ProTeam Announces 2018 Rep Award Winners
Access Partners received the Larry Shideler Manufacturer Representative Agency of the Year award


At the end of each year, ProTeam presents awards to honor the manufacturer representative and rep groups who made significant contributions to the year’s success. For 2018, Mike Kuhlman of The Osborne Group was recognized with the Mark Reimers Award. The California-based group, Access Partners, received the Larry Shideler Manufacturer Representative Agency of the Year award. Lastly, Ryan, Saffel and Associates was recognized with the Outstanding Rep Agency Trend award for 2018.

In order to be considered for the Mark Reimers Award, a sales representative must have top performance in account management, end-user development and sales, and new product launches. The recipient for 2018 was Mike Kuhlman.

“Mike is cool. He’s calm. He’s collected. And he’s a closer,” said Rich Stanley, who presented the award at the ProTeam ISSA Rep Reception in Dallas, Texas. “He constantly surprises me, week in and week out.”

The award for Manufacturer Representative Agency of the Year is named after the innovative founder of ProTeam, Larry Shideler. Access Partners, the winner for 2018, showed top ranking and exceptional growth.

“Access Partners is an outstanding group,” said ProTeam Western Zone Manager Stephanie Mackey when presenting the award. “They understand the roadmap. They know the ProTeam Way. They understand how to sell in a mature market, and they bring it every day.”

The award for Outstanding Rep Agency Trend is reserved for the company with continuous year-over-year growth and business building activities. The Washington-based agency Ryan, Saffel and Associates demonstrated significant growth in 2018.

“I think it’s important to understand what this group does year after year to get the trend award,” said Mackey. “They are in a mature market, but every year they deliver growth. Congratulations to Ryan, Saffel and Associates for their accomplishments.”

ProTeam also honored their team members’ success at the ISSA Rep Reception. Lisa Winter was named National Account Manager of the Year and Rich Stanley was named Sales Manager of the Year.