Personnel News: Staff Announcements from Around the Industry.

VISTA NAMES DISTRICT SALES MANAGER AND TECHNICAL SPECIALIST. Landscape industry professional Tim Jones is the new southwest district manager for Vista Professional Outdoor Lighting.

Jones will cover Arizona; Las Vegas, Nev.; and Albuquerque, N.M., and will oversee Vista sales and marketing efforts, including product introductions and promotions and will coordinate field support with distributor personnel and landscape contractors. He will also assist with Vista’s popular Seminar series, “Light Your Way to More Profits.”

Jones has more than 16 years of experience in the landscape industry and recently worked with Hunter Industries as a sales manager. Jones also operated his own landscape contracting business in Phoenix, Ariz.

Also at Vista, Michael Lawrence has been named technical specialist for San Diego and Orange Counties in California. Lawrence will work in the field training landscape lighting contractors and distributor personnel on proper landscape lighting design, installation and troubleshooting. Like Jones, Lawrence also will present Vista’s “Light Your Way to More Profits” seminars throughout Southern California.

Lawrence comes to Vista from national retailer Costco and also is known as a top-ranked amateur golfer, which helped him in a product research and development career with Callaway Golf in Carlsbad, Calif.

TANAKA HIRES JEFF WRIGHT TO LEAD TANAKA AMERICA. Tanaka Kogyo Co. of Japan announced recently that it has appointed Jeff Wright as the new executive officer and general manager of Tanaka America. Wright will be responsible for overseeing all Tanaka activities in North America as well as looking for opportunities to grow the Tanaka business in North, Central, and South America.
 
“We are happy to have Jeff back as the leader of our company in America,” said Kohya Tanaka, president of Tanaka Kogyo Co. “His proven track record working with Tanaka distributors and dealers will give us the needed strength to reach our sales goals in this market.”

From 1992 to 2002, Wright was president of International Sales & Marketing (ISM), the former sales and support firm for Tanaka in North America.

GREENWOOD GROUP WELCOMES NEW TEAM MEMBERS. The Greenwood Group has added two new landscape professionals to its team.

Jason Grissom joins the company as director of operations. Jason holds degrees in both marketing and horticulture from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He has 10 years of experience working in the landscape industry.

Also, Nick Sarandos has been named superintendent of mowing operations. Nick is currently pursuing a degree in horticulture and landscape design from St. Louis Community College at Meramec. He has worked in the landscape industry
for eight years.

“Jason and Nick are a great addition to our team,” said Greenwood’s President Joan Schepis. “They have an eye for quality, and focus on customer service while always implementing our prevention-based safety program.”

J&J TRUCK ADDS HAUGER TO SALES TEAM. Ryan Hauger has been appointed truck equipment representative for eastern Pennsylvania at J&J Truck Equipment, the company announced recently. Hauger will be responsible for increasing truck equipment sales and providing product support and service to existing and new customers.

“We are excited to bring Ryan on board and we’re confident that his marketing and customer service skills will contribute to the growth of our company,” said Jim Weir, inside sales co-coordinator for J&J Truck Equipment.

.