ERA PRESS RELEASE

Nov. 9, 2021
Contact: Neda Simeonova / Communications Director / nsimeonova@era.org

ERA Announces 2021 Chapter Officers Leadership Training Graduates

The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) announces the latest graduates of its 2021 Chapter Officers Leadership Training (COLT) program, held virtually Nov. 3 – 5.

ERA’s COLT is an annual instructional program designed to offer practical knowledge, tips and ERA insider information on chapter management and planning tactics to help chapter leaders meet the challenges of serving as volunteer leaders. The program is coordinated by Cameron English, CPMR, of English Technical Sales and the new dean of COLT; Bob Evans, CPMR, who recently retired as president of EK Micro and is the former chair of the Chapter Leadership Council; Erin Collins, events coordinator for ERA; and Walter Tobin, CEO of ERA.

For the first time this year, the COLT program was held virtually and featured three days of interactive training. Nineteen chapter leaders from 13 different chapters attended the event, which included an opening remarks video by Phil Gallagher, CEO of Avnet; COLT online manual review; a walk through the ERA website; mock chapter event planning workshops; a presentation by legal counsel to ERA, Geral M. Newman of Schoenberg Finkel Beederman Bell & Glazer LLC, and much more.

Chapter leaders who completed COLT this year will receive one complimentary attendee registration for the 2022 ERA Conference, scheduled for Feb. 27 – March 1 in Austin, Texas. This benefit is non-transferable and only one comped registration is allotted per chapter.

Evans expressed his thoughts about the 2021 COLT training program, “The 2021 edition of COLT was a benchmark in ERA history. Nineteen veteran and new chapter leaders from around the country ‘zoomed in’ online for the first-ever virtual COLT seminar. They all came eager to learn about and share best practices for their respective chapters. Their energy and enthusiasm were inspirational, as was the leadership of Cam English, Walter Tobin, and especially Erin Collins, who was tasked with keeping the group one point and on time. Congratulations to all the chapter leaders that participated. They seemed anxious to go back and apply what they learned from the staff and each other, and from these pros, we would expect nothing less.”

English added, “The first-ever ERA virtual COLT brought together 19 chapter members and amazing business managers who represented the ‘best of the best’ future chapter leaders from all over the country. The group rose to the occasion, and the ideas and thoughts shared during this three-day training event would make anyone proud to be associated with the exciting caliber of talent and the creativity we observed. We are going into 2022 with an amazing field of champions well-positioned to lead the ERA chapters. Congrats to all COLT graduates!

ERA congratulates the following ERA chapter leaders on successfully completing the 2021 COLT program:

• Rick Dale of Kruvand-FTS – Arizona ERA
• Mike DelVecchio of D&L Technical Sales – Arizona ERA
• Wyatt Gifford of English Technical Sales – Arizona ERA
• Heather Heath of Pinnacle Marketing Inc. – Carolinas ERA
• Steve Cooper, CPMR of Cover 2 Sales Inc. – Chesapeake ERA
• Susan Leager of Control Sale Inc. – Chicagoland-Wisconsin ERA
• Chris Platt of CRP Technical Solutions – Indiana/Kentucky ERA
• Ken Ball of Envision Design Tech – Mid-Lantic ERA
• Mike Acquafredda of Astrorep Inc. – Metro New York ERA
• John Wiedemann of R.O. Whitesell & Associates –Michigan ERA
• Sue Burke of TTI Inc. – New England ERA
• Larry Flores of Ross Marketing Associates – Northern California ERA
• Terri Straube of Straube Associates Inc. – Northern California ERA
• Tim Kilfoil of JF Kilfoil Company – Ohio ERA
• Len Dickinson of Wesco Sales Group Inc. – Pacific Northwest ERA
• Dave Fitzgerald of Wesco Sales Group Inc. – Pacific Northwest ERA
• Matt Patrick of Wesco Sales Group Inc. – Pacific Northwest ERA
• Terry Uht of Straube-Halco – Pacific Northwest ERA
• Cody Tangeman of Pinnacle Marketing Inc. – Southeast ERA

About ERA
The 86-year-old Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) is the international trade organization for professional field sales companies in the global electronics industries, manufacturers who go to market through representative firms and global distributors. It is the mission of ERA to support the professional field sales function through programs and activities that educate, inform and advocate for manufacturers’ representatives, the principals they represent and the distributors who are reps’ partners in local territories. For more information about ERA, visit era.org.