Vernon Director of Sales Sharla Elscott, MAS, presents Jon Smith with the distributor's Account Executive of the Year Award.

The Vernon Company named Jon Smith its 2016 Vernon Account Executive of the Year Award at the Newton, Iowa, distributor’s annual National Sales Meeting. Held at the Renaissance Indian Wells in Indian Wells, California, on April 10-12, the event brought together nearly 100 of the Newton, Iowa, distributor’s account executives and more than 70 of its supplier partners.

Smith, of Jensen Beach, Florida, started with The Vernon Company in 2001. In 2016, he became a member of both the Five Million Dollar Club and then the Six Million Dollar Club. He says, “This is a great honor, and I certainly didn’t expect it. I was completely overwhelmed by the support of my fellow account executives.”

Sharla Elscott, director of sales, adds, “Jon Smith is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. Jon has worked extremely hard to build a relationship with a new buyer and it has paid off in spades. The account has quadrupled their sales in the last year because of Jon’s patience, diligence and great work ethic! He only has his customer’s best interest in mind.”

The Vernon Account Executive of the Year Award was previously called the Comeback Player of the Year Award and was presented to the account executive with an impressive comeback year after being down in sales the previous year. As the Account Executive of the Year Award, it is now awarded to the account executive who has an exceptional overall year. The company began honoring account executives for their outstanding efforts and dedication to Vernon in 2014.