Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM MARCH 2022 56 P roSource, the A/V and integration affiliate of the BrandSource buying group, has announced a big change in leadership on its board of directors. Longtime board chair Murray Huppin, principal of Huppin's/OneCall, a consumer tech staple of the Pacific Northwest, has stepped down from his ProSource post but will continue to serve on the board. He was succeeded by former vice chairman and treasurer Walt Stinson, CEO of ListenUp, who in turn is succeeded by Bill Janka, president/CEO of Mission Audio Video. "I have loved serving as the board chairman over the past 10 years," Huppin said, "and I am looking forward to continuing to contribute to the success of ProSource as an officer of the board. Walt has been my partner as Vice-Chairman, and I am excited for the great initiatives he will bring to the group as the new Chairman." In a statement, Stinson said he is "looking forward to serving as Chairman as we work together to develop and grow the capabilities of our organization. On behalf of the entire organization, thank you to Murray for your strong leadership over the past 10 years, and congratulations to Bill, who succeeds me as Vice-Chairman." Janka, a years-long board member, said he continues to be "inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation of our members," and looks forward to working with Stinson and the board "to grow and expand upon the rich offerings ProSource has developed for the membership." Dave Workman, president and CEO of ProSource, noted that the buying group's board represents decades of industry experience, and that the organization "is very fortunate to be guided by the talented executives that have been elected to serve the membership." Workman also thanked Huppin for his long and continuing service and congratulated Stinson and Janka on their new roles. In other ProSource news, the group ended 2021 by welcoming eight new custom integrator-level (CI) members to its ranks, bringing the total number of new dealers added last year to 30. The latest additions contributed to the more than $87.3 million in new group revenue in 2021. Workman said the group was extremely pleased with the level of new member growth and was even more impressed by the quality of the businesses that joined, describing the new additions as "best-in- class operations." In addition, ProSource has elevated CI member Neuwave Systems of Raleigh, N.C., to the Power membership level. Power members generate more than $5 million in annual sales and qualify for additional membership benefits, explained Sherry Dantonio, the group's senior director of education and recruitment. Elsewhere, the group has expanded ProSource Academy, its three-day basic training program for new installers that launched in 2021. Each of the three free-for-members trainings reached full capacity last year, prompting ProSource to double the number of calendar dates to six. "ProSource Academy directly confronts the pain point of finding qualified technicians to fill the gap experienced by many of our members when growing their businesses," Workman said. "We trained 36 new technicians [last year] who returned to their companies field-ready and armed with the tools they need to be productive members of the team." Speaking of school, ProSource has extended free access for all its members to ProSource University (PSU) through September. PSU's custom-created content provides training for all disciplines within a systems integration company, including apprentice through master technician courses, project management, finance, executive management, operations, HR and sales. Over 80 percent of ProSource's members participate in PSU, with nearly 800 active courses and over 25,000 course completions since its launch in May 2020. Alan Wolf is Senior Communications Specialist for AVB/ BrandSource, the nation's leading merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, consumer tech dealers. Alan Wolf ProSource News RO EXPANDS ACADEMY TRAININGS PROSOURCE PICKS A NEW CHAIRMAN The ProSource board includes outgoing chairman Murray Huppin (seated, second from right); his successor, Walt Stinson (standing, far right); and new vice chair Bill Janka (seated, far left).

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