March 2016

The Distinguished Marketing and Sales Awards
Connections for Success
Quarterly Newsletter • March 2016
The 55th Annual DMSA Banquet
The 55th Distinguished Marketing and Sales Awards
Banquet, sponsored by Medical Mutual and Cleveland Clinic
was held Thursday, February 25th at Public Hall and what an
evening it was! Gusty winds greeted guests as they arrived,
but once entering the building they were embraced by the
grandeur of one of Cleveland’s classic buildings.
“Live on the Red Carpet” hosted by Insivia gave guests the
opportunity to talk about the event, recipients and their companies. Colortone Staging and Rental is the king of staging
a venue; the results were warm, welcoming and showcased
Public Hall in all her glory. Many thanks to Executive Caterers for recreating the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction
menu for our event! Several guests couldn’t resist eating the
dessert before their entrees! Signage promoting our sponsors
and our programs were printed by long-time partner Consolidated Graphics.
Think Media produced a Cleveland centric themed video
and the results were spectacular, in case you missed it, look
for the link soon on our website. Many people helped ensure
the success of the event including Sylvia Pointer and Twanda
P.O. Box 16839
Cleveland, Ohio 44116
Join SME Today
The ROI of your membership in SME far outweighs
the cost to join. Maximize your membership investment by attending our networking luncheons to hear
great speakers and learn their business secrets. Additionally, you can participate in SME-U Workshops,
Business After Hours, or join a Business Connections
Group to develop business leads, network and more!
For more information on membership visit the SME
website at www.SMECleveland.com
Patterson from Medical Mutual, photographer Jim Baron and
our Master of Ceremonies, JT Krohe – thank you! Finally,
a special thanks to member Sharon Roberson-Evans for her
help and guidance at Public Hall. A tremendous team effort
to produce an amazing event, thank you all!
The DMSA celebration was kicked off at the beginning
of February by a VIP Cocktail Party, held at LockKeepers,
hosted by The Shamrock Companies. The cocktail party gave
our current DMSA recipients and previous winners the opportunity to meet and learn more about the event. Shamrock
Companies generously provided the flowers for the DMSA
and the beautiful crystal awards presented to each winner.
Congratulations to our DMSA recipients and our Business
Executive of the Year, David Gilbert for being an outstanding
group of winners!
We encourage you to nominate a deserving sales or
marketing professional for next year’s event. Email
director@smecleveland.com and we’ll be happy to provide
you the information.
PUBLISHED BY:
Sales & Marketing
Executives of Cleveland
P.O. Box 16839,
Cleveland, Ohio 44116
Tel: 216-767-5951
Fax: 216-767-5961
director@smecleveland.com
www.smecleveland.com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
President................................. Tom Thacker,
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
President Elect .......................... Hal Becker
The Becker Group, Inc
VP Recruiting ....................... Melissa Marik
Executive Caterers
VP Marketing ............................ Anson Hall
ESPN Cleveland
VP Involvement ..................Cathy Razzante
Sawmill Creek Resort
DIRECTORS:
Matt Chaney .................................. KeyBank
Valerie Hurst ......................Skyline Exhibits
of Central Ohio
Wendy Kertesz .................. MarketingSense
JT Krohe................... DBS Communications
Nick Mazzone .........................Card, Palmer,
Sibbison & Co.
Greg McBride ........................ Euler Hermes
Mike Miller ............Music Box Supper Club
Mary Novak ........................Medical Mutual
Lynette Slama............ Holiday Inn Rockside
Laura Wellen .................Thrasher, Dinsmore
& Dolan
ASSOCIATE BOARD:
Ron Adair ..................................Dollar Bank
Derek Baker ..................... Aloft Beachwood
Robin Doerschuk .... Alliance Solutions Group
Andy Hollander...........Think Media Studios
Marilee MacAskill ............ Dale Carnegie of
Northeast Ohio
Janet Rohlik ................................. PRADCO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
Mary Margaret Lavelle
From the President...
Sales and Marketing Executives of
Cleveland, for over 90 years, has been
proud to bring to you our exceptional
networking opportunities with the
mission of assisting you to add value
to your business.
We are very excited to offer as our
March 21st SME Cleveland Luncheon
speaker Erin Dillard, GM Strategic
Accounts with GE Lighting on the
pertinent topic of “Delivering Results
in an Uncertain World”. This is a
‘must do’ event so please mark your
calendars and plan on attending.
For the food lover and chef in all
of you, we bring you Tom Heinen,
Co-President of Heinen’s Inc. on May
23rd. Tom will discuss “Heinen’s –
Past, Present and Future” with the
launching of the beautiful downtown
Heinen’s at the 9 this will be a cornucopia of festive information.
As President, I want to recognize all
of you for your presence in helping
to make the 2016 DMSA Awards a
spectacular event. David Gilbert was
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, May 10th
March 8 .............. SME-U Workshop
Featuring Al Strauss, Sales Concepts
Featuring:
Marvin Montgomery
March 21 ..... Networking Luncheon
Featuring Erin Dillard, GE Lighting
How to Become a Trusted Advisor!
You only have seconds to begin reversing the negative stigma that a potential
customer has about you which means the initial approach that you use is crucial.
Remember that people buy from people who they know, like and trust. Marvin
Montgomery who is an Author, Professional Sales Trainer & Coach will share:
We begin with our next SME-U
workshop to be held March 8, 2016
featuring Al Strauss of Sales Concepts
“Are you Working Hard or are you
Working Smart?”
This month we take Business after
Hours to the West side, please plan
on attending the March 23rd event at
Deagan’s Kitchen and Bar… always
a great time, meeting, doing business
and having fun. Also of note will be
June 8th, where we will reconvene at
Landerhaven and enjoy their outdoor
garden patio and their fabulous spread
of Hors d’oeuvres.
SME-U Workshop
• The Rules of Engagement
• Learn how to determine if it’s yes or not now
• The Benefits
• The Five Elements of Active Listening that build customer trust.
Tom
Thacker
sincerely moved to be honored and
recognized as “Mr. Cleveland”. It is
the committed and giving nature of
the membership of SME Cleveland
that made it happen. A personal thank
you to DMSA Chair Greg McBride
and Executive Director Mary Margaret for their hard work and dedication,
the event was truly a gala in all sense
of the word.
We will continue to offer additional
networking opportunities throughout
including our very popular Business
Connections groups currently located
downtown and westside and we’re
working on an eastside and Independence group! Have an interest in
attending a meeting, contact Mary
Margaret Lavelle.
Thank you for considering SME
Cleveland as your primary resource
for business development, we look
forward to seeing you at one of our
events.
- Tom Thacker
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
March 23 ....... Business After Hours
Deagan’s Kitchen & Bar
April 12 .............. SME-U Workshop
TBA
May 10 ................ SME-U Workshop
Featuring Marvin Montgomery
May 23 ......... Networking Luncheon
Tom Heinen, Heinen’s Inc.
Don’t miss this opportunity to Get Marvinized!
June 8 ............ Business After Hours
Executive Caterers
Networking Lunch
Monday, May 23, 2016
Featuring:
Tom Heinen
Co-President, Heinen’s Inc.
Heinen’s – Past, Present & Future
• How Heinen’s has existed for 87 years
• How do we continuously stay “different” in order to remain competitive
• Why did we decide to expand into Chicago
• Is there a 4th generation and what does Tom Heinen see for Heinen’s in the future
2.5 x 3.5
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Registration begins at 11:30, lunch at noon, program concludes by 1:15.
Members $30, non-member $45.
Reservations are required. Register at smecleveland.com
Luncheons are held at:
Windows on the River, 2000 Sycamore, Cleveland, Ohio 44113
New Members
James Arnos
Berkshire Hathaway
Home Services
Bruce Bechhold
Walthall CPAs
Randy Carpenter
The Union Club
Brian Ditz
Walthall CPAs
Michele Linton
Walthall CPAs
Dilara Ozdener
Systems Seals, Inc.
Cara Lange
Century Federal
Credit Union
Ashley McGinty
ASG, Division of
Jergens, Inc.
Eric Pratt
Momentum Groups
Rosanna Hrabnicky
Marketplace Events
Rick McDermott
Sandler Training
Candice Pettigrew
Wyndham Cleveland at
Playhouse Square
Diane Roberts
System Seals
George Scullin
Access Corp.
Shana Siegel
Quick Slim Solutions
Patrick Zangardi
Insivia