KARIE BALLWAY

Cooley Group

 

Passionate awareness and understanding of the branding and marketing requirements of her clients are two outstanding qualities that Karie Ballway of Cooley Group has that set her apart from all others. Her ability to fully understand the specific needs of each of her customers and create premier services that define and enhance their brands and images has enabled her to become a tremendous asset to her clients, Cooley Group, and the industry. As a co-member of the Cooley Group Business Development Committee, Ballway was instrumental in the corporate-rebranding initiative that propelled the company to its current marketing and business plan.

She is also an accomplished speaker and has donated her time to charities such as The Salvation Army, Foundation for Upstate, and St. Joseph’s Hospital Auxiliary.

 

CHRISTOPHER CARD

Teracai

 

Christopher Card had an immediate impact when he joined the Teracai sales team four years ago by bringing an innovative approach to business development to a unique market. Surpassing multiple company and personal milestones in 2012, he is clearly committed to the customer, the vendors Teracai represents, and the service it provides. In 2012, he brought in the single largest revenue deal in the history of Teracai, and earned his place on the President’s Club cruise in March. Card fills his leisure time as a volunteer ski coach and instructor, in addition to being focused on his four active children and wife, Shea.

 

JOYL CLANCE

BizEventz

 

Joyl Clance came to BizEventz in September 2011. Her responsibilities focused on sales growth, logistics, and relationship building. As a result, BizEventz has grown 26 percent over last year, exceeding budgetary expectations. Clance is a valued member of The Central New York Business Journal team and has quickly acclimated to the ever-changing demands of the event and media industry.

Outside of work, you can find her hiking around Central New York and Rochester with her boyfriend Brian and their dog Delilah.

 

MARIANNE FRASIER

News Channel 9/WSYR

 

Since the first moment Marianne Frasier joined the sales staff at WSYR-TV, her enthusiasm, commitment, and dedication have been infectious.

 

She is an exceptional team player who is always “up” for a challenge. Her work ethic and “can-do” attitude make her one of the top sales performers in the market. She has quickly become a welcome addition to the WSYR-TV sales team.

 

MICHAEL GATES

JASON MOCK

DEBBIE SELL

Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center

Revenue Management Team

 

The Revenue Management Team of Jason Mock, Debbie Sell, and Michael Gates has done an outstanding job over the past year working hand in hand with the hotel’s Sales & Marketing department to maximize room revenues, effectively managing overall room demand while remaining committed to loyal repeat group customers.

Jason Mock, as director of front office operations, has successfully maintained a balance between an unusually busy transient population and group room availability, allowing both to exceed expectations. His recognition of group rooms and the integration of that into the overall room-revenue pricing strategy has improved revenue hotel-wide.

Debbie Sell, as reservation supervisor, manages room inventory to maximize the hotel’s revenue potential. She is responsible for keeping group rooms current so that rooms are not held and can be used to promote additional sales opportunities.

Michael Gates, as reservations and social-media coordinator, implements the plans instituted by the department, keeps current all sales business booked, including rooms and convention space. He is also responsible for updating social-media outlets with vital information regarding hotel activities that drive group sales and improve the hotel’s visibility.

 

DORIAN LYNN HIDY

CXtec

 

Lynn Hidy has had every job in the CXtec sales organization except VP. She is a self-professed salesperson first, and is always up for working on account qualification, deal strategy, or talking to grumpy absent-minded professor types. Her accolades include multiple President’s Clubs and Chairman’s Club honors, making her personal goal as a salesperson multiple years, and having her region make goal when she was a regional sales director. A running joke is that in her spare time, with one hand tied behind her back, she also is the driving force behind CXtec’s sales training.

 

LINDA NATOLI

Crowne Plaza

 

Linda Natoli joined the Crowne Plaza in 2010. She has more than 30 years experience in hospitality and tourism. Her reputation and passion for building and maintaining client relationships has exceeded our expectations and helped her consistently surpass her goals. Natoli has been able to successfully grow multiple market segments for the property. She was awarded Sales Manager of the Year in 2011 for Richfield Hospitality and was a member of the Presidents Circle for 2011 & 2012.

 

C. BRIAN NESS

Visual Technologies

 

Brian Ness joined the Visual Technologies team in 2005 as a certified deposition video specialist. He is now the lead videographer for various events, including presentations, concerts, product demonstrations, cooking shows, and many different live productions. His superstar events include live-image magnification for Kelly Clarkson, Cheap Trick, The Allman Brothers, Keith Urban, The Fray, Justin Bieber, and Styx among others. In a one-on-one application, Ness’s calm, cool demeanor, and artistic talent have a comforting effect on clients, which encourages a more expressive and genuine interview.

For his outstanding customer service, technical ability and artistic integrity, Visual Technologies is proud to have Brian Ness as a representative of the company.

 

MARK OWENS

Galaxy Communications

 

Mark Owens has worked for Galaxy Communications as a sales/marketing executive since August 2011. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina with a degree in graphic design. After graduation, Owens lived in Baltimore, Charlotte, and New York City before settling back home in Central New York.

Owens was promoted to KROCK sales manager and works in two markets: Syracuse and Utica/Rome. His new business development last year produced a company record-breaking $321,000 in revenue.

A valued member of our sales team, Owens balances both his drive to close business and his ability to develop long-term relationships. His sense of humor and team spirit makes him a favorite in the company and Galaxy Communication looks forward to seeing what is in store for 2013 and beyond.

 

MICHAEL J. REILLY

Dannible & McKee, LLP

 

Michael J. Reilly, a CPA and partner in charge of Dannible & McKee’s Tax Department, is best known for his tax expertise, but he wears many hats at the firm. He understands that marketing professional services begins with positioning yourself as an expert and building relationships.

Reilly recognizes the balance between work and community services. He presently serves as an advisory board member to CenterState CEO as well as to its subsidiary board of Benefits Specialists of New York. Reilly is also a board member, treasurer and chair of the Audit and Finance Committee for Onondaga Community College Foundation. He also serves on the board of directors as treasurer for the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency. In 2012, Reilly and his wife chaired the Crouse Health Foundation’s Tribute Evening. Dannible & McKee is proud to acknowledge Michael Reilly as its Sales & Marketing Excellence Award recipient in 2013.

 

SALES SUPPORT TEAM

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield

 

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s CNY sales team would like to show its appreciation for the outstanding effort put forth by the Central New York Sales Support Team of Jan Atanesian, Dawn Clark, Terry Godfrey, John Gordon, Harmony Guinup-Stidham, Carolyn Klein, Dale Miller, Chris Pistello, Jill Taylor, Darlene Whitehead, and Jason Wolcott. Every successful sales team has an equally effective support team, and this team’s hard work and dedication is greatly appreciated.

 

ALAN SMITH

CXtec

 

Alan Smith joined CXtec five years ago and has proven himself a great asset to the company. He is dedicated and possesses a solid understanding of the Canadian market. Smith is a true team player, working with his peers, reinforcing their personal strengths, and increasing their technical knowledge to best serve customers’ needs. In his short time with CXtec, he has proven that it is possible to achieve every award: Starman, four out of five years, President’s Club, Million Dollar Club, and recently earning his new role as Team Leader. He is one of those people that everyone wants to be like but is difficult to match.

 

DAVID C. SPEARING, JR.

Scotsman Media Group

 

Customer-service focused, attentive to details, skillful listener, composed under pressure, a respected leader: these are just a few attributes that best describe Dave Spearing, and have been exhibited throughout his career with the Scotsman Media Group. While he has been a leader of the company’s distribution services for the past 13 years, a recent promotion has put him in charge of company quality control and waste management.

Spearing is a student of the U.S. Postal system and routinely identifies avenues to save Scotsman and its customers’ money. On a daily basis, he can be found on the phone working directly with commercial printing customers on a variety of issues ranging from insert dimensions, to labeling, to best practices within the U.S. Postal system.

Spearing is also a Boy Scout leader, recognizing the importance of demonstrating to his sons his belief in giving back to the community. The Scotsman Media Group is proud to be able acknowledge his dedication to customer service through this well-deserved sales and marketing recognition.

 

*Editor’s note: The companies for which these salespeople work authored these descriptions.

 

 

SYRACUSE — Peter E. Belyea may be a life member of the Central New York Sales and Marketing Executives’ (CNYSME) board of directors, but he didn’t know he was up for the organization’s annual Crystal Ball Award until he had been selected as the winner for 2013.

“I actually didn’t find out until it was chosen and had been announced,” Belyea, who is the president of Salina–based CXtec and Teracai, said last October after getting the nod. “It’s probably been six or seven years since I sat on the actual Crystal Ball committee, so I’m familiar with the process. But I was totally taken aback.”

Belyea, a former president of CNYSME, has stepped back from active participation on the organization’s board in the last three to four years, he says. He took on more of a historian’s role to allow younger members to become involved in the group’s operation. CNYSME, founded in 1935, provides training and development, networking, and other opportunities and resources to sales and marketing professionals in Central New York.

In late September, the CNYSME’s Crystal Ball committee chose Belyea as the winner of its 2013 Crystal Ball Award. CNYSME hands out the honor annually to a local businessperson who has contributed to the sales and marketing profession and has worked in community development and support.

CNYSME will recognize Belyea and local sales and marketing professionals at its 37th Annual Crystal Ball and Sales & Marketing Excellence Award (SMEA) banquet on Tuesday, April 9 at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center.

SMEA recipients represent several local businesses (see write-ups inside). The event begins in the Regency Ballroom with a 5:30 p.m. cocktail hour, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m., and the awards ceremony. For more information or to register for the event, call 876-1868 or email: info@cnysme.org. Or, visit www.cnysme.org/events/crystal-ball.

 

CXtec work honored

CNYSME noted Belyea’s work with CXtec’s equal2new business and its social-media marketing as reasons for his winning the Crystal Ball. CXtec built its equal2new brand around refurbished networking equipment.

“Creating the equal2new brand really allowed us to take what was used equipment and give it some teeth, give it some consistency,” Belyea says. “I think you see that now with some of the premium brands in the automotive industry. In the last 12 to 15 years these brands have really wanted to wrap their heads around the fact that you have to own the quality of your secondary market.”

Belyea named CXtec’s CABLExpress division as a marketing and branding triumph. When he started at CXtec in 1988, the company was known as Cable Express, but cable business was dwindling, he says. Then more than six years ago, company founder William Pomeroy asked Belyea to revitalize the cable business and turn it into a brand.

“It was really a big branding change-around, it was really a big product progression,” Belyea says. “One of the great things about this organization is we’re not afraid to go out and flex with the market.”

CABLExpress is also a good example of CXtec’s success in social media, according to Belyea. One of the company’s senior product managers, Josh Taylor, records YouTube videos for an instructional series called “Cable Talk” that has been popular, Belyea says. Belyea stresses CXtec’s social-media strategy is a blend of platforms, from YouTube to Twitter.

Another CXtec marketing success Belyea says he was a part of was the company’s spinoff of Teracai in 2009. Teracai focuses on selling Cisco products. It generated about $40 million in revenue in 2011, while CXtec produced $62 million in 2011. Figures for 2012 were unavailable.

“When the organization chose to spin off Teracai as a standalone company, that really represented an opportunity for us to understand what the market wanted, which was an upstate New York, East Coast business,” Belyea says. “CXtec is more of a national business. We had to go out and understand what the market wanted. It would have been easier to say we’re going to go out and be another Cisco reseller.”

CXtec and Teracai share a headquarters facility of about 70,000 square feet in Salina. However, CXtec uses the address 5404 S. Bay Road while Teracai uses the address 217 Lawrence Road E.

CXtec also has about 90,000 square feet of warehouse space on E. Brighton Ave. in Syracuse. It employs about 230 people total while Teracai employs 45.

Belyea took over as president of CXtec and Teracai in August 2011. He places an emphasis on sales and marketing that helps the companies stay centered on their customers, he says.

“I think connecting with your customers one-on-one and having a strong brand allows you to communicate effectively what you’re doing and where you’re going,” he says. “It’s a team effort. I’ve been blessed with an incredible team of people here.”

Belyea’s work at CXtec and his history with CNYSME played a big part in his winning the Crystal Ball, according to CNYSME president Katherine Rech, who works for Lockheed Martin in Salina.

“I know the Crystal Ball committee was very strongly for Pete because he’s done so much for the CNYSME organization,” she said last fall after Belyea was named the winner of the award. “He’s a former president. He’s worked on the Crystal Ball committee. And he’s done a lot for the community and for sales and marketing at CXtec.”

 

Contact The Business Journal at news@cnybj.com