New Hall of Fame inductees “Skip” Ignaczak, Jackie King, Kevin Werner and Tom Balistreri with their awards.
By Alan Wolf, YSN
AVB picked up where it left off before the pandemic by inducting the latest crop of Hall of Fame honorees on Sunday.
The Class of 2021 includes Jackie King of Nampa Appliance TV & Mattress; Tom Balistreri of Colders’ Furniture, Appliances and Mattresses; former AVB/BrandSource board member George “Skip” Ignaczak; and AVB’s own Kevin Werner.
The inductees were formally introduced at Convention21’s General Session by AVB COO Dave Meekings and 2019 Hall of Famer Ron Bemis of Bemis Appliance. As Meekings recounted, the AVB Hall of Fame was created to “recognize, learn about and celebrate the people who made this the great group it is today.”
King countered in her acceptance speech that “I would not be here today without AVB, which supported my business from day one.”
King is a national board member and has served as president of the Rocky Mountain Region since 1998. She co-founded Napa Appliance with her dad Darry Endicott in 1983, and her success has earned her the respect and appreciation of her group and community, as well as a Dealer of the Year and AVB Women in Business Inspiration Awards.
Balistreri, a co-owner of Colders’ and the company’s Merchandising VP, came to BrandSource by way of the MARTA Cooperative of America, which merged with AVB in 2006. He served as Chairman of Power Dealers forerunner Resource Plus and continues to lead many of BrandSource’s successful initiatives.
Ignaczak started out delivering appliances for his dad’s business, Duggan’s Service & Appliance, and would go on to serve on AVB’s Tri-State Region Board and National Board of Directors. Known to all as “Skip,” he also played an integral role in the formation of BSF forerunner AVB Finance and devoted more than 30 years to the group before retiring in 2018.
Werner is known to all BrandSource dealers for his tireless efforts on their behalf as Member Relations General Manager. His first brush with retail was in high school, working for an electronics shop that he would later acquire. After serving on the Great Plains Region Board for nearly a decade, he sold his business and rejoined the group as the area’s Region Manager. That led to stints as District Manager and Director of field Management before assuming his current post in 2018. “BrandSource is truly a family,” Werner has said, “and I am proud to be a part of it.”
As are we all, Kevin. Congratulations Class of 2021!
BrandSource, a unit of YSN publisher AVB Inc., is a nationwide buying group for independent appliance, furniture, mattress and CE dealers.
