In conjunction with a renewed emphasis on enhancing advertising sales efforts and success, Wick Communications today recognized 22 advertising sales professionals for their 2013 performances with the inaugural Soaring Eagle Advertising Awards. The recipients were chosen by their respective newspaper companies for their notable sales successes, excellent customer service, dedication to their organizations and for being positive role models and team players.
In 2014 Wick intends to develop similar recognition programs for other Wick departments.
Congratulations to the 2013 Soaring Eagle award winners, and all the sales managers and representatives that contributed to our 2013 advertising successes.
| Recipient | Accomplishments |
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Petra Albecker has been a solid member of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sales team for more than 15 years. Petra stands out for her dedication to the newspaper, her co-workers and clients. She achieves her personal monthly sales goal on a consistent basis, with her sales routinely contributing to half of our monthly volume. Petra also led the way earlier in 2013 when we committed to enhanced focus on digital sales, which doubled during the spring and summer, due in part to her individual effort. |
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Laura leads the Tucson Weekly sales taff in total ad dollars sold . Her digital revenue jumped by 1700% in 2013. Her active accounts grew by 400% during the year. A Territorial Newspapers employee for seven years, Laura readily takes on leadership roles, is a true team member and motivates other staff members with her positive approach. |
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Angela demonstrated consistently good 2013 revenue performance across all products, both print and digital. She also showed the willingness to go above and beyond her normal duties in working with and assisting others. Her work is virtually error free. Angela takes initiative and works well independently. Her customers trust her to build solutions to their needs. She has been at the Daily Iberian for more than 25 years, first in circulation and the last 15 in advertising. |
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Regina has been an advertising representative with L’Observateur for 12 years. As the senior ad rep, Regina is an upbeat, positive person, always ready for the next challenge. She consistently brings in the most dollars in personal sales and can usually be counted on to sell the last lingering spots on a page or section. She is a giving person and works hard to bring the best to L’Observateur and our readers. |
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Carol is a longtime employee in Bogalusa with invaluable knowledge of the area and client base. Her numbers are consistent month after month. Her 2013 sales to date are nearly a half million dollars, down a little vs. 2012, but the majority of those losses were beyond her control. A significant achievement this year for Carol was taking over a portion of an account list in the neighboring state of Mississippi and growing it by $5,000 over 2012. |
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Debbie showed a lot of 2013 perserverence. She lost her Advertising Director to a malignant brain tumor, her mentor and former publisher retired and there was turnover within the ad staff. Deb was able to not only work her accounts, but she assisted with the classified representative learning her new position, helped the new publisher learn many of the ways the Sidney Herald sold its products, took on additional duties and responsibilities, and took on extra clients. Finally, faced with the large number of special sections and editions that needed to go out this year, Deb did an excellent job maintaining many of the customer relationships that had been established previously. |
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Robin joined the Green Valley News and Sahuarita Sun in April 2013 after working in the retail business. She has really come along since then. When she joined us she took over, among other accounts, our church and business yellow guide pages and has increased the revenue that each section brings in weekly. In Yellow Guide she has been able to keep 100% sold for several months; this product alone brings in about $7500/month. |
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As the sole display ad rep for the Dispatch, David covers lots of ground daily. Even though the market has been challenging, David has been upbeat and the merchants love his smile and optimism. He has an excellent track record of both service and growing his accounts. David pitches in to help on other projects, both at the newspaper and in the community. |
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Julie grew her ad sales by 28% in 2013 vs. 2012. Through her inside sales position, Julie brings in a third of a million dollars annually. She consistently achieved, and often exceeded, her goals. Julie has been a strong performer as well as coach for others for five years. Among her successful ’13 efforts were…Kids Venture, SD 4H Finals Rodeo and South Dakota Outdoors magazine. |
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Melissa, an 11-year outside sales representative, has overcome both business and personal medical challenges to reveal a character of smiling optimism and gritty determination. In 2012, while battling a challenging sales period, she was forced to take a leave of absence to deal with a chilling medical diagnosis. Even after returning, she had additional surgeries. Her sales, vs. the lows of 2012, are up about 30% in 2013. |
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Although Rebecca didn’t the Montrose Daily Press until June of 2013, she has made a quick, positive impact in our department and community. Rebecca has exceeded goal each month. We continually receive compliments on Rebecca’s professionalism and follow up skills. She has built a trust with her clients in a very short time. |
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Tara has been an advertising representative for 9 years with the Wahpeton Daily News. She easily has the most sales in any project, page or special edition we sell and brings many good ideas and energy to each sales effort. Her clients trust her and she goes above and beyond to make sure they are always happy. She achieves her monthly goals consistently and was outstanding during this year’s VIP SWAT, bringing in nearly $40,000 all by herself. She is committed to the well being of the newspaper and is an excellent team player. |
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Sheldon is a new member to the Williston Herald. Since his arrival a few months ago we have seen him chase down one sale for $9,000 for a grand opening and another one for $4,000. The territory he was assigned was the one that needed to built and he hits the streets everyday with that goal in mind. Not only is Sheldon a go getter for himself and the Herald, but he works well with the entire staff. He realizes that it takes a team to win. He may not have been with Wick for a long time but he gives his heart and soul. |
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Bridget has contributed to the Press’ advertising successes for many years. In 2013, her performance was better than the company as a whole. She averages about $40,000/month in sales while maintaining a steady account list. She is a team player and is always quick to help others, plus her institutional knowledge of the market is invaluable. |
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Kathy combines experience, creativity and determination to deliver results for her customers and for local businesses. She returned to our papers in 2010 after spending 19 years here previously. One of Kathy’s key 2013 successes was overcoming the loss of a major builder by developing $20,000 in sales from smaller accounts. She averaged 88 active accounts per month and increased her active accounts in ’13 by 12%. |
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Martha is self-directed, creative and the consummate sales representative. In 2013, her sales represented 19.6% of the total sales, outselling every other rep. Since 2010, her territory has shown a 43.8% growth. Martha has the largest staff ad count, and consistently hits her monthly goals. She is a competent mentor to our newest staff member and always has the lowest receivables on the team. |
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Steve not only has an excellent working relationship with his advertisers, but he also has developed their trust and friendship in the 10 years he has been an outside sales representative. He is especially savvy at using statistics and information to help businesses see what newspaper advertising can do for them. He listens carefully to their needs and goes the extra mile for his accounts. |
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Claudia has been a Courier sales representative since 1988 and in 2013 she increased her sales by 8% vs. the previous year. She encourages the other staff members as needed, she is willing to stay late and is an inspiration to all the Courier employees. Her active account list totals 178. |
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Andy is a lifelong Ontario resident who began his career at the Argus Observer in 1984, In 2013 Andy grew his account list dollars by 6% over 2012 dollars. This increase is directly due to his ability to build and maintain relationships. Andy was very instrumental in the successful re-launch of the real estate publication, a print/digital publication that has doubled the revenue month over month. Andy truly goes the extra mile to be successful, year after year. |
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Louise has been a strong performer in 2013. During the 4th quarter, she exceeded her sales goals for the magazine for October, November and December. Also, she signed up four new advertisers for a new monthly group ad for an adjoining community that will bring in $2,000 in new revenue over the next 6 months. |
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Carmen is a 15-year outside sales rep who is highly valued for her history of customer satisfaction and appreciation. She excels at the balancing act of maintaining healthy sales while keeping the paperwork up to date and past-due accounts at a minimum. Despite some life challenges and a couple rough years, she shows continuous improvement. |
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David focuses on Inside Tucson Business and has worked for ITB and the Territorial Newspapers for eight years. In the past year, he grew his net total active accounts by 21% during a departmental reorganization that meant moving many accounts to others. His $55,000 in sales for the ITB Book of Lists is the staff record for the past decade. David has an outstanding work ethic; he is often the first one in and last to leave. |
