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The North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) recently named eight home improvement retailers as 2016 Young Retailer of the Year honorees.
The recognition program, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, identifies and honors the next generation of aspiring independent home improvement retailers and recognizes individual achievements of retailers age 35 and younger from the U.S. and Canada.
Winners are chosen based on criteria such as career accomplishments, community involvement, hardware industry education and extracurricular activities.
The honorees represent three categories, including stores with annual sales under $2 million, stores with annual sales over $2 million and retailers operating multiple locations. The 2016 Young Retailer of the Year honorees are listed below. Click on the name of each honoree to view their full profile and a video compilation of their achievements.
Under $2 Million in Annual Sales
- Travis Hellvig – operations manager, Hartford Building Center, Hartford, South Dakota
Over $2 Million in Annual Sales
- Marc Currie – president, Niece Lumber, Lambertville, New Jersey
- Richard Lukowiak – general manager, Johns Creek Ace Hardware, Johns Creek, Georgia
- Kyle Martinez – owner/president, Interstate Building Materials, Many, Louisiana
- Jared Sawyer – owner/manager, Sawyer’s True Value, The Dalles, Oregon
Multiple Stores
- Christian Herrick – CEO, Randy’s Do it Best Hardware, Timberville, Virginia
- Dan Moulton – dealer-owner, Alliston Home Hardware Building Centre and Hanover Home Hardware Building Centre, Alliston, Ontario and Hanover, Ontario
- Aimee Nichols – store owner, Berger Hardware, Hawthorne and Port Chester, New York
“Each year the industry looks forward to the selection and celebration of the impressive honorees of this prestigious program,” says Bill Lee, NRHA president and CEO. “To be selected as a Young Retailer of the Year is a high honor, and these honorees exemplify the essence of this award through their business achievements, commitment to the independent retail industry and spirit of giving back to their communities. We’re thrilled to be honoring extraordinary retailers for the 20th year in a row, and look forward to continuing the tradition for many years to come.”
Sponsors of the 2016 Young Retailer of the Year program include the American Hardware Manufacturers Association, Apex Tool Group, Delta Faucet Company, Fluidmaster, Intertape Polymer Group and Midwest Fastener Corporation.
The Young Retailer of the Year banquet will be May 3 at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel prior to the opening of the NRHA All-Industry Conference and the National Hardware Show® in Las Vegas. For more information on the awards program and conference, please visit www.nrhaconference.com.
