Promotions and New Appointments

May 1, 2003
Donald R. Chrzanowski has been promoted to executive vice president and general manager of Penn-Union Corp., Edinboro, Pa. He will be responsible for

Donald R. Chrzanowski has been promoted to executive vice president and general manager of Penn-Union Corp., Edinboro, Pa. He will be responsible for sales, financial operations and manufacturing at all Penn-Union divisions. Most recently, he was vice president of advanced operations planning.

At bestroute.com, DeWitt, N.Y., Robert J. Triggs has been named director, planning and logistics. Formerly, he served as a principal consultant for Oracle Corp. Andrew L. Cummings has been appointed to lead the company's Web team. Previously, he was manager of electronic commerce at Pass & Seymour/Legrand. Michelle B. Cook has been named administrative assistant. Most recently, she was software division processing coordinator and administrative assistant at Syracuse Language Systems. David T. Kerrigan has been named ERP (enterprise resource planning) team lead. Most recently he was MIS director for Syracuse Language Systems.

At EPI Electrical Enclosures Inc., San Antonio, Rudi R. Rodriguez has been promoted to chief executive officer. He will be responsible for all aspects of business operations including marketing and new product development. Most recently he was executive vice president. Sam Cortez has been named senior sales representative. Formerly he was a sales representative.

At Graybar Electric Co. Inc., St. Louis, Gary D. Hodges has been elected to the board of directors. He currently serves as district vice president in Phoenix. Donald M. Block has been named district vice president in Boston. He will succeed William L. King who retired. Previously, Block was district sales manager at Boston. Martin J. Beagen has been appointed to assistant to treasurer at corporate headquarters in St. Louis. He was formerly district financial manager in Chicago. Timothy E. Carpenter was named district financial manager in Chicago. Most recently he was financial manager at Auburn Hills, Mich. Richard C. Meek has been appointed branch manager, Kansas City, Mo. Meek was previously sales manager in Chicago. Scott E. Kent has been named branch manager, Wichita, Kan. He was most recently a sales representative at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Robert D. Harris has been named branch manager, Miami. He was most recently sales manager. Larry W. Gee has been appointed branch manager at Beaumont, Texas. He was most recently a sales rep in Sherman, Texas.

Jeff Bucar has been named vice president, U.S. sales for Cooper Lighting, Elk Grove Village, Ill. Previously, he was director of market development for commercial and specification products.

At Pass & Seymour/Legrand, Syracuse, N.Y., James D. Taggart has been named president of Pass & Seymour Canada. Most recently, he served as director of international business for Simplex Time Recorder Co. Robert P. Smith has been promoted to executive vice president of sales and marketing. He was most recently vice president of sales and marketing for the electrical distribution channel. Tim Burnham has been named vice president of marketing. Previously he served as director of strategic planning. Fred Kandel has been named vice president of new market development for Legrand, North America. Most recently he was vice president of sales and marketing for the consumer products channel.

Mark F. Peterson has been appointed president of Eagle Electric Supply Co., Norwood, Mass. He was most recently executive vice president. He succeeds Thomas Golding who recently resigned.

Obituaries Frances Thaw, president, chief executive officer and founder of Bulbtronics Inc., Farmingdale, N.Y., died Jan. 30. She was 67. Thaw founded Bulbtronics in 1976 with $30,000. She was a member of the National Association of Independent Lighting Distributors (NAILD), American Women's Economic Development Corp. (AWED), Long Island Association (LIA), National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and the Hauppauge Industrial Association (HIA). She is survived by her husband, three children and four grandchildren.

Joseph Biben, former chairman of the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA) died March 9. He was 73. Biben began his career in the electrical industry in 1955. In 1963, he founded the Joseph E. Biben Sales Corp., Philadelphia. He was a founding member of the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association and served as its chairman from 1974-76. Biben is survived by his wife, Myra; children, Gene, Rick and Betsy; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.