Crown Equipment Corporation (New Bremen, Ohio) recognized two of the true pioneers in its distribution network and in the material handling industry during the lift truck manufacturer’s annual Summit Awards program.
Crown Senior Vice President Jim Moran acknowledged Gary and Joan Thompson for their leadership as dealer principals for OKI Systems, Ltd., a distributor with operations in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. He praised the Thompsons for their integrity, honesty and innovation, presenting them with a special James F. Dicke Pioneer Award in appreciation for more than 38 years of service with Crown and its distributor network.
“They are true pioneers in every sense of the word,” said Moran. “OKI was one of the first to develop its service departments and allied product sales teams. Trust and integrity are two words closely associated with them.”
In addition to recognizing the Thompsons, Crown presented two other distributors, Lift Stak & Stor, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Crown Lift Trucks, LaGrange, Illinois, with James F. Dicke Pioneer Awards, symbolic of Crown’s top dealer and branch operations for 2006. The award is named after Crown Chairman Emeritus James F. Dicke.
The award marks the seventh time Lift Stak & Stor has achieved the Pioneer Award and its fourth in the last five years. Since the Summit Awards began in 1995, the company has compiled an impressive 19 awards. CEO Jim Wingate, President Jeff Sell, Vice President – Sales Ron Wade and Service Manager Dave Milless represented Lift Stak & Stor, receiving the award on behalf of the company’s employees.
For Crown Lift Trucks, LaGrange, the James F. Dicke Pioneer Award was its first. Previously, the distributor won Summit Awards in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Branch General Manager– Midwest Region Fred Morrone, Sales Manager Pat Casey and Product Support Manager Frank Guzik represented the LaGrange branch.
Other Summit Award winners included Action Lift, Inc., Wilkes-Barre, Penn.; Lift, Inc., Lancaster, Penn.; NorthWest Handling Systems, Inc., Portland, Or.; and Crown Lift Trucks, Tampa, Fla.. Action Lift, Inc., earned its eighth Summit Award in nine years.
Eight other distributors received Ascent Awards: A.J. Jersey, Inc., South Plainfield, N.J.; Alliance Material Handling, Baltimore, Md.; Naumann/Hobbs Material Handling, Inc., Phoenix, Az.; NorthWest Handling Systems, Inc., Seattle, Wash.; Crown Lift Trucks, Orlando, Fla.;Crown Lift Trucks, Salt Lake City, Utah; Crown Lift Trucks, Denver, Col.; and Crown Lift Trucks, San Antonio, Texas.
The annual national awards ceremony took place at the St. Regis Resort Monarch Beach, Dana Point, California.