PEOPLE NEWS

May 1, 2008
Two new members have been elected to the Nexstar board of directors, John Hucker of Hucker Electric, Waukegan, Ill., and Tommy Newton of Rapidan Plumbing, Fredericksbug, Va.

Contractors

Two new members have been elected to the Nexstar board of directors, John Hucker of Hucker Electric, Waukegan, Ill., and Tommy Newton of Rapidan Plumbing, Fredericksbug, Va. Hucker and Newton replace two long-standing members. Julie Wieman served for six years, four of those as board secretary and three as vice chairperson. Bill Raymond also served for six years, three of them as chairperson.

TDIndustries announced that it has promoted Gary Barr to production manager of its Fort Worth operations. Barr began his career with TDIndustries in 1987 as a plumber's helper and subsequently held positions as plumbing lead man, foreman and superintendent.

Mechanical contracting firm Haberberger has announced the recent addition of Dan Franquemont and Jaime Cochran to the Affton, Mo.-based company. Franquemont has been hired as purchasing manager, and Cochran joins as a dispatcher. Franquemont brings to Haberberger more than 20 years of contracting experience. Most recently, he served as a senior estimator and contract administrator for Journey Construction Management Services. Prior to her position at Haberberger, Cochran was employed by SystemAire as a dispatcher.

Judy Ellis, human resources director for Comprehensive Energy Services, has recently been appointed to a three-year term, to the board of directors for the Employers Association of Florida. Ellis is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management and Central Florida H.R. Association. In addition, she serves on professional education committees for Associated Builders and Contractors and National Association for Women in Construction.

The National Fire Sprinkler Association has announced the appointment of Christopher Gaut as regional manager of the Central Region, which includes the states of Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. In this role, he will provide educational opportunities for the fire sprinkler industry, NFSA member support, recruitment of new members, and spokesperson duties for fire sprinkler-related issues. Gaut has spent the past 11 years in the fire industry.

Clockwork Home Services has announced the appointment of Peter C. Grabowski to the position of chief financial officer. Grabowski will be based in Clockwork's Sarasota, Fla., headquarters. Grabowski is succeeding Clockwork's interim chief financial officer, Robert J. Clanin, who will remain an independent director of the company's board of directors. He previously served as chief financial officer of Gevity HR Inc., a position he held for four years.

Bruce Auger has joined Suffolk Construction to lead the development of the company's government sector business unit. Auger brings more than 30 years of specialized experience in federal government work. His extensive portfolio includes projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Health and Human Services, among others. He comes to Suffolk from Centennial Contractors Enterprises Inc., where he served as senior vice president of operations.

Cincinnati-based Perfection Group Inc. has announced that Tony Apro has been promoted to president. He has been with Perfection Group for more than 13 years in sales and management positions, and brings more than 26 years of strategic planning, sales and marketing experience to his new role.

Manufacturers

ECR International has announced the appointment of Michael Paparone as president, CEO and board member. Paparone comes from Owens-Illinois where he was president of O-I plastics including health care, prescription products and closures. Prior to joining O-I in 2004, Paparone had a long career at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., where he was CEO of Dupont Flooring Systems.

Rheem Mfg. Co. has announced the appointment of J.R. Jones to succeed I.S. Farwell as president and chief executive officer. Farwell will assume the new role of special advisor to the company for the remainder of 2008. Jones was named senior vice president and chief operating officer in February 2007. He began his career with Rheem in the company's Air Conditioning Division in 1983 as a project engineer. Rheem has also announced the appointment of industry veteran Peter Reynolds to vice president, general manager of the Water Heating Division. Reynolds, who brings more than 15 years of experience in leadership positions at Rheem, most recently served as the vice president and acting general manager of Raypak. In 1992, he joined Rheem Canada as director of sales and marketing, then transferred to the Water Heating Division as director of international markets in 1997.

Techtronic Industries has announced the appointment of Mike Farrah as Power Tool Division president for TTI-North America. Farrah joined TTI in March 2007 as senior vice president of power tool sales, marketing and product development. Previously, Farrah spent 10 years at The Home Depot in a variety of roles.

John Hasemann has joined the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute as operations director, assisting with PMI's day-to-day operations, public relations efforts and meeting planning. For the past 10 years, Hasemann worked at the American Hardware Manufacturers Association in Schaumburg, Ill. Rashod R. Johnson, P.E., president of The Roderick Group, will assist PMI Technical Director Shawn Martin in the association's various technical initiatives, monitoring the activities of several industry consensus standards that impact the membership, including ASME, CSA and ASTM.

William Gray has joined Uponor as the company's general manager for Canada. Gray has more than 13 years of sales and marketing experience, with the last seven spent with ITT Corp.

W. W. Grainger has announced that as part of the company's planned succession process, James T. Ryan, Grainger's president, will add the title and responsibilities of chief executive officer effective June 1, 2008. He is succeeding Richard L. Keyser, who will remain with the company as chairman of the board. Ryan has served Grainger in increasingly responsible roles in virtually every part of the company since joining it in 1980.

Sloan Valve Co. announced that Bill Madison has been promoted from northeast regional sales manager to national sales manager. John Aykroyd, who previously was the company's national sales manager, has been promoted to the position of vice president, business development.

Lenox, a leading manufacturer of premium power tool accessories, has announced that Bill Burke has been appointed group president, Tools & Hardware, reporting to Mark Ketchum, president and CEO, Newell Rubbermaid. As president, Bill Burke has led the company's Industrial Products and Services business since 2003.

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