Newsmakers
November 2022

Outdoor Sports & Recreation Insurance Advances VP, Underwriter

Outdoor Sports & Recreation Insurance (OSR)/Great Southern Agency announced the promotions of Angie Chalk to VP of operations and compliance standards, and Julie Buice to Underwriter I.

“Angie has shown exceptional qualities in the development of our firearms program and assuring compliance functionality. Great things happen in our group with great people such as Angie,” said John Paulk, principal owner.

Prior to joining Great Southern Agency in 2020, Chalk spent 16 years as an operations analyst for Safehold Special Risk Inc.

With 20 years’ experience in insurance and underwriting, Buice joined OSR in 2020 as an underwriting assistant before promoting to Underwriter I.

“Julie has shown a definite compassion to learn and develop her underwriting skills in all aspects of our firearms insurance program as well as giving our agents great service,” Paulk noted.

Celerant Technology Adds To Marketing Team

Celerant welcomed Digital Marketing Manager Hannah Dunbar and Digital Marketing Coordinator Bryant Ellis to its team.

“Both Hannah and Bryant will bring a fresh, new perspective to all aspects of our communications,” stated Michele Salerno, Celerant marketing director, assistant VP. “Moving forward, our existing dealers will have even more visibility into all that is made available to them via our point of sale and eCommerce software, from initiatives such as our client portals, virtual client conferences, online knowledge base and more.”

Based in Florida, Dunbar will manage digital marketing and outbound initiatives. Prior to Celerant, she was a content marketing and social media manager.

Ellis previously worked as a graphic designer and will now focus on enhancing communications to new and existing dealers from his Wisconsin office.

Primary Arms Names E-Comm VP

Kody Staples joined Primary Arms as VP of e-commerce and inbound marketing. He will oversee Primary Arms’ digital sales channels and e-commerce marketplaces, with responsibilities over content and editorial teams as well as business analytics, email marketing and search engine optimization.

“Kody’s experience and career successes reflect his unique expertise in high-level e-commerce,” said Marshall Lerner, founder and CEO of Primary Arms. 

Most recently, Staples served as senior director of marketing and e-commerce strategy at Truck Hero. He also gained experience from roles at Overstock.com and Kohl’s Department Stores.

Staples earned a degree from Brigham Young University.

Big Rock Sports Announces President

David McCartney was named president of Big Rock Sports and has assumed responsibility for the day-to-day management of the outdoor sporting goods distribution company.

McCartney spent nearly 30 years with General Parts Inc. (now Advance Auto Parts), where he served as president of the Carquest division.

Ed Small, Big Rock Sports CEO, stated, “[McCartney’s] extensive knowledge of distribution and his experience serving small, family-owned businesses will be a tremendous asset that will help us continue providing best-in-class product assortments and service to our family of retailers.”

McCartney earned a B.A. in management from North Carolina State University.

Headrest Safe Company Names CEO

The Headrest Safe Company announced company Founder Irving Meisler is now serving as CEO. As the CEO, he leads the team and works closely with product engineers to see his ideas come to fruition.

Prior to founding the Headrest Safe Company in his retirement, Meisler enjoyed a successful career in real estate development and construction.

He earned a degree in finance from the University of Alabama.

Military Products Inc. Taps Marketing Director

Military Products Inc. welcomed Andrea Reed as the company’s marketing communications director. 

Reed brings more than 20 years of marketing experience to the role and will lead the new Retail Promotional program supporting Military Products’ professional retailers.

“Andrea brings an excellent reputation for performance to this role, and we know she will be a tremendous asset for helping to grow our capabilities,” said David Nau, president of Military Products Inc.

TrueTimber Selects Licensing Director

Richard Howard recently joined TrueTimber as director of licensing. He oversees licensing and implementing strategies to expand the TrueTimber brand and steer licensed products into new opportunities and markets both domestically and internationally.

TrueTimber CEO Rusty Sellars said, “Richard has a ton of experience within the outdoor industry and with camo specifically, so his value to the brand and our partners is very high. We are thrilled to add him to our extremely talented team.”

Howard has over 24 years of licensing and sales experience working within the outdoor industry with multiple key brands.

Otis Technology Promotes/Recruits Sales Team

Otis Technology announced several promotions within the sales organization and welcomed two members to its inside sales and customer service team.

“We couldn’t be more excited with these changes,” stated Bill Kleftis, CEO of Otis Technology. “How fortunate that we were able to leverage our own employees and position them and the organization for continued growth.”

Kenda Campbell was promoted to director of commercial sales where she is responsible for overseeing the entire commercial sales division as well as Otis’ sales representative agencies.

In her new role as commercial sales manager, Mollie Martin will focus on commercial sales for the Eastern U.S., and oversee the inside sales and customer service teams.

The inside sales and customer service teams added Danielle Larsen and Jared Bonney to the team.

Larsen, a recent hire in customer service, is now serving as a sales associate.  Bonney, who joined Otis’ manufacturing department two years ago, is now a customer service representative.

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