RETAILOBSERVER.COM MAY 2019
62
S E R V I C E D E P A R T M E N T
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
BUCK RENTERIA
T H E U N I T E D S E R V I C E R S AS S O C I AT I O N I S
H O N O R E D TO AC K N OWLE D G E I N D IVI D UALS
AC R OS S ALL AS P ECTS O F O U R I N D USTRY WH O
HAVE D E M O N STR ATE D E XC E PTI O NAL I NVESTM E NT,
CAR E, AN D C O N C E R N FO R TH E G O O D O F ALL
I NVO LVE D I N TH E AP P LIAN C E S E RVI C E I N D USTRY.
T
he recipient of the 2019 United Servicers Association's
Lifetime Achievement Award is Ernesto "Buck" Renteria.
As the reality of Buck's impending retirement became
increasingly clear, the question we had to ask was: "What would
someone who has been so fully committed to serving others in the
appliance service industry for so many years do with his free time?"
Buck has dedicated his life to others – quite literally he's freely
given of his time, day, night, vacations, and weekends – just ask his
lovely wife Rose. The consummate solution-oriented service agent,
Buck never met a problem he didn't enjoy solving. (But he might
have met his match with retirement.)
Those who were fortunate to work with Buck know that he is a
natural leader with an uncanny sense of humor. Buck was a team
player and a true friend and trusted confidant.
His roots were in the Southwest – he grew up in New Mexico,
where he attended college. His career began in the early 1970s with
the original Maytag Company, where he spent 11 years navigating
his way up the ranks of Service DSM in Pittsburgh and San
Francisco, ultimately landing in senior management where he was
tasked with developing Maytag's northern California factory service.
Buck enjoyed great success in the 1980s and spent short stints
with Goodyear in store management, followed by Phelps Dodge
