FORE! Casey Martin, a professional golfer on the Nationwide Tour, tees off during the pro/am event at the “Rheem Classic” in Ft. Smith, Ark. Admiring his shot are Rheem Southeast Region Sales Manager Randy Roberts (left), Rheem Vice President-Controller Bob Cowan (center), and Pace Robinson (right), CEO of Modern Supply in Knoxville, Tenn.
FORT SMITH, Ark. — The Rheem Air Conditioning Division played host to some key Rheem and Ruud distributors and about 156 professional golfers as the Nationwide Tour stopped in Ft. Smith for the “Rheem Classic,” held April 23-27. The first place check of $85,500 went to Zach Johnson of Orlando, Fla. Johnson was tied with Steve Haskins of El Paso, Texas, after 72 holes at 8 under par. Johnson proceeded to par No. 18 on the first playoff hole to claim the victory.

Rheem kicked off the tournament week with a special distributor meeting on April 22, followed by a pro/am golf tournament at Hardscrabble Country Club on April 23.

All smiles at the conclusion of the tournament are (from left) Ed Raniszeski, Rheem director of market development and communications, Zach Johnson, the winner of the Rheem Classic, Jack Sinkler, Rheem vice president of marketing, and J.R. Jones, president of Rheem Manufacturing’s Air Conditioning Division.
Rheem Division President J.R. Jones said the Rheem Classic was a prime example of a new presence for Rheem in the marketplace and in the community. Jones told the distributor group, “The No. 1 objective is to grow market share, and our success is dependent on our level of partnership.”

Dan Canclini, vice president, research and development, described the company’s new direction in product development, saying, “Where do we go from here? Products, products, and more products.” He outlined five major product line changes, including two-stage 90-plus furnaces (due in fall 2003), residential air conditioning units (winter 2003), 10- and 12-SEER products (spring 2004), residential packaged products (summer 2004), and direct-vent 80-plus furnaces (fall 2004).

Don Harter (right), general manager of ProStock Parts, a division of Rheem Manufacturing, and Chuck Holcombe (center) of ProStock Parts explain the benefits of the new store layout at J&B Supply to Terry Grissman (left) of Design Air, Kimberly, Wis.
The group was also invited to tour the newly opened ProStock™ Parts store on the premises of J&B Supply, the Ruud Distributor in Ft. Smith. ProStock Parts, the “turnkey” replacement parts program from Rheem, currently has 33 stores in 18 states. Plans call for that total to jump to 73 stores in 28 states by the end of 2004.

Publication date: 05/12/2003