The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) White Pin Group has announced that Ellen Coan, CPMR, of the Indianapolis-based CC Electro Sales, Inc. is the 2018 recipient of the Jess Spoonts — ERA White Pin Scholarship Award. Coan will receive a $1,000 grant that can be used to fund her continuing education as a professional field sales representative. She was nominated for the honor by White Pin member Matt Cohen, CPMR, of CC Electro Sales, Inc.
To qualify for this award, nominees must be from an ERA member rep firm, must have been involved in ERA activities and leadership roles on the local and/or national levels for a minimum of two years, and must be willing to devote significant volunteer time to ERA in the foreseeable future.
“I am so pleased that Ellen Coan is being awarded the Jess Spoonts Scholarship this year,” said Mark Motsinger, CPMR, of Wallace Electronic Sales, a past president of ERA and the coordinator of the White Pin Group. “As a second-generation ERA rep and long-time volunteer on the board of our Indiana-Kentucky Chapter, her recognition is well-deserved. Ellen has a passion for our industry and is always ready to help our association and her fellow reps in any way that she can. Her spirit of volunteerism represents the essence of the Jess Spoonts Award.”
When notified of the award, Coan commented, “I was honored and shocked when Mark called me about this award and further shocked to hear my brother Matt had nominated me. As he knows, I prefer to work without any special attention, keeping my head down and doing my job, but I learned to give back from Carol Cohen, president of CC Electro, and the others of the ERA ‘Brat Pack’ — Bob Infanger, Bob Trinkle, Tim Coakley, many others and, of course, Jess Spoonts. I can still hear his booming, deep Texas voice and remember being mesmerized by his dedication to our industry and our mission. With great thanks, I will use my scholarship to continue the mission and find the next generation to carry on this honorable occupation.”
The ERA White Pin Group was formed in 1960 and comprises member reps who have held volunteer leadership positions at the national level of ERA for at least two years and have given extraordinary amounts of time and talent to ERA. The group established the Jess Spoonts — ERA White Pin Scholarship in 2006 to honor its long-time coordinator, the late E. Jess Spoonts of Dallas, Texas. Spoonts, a half-century veteran of the electronics industry, was a past president and chairman of ERA, a mentor to countless reps and other business associates, and one of only 23 members of the association’s Hall of Fame. He passed away in 2008.
This year’s judging panel for the award comprised these previous award recipients: Dave Dasson, CPMR, CSP, of Net Sales Company; Bob Evans, CPMR, of EK Micro; Richard A. Hobby, CPMR, of RAH Associates; Jeff Huntsinger of Huntsinger Associates LLC; Holly Myers, CPMR, of Wallace Electronics Sales; Buzz Reynolds of Performance Technical Sales; Bruce Scoggin, CPMR, of Electro-Rep Associates; and Chuck Tanzola, CPMR, of the Fusion Sourcing Group.
About ERA
The 84-year-old ERA is the international trade organization for professional field sales companies in the global electronics industries, manufacturers who go to market through representative firms and global distributors. It is the mission of ERA to support the professional field sales function through programs and activities that educate, inform and advocate for manufacturers’ representatives, the principals they represent, and the distributors who are reps’ partners in local territories. For more information about ERA, visit www.era.org.
