Recent graduate Steve Marlin, a branch manager with South Central Company, a division of G.W. Berkheimer, said, “Since we went to your classes, we’ve gotten with our IT people and picked out some [sales] dogs, we revised the way we do our ranking, and by adding five percent to the real slow movers, here in Bloomington, our [gross profit] percentages went up almost three percentage points,” adding, “I appreciate going through your class. I really do.”

Tim Armenta, another 2015 cohort graduate and a branch manager with Geary Pacific, said, “I found the program to be very valuable. Particularly important to me was what I learned at the Chicago workshop. It really changed the way that I view the inventory. The warehouse is your vault. It’s not boxes; it’s money. And that’s the approach and attitude we have to have if we want to maximize our profitability.”

The program, in its third year, continues to establish itself as a reputable certification program that yields real-world results and a worthwhile return on investment. The 2015 enrollment was the largest yet, growing more than 40 percent over the previous year.

Congratulations to HARDI’s 2015 Branch Manager Certification Program graduates: Brian Hodges, ABR Wholesalers; Matt Holt,  AC Supply; Scott Anderson, Mike Lobretto, Jim Scholts, and Pat Wood, Behler-Young; Karl Conolly, Bill McClure, and Brandon Pape, Century AC; Glen Taylor, Charles D. Jones; Randy Holland, Crescent Parts and Equipment; Tim Armenta and Ed Aymami, Geary Pacific; Bill Brown, HVAC Supply; Brandon Acosta, Insco Distributing; Ben Conforti, Michael Denson, John  Dileo, Darren Kee, and George Morgan, Johnstone Supply - Kenilworth; Dean Mader, Johnstone Supply; Dennis Boback and Kris Hollenbeck, Meier Supply; Jim McAuley, Dan  Hyett, and Jaime Garcia, Munch Supply; Dan Ridenour, RSD; and Deborah Carson, Brad Holsten, Brian Lucas, Steve Marlin, and Steve Webb, South Central.

HARDI is now accepting registrants for its 2016 cohort, which begins its first workshop in September. HARDI members can contact Emily Saving, vice president of professional and program development, at esaving@hardinet.org.