Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM MARCH 2018 60 ASTI LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT 2018: RON SAWYER Founder, Professional Service Association T H I S Y E A R ' S L I F E T I M E A C H I E V E M E N T A W A R D W A S G I V E N T O R O N S A W Y E R , F O U N D E R O F T H E P R O F E S S I O N A L S E R V I C E A S S O C I A T I O N , O R P S A , A S I T I S K N O W N I N T H E I N D U S T R Y . T he Board of Directors and officers of the United Servicers Association (USA) have been giving out a Lifetime Achievement Award annually at the Annual Service Training Institute (ASTI) since 2010. The board collects a list of worthy nominees, and goes through a vetting process to determine the most noteworthy recipient. This year's Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Ron Sawyer, founder of the Professional Service Association. Looking back over one's lifetime paints a very clear picture of achievements, passions, focus, efforts, and victories. Most of us have a small collection of accomplishments for which we can be proud. Sometimes there are exceptional people that stand out far above the crowd—Ron Sawyer is one of those extraordinary, exceptional people! Ron was an accomplished Boy Scout earning the top rank of Eagle Scout. Ron also served as a scout master, Explorer advisor, Explorer counselor advisor and Region 2 Commodore! Ron received three A.A.S. degrees: in Electronics from the University of MD, in Electrical Construction & Maintenance and in Air Conditioning & Refrigeration from Hudson Valley Community College. He served in the military from 1955–1958 in the U.S. Army security agency, with top secret electronic security clearance while working as an electronic warfare equipment repairman. Ron started out as co-owner and vice president of Sawyer Electric Company, growing the company from 2 to 25 employees in only ten years. Then, Ron owned and operated NEW YORK Consolidated Service Agency, Inc. located in Cohoes, NY, providing appliance service and parts to their customers while acting as president and CEO for more than 40 years, from 1967–2008. Ron was the founder and visionary for PSA, the Professional Service Association, serving as its president for ten years and then as their first executive director. PSA started with an open letter from Ron in April 1988, inviting any and all servicers in the greater NY area to join him in his effort to combat a challenge by many manufacturers for the independent service companies livelihood. He wanted to formalize a defense strategy to protect his company and others like his from their demise. After that initial meeting and many more meetings that followed, PSA became a full-fledged organization in 1989 with Ron leading the charge. Ron produced a newsletter for PSA four times a year. The vast majority of articles were either written by or gathered by Ron until his retirement. Ron compiled what was called 'The Annual Report on the Service Industry'. The report contained specific information about service centers in the appliance and electronics industry across the U.S. It was a widely read and respected report, offering insight into industry trends as well as documenting the painful and sweeping decline of the electronics service industry, and kept appliance business owners aware of losses and gains over the years. Ron understood the business side of things himself and I N D U S T R Y [ I C O N S ]

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