It is possible to combine two diverse interests into one successful career.
Amador "AJ" Reyna, Jr. recalls being at a foodservice equipment show in the beginning of his career when a DSR of the Month sign caught his attention. "Since then, I've aspired to accomplish this," he says. "It was always very important to me."
Scott Morrical found his calling in the foodservice industry at a very young age. "I started working in breakfast restaurants while in middle school, washing dishes by hand," he says. Morrical then moved on to supper clubs, before becoming a dealer and broadline sales rep to capitalize on what he calls his "gift of the gab".
Ariel Potash has been around commercial kitchens his entire life, with family members who work as chefs and caterers, including his wife.
In some instances, it is the family ties that carve a career path.
The pharmaceutical and foodservice equipment industries could not be more different, yet it was training in drug sales that helped Christine Poldiak land her current job as outside sales rep for TriMark United East.
Scott Wainwright has been involved in almost every facet of the foodservice industry during his career.
After working as a preventative maintenance technician for Strategic Equipment & Supply Corp.'s ISI Commercial Refrigeration division while attending University of North Texas, Danny Monnat took a year off to become a certified paralegal. "I was considering going to law school, but decided that wasn't the route I wanted to take," Monnat says. "Instead, I focused on finishing my undergraduate degree in business."
Larry Simonel has been in the foodservice industry most of his life. Growing up, his mother worked as a restaurant manager and he began working in and around foodservice operations at 12 years old.
Ollie Wilkes is one of the few salespeople in the industry that has called on most of Mississippi at one time or another.
Working with national accounts for Atlanta Fixture, Jon Jacobs says his favorite part of the job is helping customers save money. This is no surprise because, as a former restaurant owner, Jacobs realizes the importance of the bottom line.
When asked to help deliver foodservice items as a high school student in the late '60s, Herb Paige had no idea this part-time job would be the start of a successful career in the industry much less help form his work ethic. "The man who trained me was old school," Paige says. "If I didn't wrap the glassware the way he wanted, he would make me wrap it again."
A self-proclaimed foodservice industry lifer, Jason Sem admits that his career has taken many twists and turns along the way.
As a former restaurant manager, then a key accounts manager for a national soft drink company and now a successful DSR, David Maxwell has had a very well-rounded foodservice career.
Josh Smith owes his career to being at the right place at the right time. After years of working odd jobs in restaurants, including dishwashing and bussing tables, Smith's buddy invited him to help move Bargreen Ellingson's warehouse.
While waiting tables in college, April Snow discovered she had an affinity for the hospitality industry. "I was just drawn to that environment," she says.
Foodservice Equipment & Supplies is the longest-running publication serving the decision-makers of the nearly $15 billion E&S industry.
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Foodservice Equipment & Supplies (FE&S) is the one media source that connects equipment and supplies manufacturers and service providers with the full distribution channel including news, trends and best practices for foodservice equipment dealers, specifiers, operators, and supply chain partners.
