The Premier Companies reunite in Texas after two years of transformation and teamwork

The Premier Companies’ held their annual National Convention in Houston, Texas this past weekend after nearly two years of virtual events. The Premier Companies welcomed franchisees, vendors, and their guests at the corporate house on Tiki Island Friday night to reunite and celebrate.

Attendees enjoyed a round of golf at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas before a catamaran ride in the Bay and traditional shrimp boil hosted at the corporate house on Tiki, Island. “The Tiki House offers a rare opportunity for Premier team members, whether they are store managers, employees, franchisees, or the corporate team to gather and enjoy a weekend of training or celebration”, exclaims President & CEO, Trooper Earle. “We always see a strong comraderies among attendees after visiting, they call and text one another about what they learned even after leaving and we love to see that conversation continue”.

The weekend was filled with activities along the coast of Texas where attendees enjoyed the attractions of the Kemah Boardwalk and then conveined at Top Golf for a cocktail reception and presentation of Vendor of the Year Award. Recipient, Rob Schilb of Dorrance Supply who graciously accepted the award said, “I was very honored, that Dorrance would be recognized by Premier for our part in keeping the company supplied over the past year”. Schilb was thrilled to share this award with his team in Indianapolis. Vice President of Operations, Mike Lewis added: “We only started working with Rob this last year, but it was at a time when we were experiencing extreme supply issues and he was consistently able to fill in the gaps and provide product when no one else could. His company made a world of a difference”. This was Rob’s first time attending the Premier National Convention and franchisees are looking forward to working with him in the future.

Sunday morning began with The General Session where Trooper Earle presented  the State of the Company. They had much to celebrate this convention with significant infrastructure advancements, the completion and utilization of the Development Center, as well as a successful investment in producing resource materials.

Mark Wolff and Vince Edwards of CoreSpace provided insight to the infrastructure of Premier’s security technology.

Kyon Gustin of Top Fire Media explained the assistance he and his team have provided Marketing Director, Nancy Price with digital marketing as well as SEO optimization. Gustin finished by saying “we have the infrastructure to go up against the big guys but with a small business feel”.

The Online Sales panel consisting of vendors Angie McClimon, O’Rourke Sales; Patrick Henley, AMPTAB; Larry Furini, Coaster; Kenn Maas, Crosley; Michael Kays, Ashley Furniture, and Roberto Galvez, Premier CIT,  discussed how the advantage no longer sits with big box stores. Premier’s websites offer hundreds of special order products to provide much more selection to online users. Quality is directly correlated with prices and people are interested in quality. The panel also answered some questions from the franchisees.

APRO was represented by Director of Education and Membership, Jennifer Toke who presented the industry service awards. Franchisees who have contributed to foundations within the industry were recipients.

The Premier Companies has undergone a rebranding process beginning in 2019 which was spearheaded by Event Director, Larkin Mott and Event Coordinator, Nancy Price. The Texas City store, owner by Angelo  Gughiocello was built according to all new branding requirements and stands as a perfect example of the flagship store.

The Awards Banquet is the most anticipated event of the convention and celebrates franchisees for the work in community service, Premier service, store anniversaries, sales volume, and extraordinary contributions to the Premier organization.  In addition, members of the Corporate Team were recognized for the completion of Premier University, a state of the art interactive learning management system. Laura Emerson, Mike Lewis and Tiernan Boland, were awarded the President’s Award for their efforts. This honor is given to individuals who have forever changed Premier.

The Franchisee of the Year was celebrated as the highlight of the evening. A huge congratulations was extended to Sandi Frye and her team in Altoon, Pennsylvania. Sandi’s daughter and store manager, Ebony McCloskey, shared how proud she was , “my mom really fought for this, putting in the time and seeing things though. Her ability to retain employees is amazing, she takes a personal interest in them and their families which makes a huge difference in how our store operates”. “Being a top performer and then winning Franchisee of the Year is rewarding, humbling, and shocking, I am so honored to be recognized”, said Sandi, as the whole Premier family gathered to celebrate after the awards banquet.