Proudly serving the industry for which it was named for more than 50 years, Outdoor Power Equipment provides dealers who sell and service outdoor power equipment with valuable information to succeed in a competitive market.
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Teachers’ workshop held at the Briggs & Stratton Training Facility (Photo courtesy: Pete Fernald) Spirit Award Bruce Radcliff was one of the founders of the EETC and its second president, succeeding Andy Kuczmar. The unique thing at that time was that while Briggs & Stratton chose an individual di- rection for its customer service, Bruce embraced the concept of a collective, industry-wide answer to shared problems. He helped to form the EETC and its mission, and he worked tirelessly to estab- lish this lofty goal. After all, we were just a bunch of service guys trying to figure out a way to measure technicians’ skill levels. Bruce gave us his intellect, and his dedication, but he also worked in the trenches to help establish the basic certification tests and school accreditation competencies that we still use today. The EETC would not be as strong, vibrant or influential without Bruce’s input and guidance. It is with great respect and admiration that the Spirit Award for 2011 went to Bruce Radcliff. Manufacturer of the Year This company has always been one of the strongest and most dedicated supporters of the EETC. It has adopted the EETC Cer- tification Tests as a benchmark for its dealer network. If ever we need anything at the EETC, this company has always been one of the first to step up and ask, “How can we help?” No matter which side of the company you’re on — commercial or consumer — this company has embraced the mission of the EETC. Our Manu- facturer of the Year for 2011 is the Toro Company. Ed Cole accepted the award on behalf of Toro. Distributor of the Year When the EETC was desperately looking for more test proc- tors, our Distributor of the Year not only set up its service man- ager to give tests, but also set up its entire sales staff to give tests. Most of this was due to the commitment of the service manager; however, he still needed the backing of management and gets it every day. We thank this company for its continued recognition of the value that EETC Certification brings it and its dealers. The Distributor of the Year is Gardner of Florida. Glenn Hamman accepted the award and was asked to convey our deepest thanks to everyone at Gardner. School of the Year It is always tough to pick only one School of the Year that has excelled in representing the EETC’s education goals. But this Four-stroke Technical Committee Study Guide and Test Review (Photo courtesy: Dave Worden) OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT JUNE 2011 23 school has risen to the top, despite very challenging economic times, perhaps more challenging than in any other state in our country. The instructor at our School of the Year is a dedicated champion of his students, whether they are enrolled in his col- lege program; attend a local high school where he voluntarily conducts classes and certification tests; or are underprivileged kids, struggling to find a place they can call home. He is that special kind of teacher, and we support and respect all that he does for his community and our industry. Our 2011 School of the Year is the Louisiana Technical College-Lamar Salter Cam- pus. Gary Prichard, the school’s instructor, was unable to attend, but the award was accepted on his behalf by Trence McCoy, who serves on the EETC’s Executive Board and would personally deliver it to Gary. John Thompson Memorial Service Manager of the Year Our nominating committee just couldn’t come up with one Service Manager of the Year, so two winners were chosen. It’s kind of like the government, except we compromised and picked both of them. The first Service Manager of the Year went to a person we like to call “The Quiet One.” He is very unassuming and sometimes you don’t know that he’s there. But he is, and has been a staunch supporter of Technician Certification, including it in his daily rou- tine. We don’t know much more that we can say because, after all, he is “The Quiet One.” The first Service Manager of the Year was presented to Jeff Orman of Medart, Inc. The second Service Manager of the Year is new to the EETC family, but has picked up the baton and is running with it. For ex- ample, at last year’s conference, he not only paid for his own regis- tration, but also felt strongly that a local school should attend the conference as well, and paid its registration so it could be there, too. We were happy to award another Service Manager of the Year award to Chuck Sessoms, Outdoor Equipment Distributors. President’s Award The person who is being recognized is someone who has been a very strong supporter of the EETC’s goals and values. When asked to assist with a project, his dedication and effort are un- matched. He makes sure that the information being used, whether it is for a certification test or the by-laws, is accurate and without