St. Charles, IL (March 18, 2014) — American Office Products Distributors, Inc. (AOPD) has just concluded a highly successful 2015 Annual Meeting at The Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach, CA. Each year the AOPD Annual Meeting gives Business Partners and Dealers the opportunity to sit down face to face and discuss sales and marketing strategies for the upcoming year.
“Obviously, one of the leading topics of discussion at this year’s AOPD annual meeting was the proposed Staples acquisition of Office Depot/Max. As the national chains eventually consolidate into one $39 billion competitor, it makes it all the more important for the IDC to continue finding ways to strengthen those organizations that enable us to compete and take market share. AOPD is no exception to this,” stated the newly elected President of AOPD’s Board of Directors, Frank L. Fera of Bulldog Office Products. He continued, “It will be even more vital to develop APA (American Purchasing Association) as we further unite and align the buy side with our national sales and marketing initiatives.”
Executive Director, Bud Mundt reported, “This year’s meeting had special meaning to me as it will be my last meeting serving as Executive Director. Business Partners and Dealers alike have said this was one of the most productive meetings thus far. It feels great to know that I will be leaving on such a high note.”
As in past years, at the Awards Dinner, Bud Mundt presented The President’s Award to people who have been long time supporters of AOPD and the independent Dealer community. This year AOPD honored Dealer Representative Kim Leazer of FSIoffice and Business Partner Representative Barry Lane of Avery Products. Both recipients are truly well deserving of this prestigious award.
Also at the Awards Dinner, Key Note Speaker James Fellowes, reflected on the importance of succession planning and the recent changes in leadership at Fellowes, Inc. This topic was especially timely as AOPD has just announced their own transition in leadership to be complete on January 1, 2016. In addition, AOPD presented City of Hope with a check, as a down payment on what City of Hope will be receiving at the conclusion of the AOPD Business Partner Promotion.
The 2015 AOPD Board of Directors, voted on at the meeting, by the Dealer members are
President – Frank L. Fera, Bulldog Office Products
Chairman of the Board – Pat Crowley, Innovative Office Solutions
Vice President – Bill Jones, The Office City
Treasurer – Gordon Pepper, Ritter’s Office Outfitters
Secretary – Joe Breczka, Eaton Office Supply
Director – Mark Leazer, FSIoffice
Director – Wayne Stillwagon, Miller’s Supplies at Work
Mundt concluded, “A special thank-you goes out to this year’s Corporate Platinum Sponsor S.P. Richards. Other event sponsors that deserve recognition are: 3M, Avery Products, Business Solutions Association, Deflecto, Enterprise Group, Fellowes Inc., Hewlett Packard, Pentel of America, LTD., PM Company, Smead Manufacturing Co., and West Point Products. I also want to personally thank all of our Business Partners and Dealers for their support over the past 11 years. I look forward to leading AOPD in 2015 and seeing continued growth in contracts and sales.”