CapitalTristate Electrical Distributor/Sonepar USA, Upper Marlboro, Md., established the John Hardy Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of outgoing CapitalTristate president John Hardy. The 2014 award was recently presented to Bert Wheeler, an outside sales associate in the Baltimore area. The award was presented for the first time during an awards ceremony at the company’s annual business meeting on Jan. 31 at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel.
To commemorate Hardy’s many contributions to the company and his long career of continued dedication to his customers, his employees, and the company, the management team decided to establish an annual award in his name that would carry on his legacy of excellence for many years to come. The award will be presented annually to an employee who “personifies the commitment to professional excellence and achievement” and embodies the company’s core values – Accountable, Respectful, Ethical, Profitable and Professional – that Hardy himself exemplified throughout his entire career.
Hardy has been with CapitalTristate for 43 years, serving as president for the last 20. He decided to step down from his role as president effective Jan. 1 to take on a new role within the Sonepar USA management team as executive V.P. of business development. Alan Rosenfeld, CapitalTristate’s previously COO, succeeds Hardy as President of CapitalTristate.