The first sales meeting of 2008 ended with an evening of competition at the lanes in Santa Monica. Divided into teams of three, each team had a shot of winning the "winner's cup" and the "loser's rear" (the winner of the loser's bracket). No turkey this time around - just salad and pizza.

All-Star Winners

Bringing up the Rear Winners

Jason Shivetts & Gary Nealon

BDM Mike Anderson Throws a Strike

Dan Sanker and John Weston

Team cheers on

CEO Dan Sanker Makes a Play

CaseStack's event at the Arkansas World Trade Center on Wednesday January 16th was truly a celebration. It marked the official launch of our Fayetteville, AR office and our leadership presence in the "Green Valley".

Hosted by Dan Hendrix, the CEO of the World Trade Center, the luncheon brought out more than ninety 'Who's Who" of Northwest Arkansas, including members from the Center for Retailing Excellence, the University of Arkansas, Wal-Mart, the office of Congressman Boozman, and Arkansas Economic Development Commission as well as Mayor Bob McCaslin of Bentonville and Mayor Dan Coody of Fayetteville. It was especially exciting to see our current client, American Safety Razor, make it out.

Dan Hendrix kicked off the event with introductions to NWA and the role the WTC plays in connecting organizations in order to promote the economic growth of the region. WTC's own grand opening occurred only one year earlier. 

Stacey McClure, the Deputy Chief at Congressman Boozman's office (AR), was gracious enough to introduce Dan Sanker, the CEO of CaseStack. She spoke of her excitement that leadership companies, such as CaseStack, were beginning to recognize the pivotal role NWA has in retail business, especially focused on sustainability issues.

David Free, Wal-Mart, spoke on the efficiency of consolidation, the benefits it has for suppliers, and the positive effects it has on sustainability. Jon Johnson, professor at the University of Arkansas, closed out the program by commenting on the pure common sense it was to consolidate trucks into retailers.

The event ended with a red velvet celebratory cake decorated with the CaseStack logo, spelling out our welcome. Each attendee also received a CaseStack bag, made of 50% recycled PVC, of goodies which included the Wal-Mart sustainability presentation, National Biodiesel Board sunglass holders, CaseStack USB integration hubs, a copy of Connecting NWA/Retailing Today and a copy of the NWA Business Journal.

The food was catered by reknowned Chef Miles James from James at the Mill restaurant - serving delicious mini BLT sandwiches, tuna tartar rolled up in cucumbers, garlic shrimp toast, prosciutto and melon skewers and fresh-made chocolate truffles.

Dave Walden- Manager of Warehouse Partners

After rolling out the inaugural Warehouse of the Year Award in 2007, Steve and I are pleased to announce States Logistics as the first winner of the prestigious award. Based on providing excellence in Logistics and Customer Services, the yearlong competition encourages warehouse partners to put their best foot forward. Among those eligible for the award are all four of the Casestack 3PL warehouse partners along with our own Casestack facility.

The warehouses are scored on eight operational and customer service categories. States Logistics, located in the Los Angeles area, is awarded a banner and a plaque to showcase their achievement. After a brief award ceremony, Steve and I celebrated the occasion over a meal with several of the States management and staff.

Our congratulations to Ryan Donovan, Scott Monson, Eric Monson and Bob Barnhart along with their wonderful staff of administrative and warehouse associates for being the recipient of the inaugural Warehouse of the Year Award.