling the territory’s consistent double-digit growth. “Cristina has a passion and skill in being adaptive to how she supports her customers,” says Brandon Bell, vice president of sales at ETS Express. “She believes and understands that each customer has different needs, including the individual sales person within each company. Customers see this, and will proactively engage Cristina for her expertise, creative thinking, and relentless support to help make their business better for their clients.”

Of Meghan Kory, CJ Schmidt, president of Top 40 supplier Hit Promotional Products, says: “Meghan embraces technology and the ever-changing market, yet always sticks to her fantastic work ethic and old-school, ‘grind it out’ mentality. I’m very proud of what she has accomplished and the future is very bright for this talented young woman.”

CSR of the Year Sousa has been in customer service for 30 years, starting at auto glass manufacturer Pilkington North America before layoffs shredded the company’s workforce. For the past four years, she has been a customer service representative for Hub Pen, supporting about 650 clients and greatly contributing to the supplier’s 5-star rating in ESP. “Ludy is the embodiment of all the skills that you need in a customer service person – and then some,” says Joe Fleming, president of Top 40 supplier Hub Pen Company. “She has a great work ethic, super knowledge of product, and is patient and reliable. She will do everything and anything to make sure a job gets done right and on time, and she does it all with a smile on her face and a smile in her voice.”

And regarding Gadpaille, her boss Jeff Smith, Perry Ellis’ vice president of corporate sales says: “Alexandra has a general attitude that every contact she makes with a customer influences whether or not they will come back. She has a tireless, ‘can-do’ attitude in her communications that make customers feel at ease that they will be in good hands.”

For more information on SGR and its annual reps of the year contest, contact Editor Michele Bell at mbell@asicentral.com.