ARA

Albertville Hardware Retailer Takes Home Gold Award

Thursday, September 27, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, AL – The  Alabama Retail Association (ARA) in cooperation with the University of Alabama at Birmingham today recognized nine outstanding Alabama retailers as “Retailers of the Year.” The association and UAB also recognized the Belk and Hess families as “Retail Giants.” The presentations were made at The Sheraton Birmingham Hotel during UAB’s 2007 Retail Day Luncheon. This marked the eighth presentation of the Retailer of the Year Awards since 1999. The awards returned this year after taking a hiatus in 2006.

07JordanGold$1to$5Jo Ellen Jordan , president of Cook & Sons Ace Hardware Inc. in Albertville, an Alabama Retail Association member, received the Gold Award in the “Annual Sales $1 Million to $5 Million” category. Jennifer Palmer, president of the Albertville Chamber of Commerce, nominated Jordan for this prestigious award.

The independent panel of judges who chose the Retailer of the Year finalists cited this third-generation family hardware store for a significant increase in sales over last year, excellent community service and unique and entertaining advertisements while earning national recognition from its corporate headquarters for this Albertville dealer.

Jordan is the third generation to operate the store, which her grandfather, mother and father established in 1959. The store became an Ace dealership in 1967. “It is our family’s philosophy to give back to the community, which has been so good to us,” said Jordan. Cook & Sons supports the Albertville City School system, Hospice of Marshall County, the United Way of Marshall County and the Children’s Miracle Network among other community and charitable organizations. Jordan’s father and Cook & Sons board chairman, Ray Osborne, received the Heart of Hospice award for many hours he donated toward a recent building project.

On Jan. 5, 2007, Cook & Sons Ace Hardware was a stop for the “Dream Ace” campaign, a nationwide search for entrepreneurs to open Ace hardware stores. The Albertville store qualified as the only Alabama stop on the campaign tour after meeting the comprehensive standards for products, customer service, store displays, management and advertising strategies set by Ace’s corporate headquarters. On the day the tour stopped at the Albertville store, Cook & Sons saw a 40 percent increase in sales and traffic count.

The judges also commended the store for training employees to recognize purchases that potentially could be for illegal purposes. Ace honored one of the store’s associates as the National Associate of the Year for spotting such a purchase, collecting pertinent information from the customer, including his automobile license number, and then reporting the purchase to the local police. After investigation by the authorities, the person was arrested on charges related to the production of illegal drugs.

Jordan is a leader within the hardware and related industries. She has chaired a national user advisory committee for an Ace computer system, which is helping move her business and others toward a paperless office; and she is the group leader for the North Alabama Ace Dealers Group. As an active member of the Marshall County Home Builders Association and current president of its Associates' Council, she has chaired the association's annual fund-raising golf tournament for the past 13 years and plays a vital role in the scholarship program that encourages students to pursue careers in the building industry.  She even writes her own television commercials. Two recent commercials “Desperate Hardware” and “Deal or No Deal” were spin offs of popular television programs.

“Ms. Jordan is a retailer of the year EVERY year to her employees and the Albertville community,” said Rick Brown, president of the Alabama Retail Association.

The other winners in the “Annual Sales $1 Million to $5 Million” category were:
• Silver Award: Mickey, Michael and John Gee , Pants Store Inc./Taylor Company Inc., Leeds; nominated by Tricia Ford, executive director, Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce, and Michael Gee, vice president, Taylor Co. Inc.
• Bronze Award: Michael Ray Jones , Mike’s Merchandise, Guntersville; nominated by Virginia Bagwell, Guntersville.

John R. Belk, president and chief operating officer of Belk Inc. and the keynote speaker for the Retail Day luncheon, accepted Belk Inc.’s “Retail Giant” award on behalf of himself, his brothers and the company. Donald Hess, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Parisians, accepted the Hess family’s “Retail Giant” award. The Retailer of the Year judges voted to present these special one-time awards to recognize the significant contributions to retailing made by Parisian and the Hess family as well as Belk Inc. and the Belk family.

Bronze, silver and gold awards were presented in two other categories by Alabama annual sales volume:

Annual Sales More Than $5 Million
• Gold Award:  Steven M. Sandlin , Pay-Less Pharmacy Group, Decatur; nominated by John Seymour, president and chief executive officer, Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce.
• Silver Award: Jerry G. Beasley , Beasley Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ozark; nominated by Jeanette Reeves, executive director, Ozark Area Chamber of Commerce.
• Bronze Award: Bryan K. Owens and John B. Marshall , Unclaimed Baggage Center, Scottsboro; nominated by Rick Roden, president and chief executive officer, Greater Jackson County Chamber
of Commerce.

Annual Sales Less Than $1 Million
• Gold Award: Shawn Beitelspacher , Southern Sole, Tuscaloosa; nominated by Lauren Skinner, Ph.D, assistant professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
• Silver Award: Anne A. Appleby , South Baldwin Regional Medical Center Auxiliary Gift Shop, Foley; nominated by Fran Barr, South Baldwin Regional Medical Center Auxiliary.
• Bronze Award: Montez Oudenaarden , My Favorite Things, Monroeville; nominated by Sandy Smith, executive director, Monroe County Chamber of Commerce.

“This was an exciting day for us,” ARA President Brown said.  “It is an honor to be able to recognize such an outstanding group of retailers. Each retailer honored is a credit to the profession and a community asset.”

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Media Contact: Nancy King Dennis | 334.263.5757 Ext. 101 | 800.239.5423