Jeff ApplebaumGold Star Products

Oak Park, MI

I am honored to have been nominated to serve on the Board of Directors. If elected I will serve to the best of my ability and will act in best interest of our membership.

I am the Owner and Chief Operating Officer of Gold Star Products, a family owned business, started in the 1920’s. Growing up in the business gave me the opportunity to start working for Gold Star at a young age. Always learning and observing as I held many different positions in the company. When I got serious about making Gold Star my career, I moved into the contract and design department. In 1986, the business was sold to SYSCO and I spent the next 4 years working as a department manager at SYSCO Detroit. In 1990, I restarted Gold Star as an equipment only dealership. In 1992, smallwares were added and in 1994, we opened our cash and carry. Today we still operate as a full service (Smallwares, Equipment, Design and Disposables) business doing 15 million in sales with 40 employees.

Before being sold to SYSCO, Gold Star was a charter member of both ABC and IFED buying groups. Being a charter member gave me great insight into the buying group concept and the evolution of buying groups over the years. Working at SYSCO also showed me the advantages of volume purchasing power. Therefore, it was only natural to join PRIDE as soon as our volume was large enough.

Realizing what great buying power and marketing savvy PRIDE could bring to my company, I have stayed very active in the organization since joining PRIDE in 1992. I am a past President, with 12 years BOD experience, who has also served in on numerous PRIDE committees and industry advisory boards. I have invested in and supported Primoris, COYOD/Mealtime, PMP Capital, Trade Advantage and the PRIDE Real Estate Groups. Being this involved give me a good picture of how PRIDE operates and how it helps my dealership be more successful.

Education - B.S., Natural Sciences University of Michigan Graduate Business Studies - Wayne State UniversityIndustry - PRIDE Board of Directors 1995-2004, 2006-2008, Past President PRIDE Equipment Vendor Committee 1994 – Present Trade Advantage Board of Directors 1996 – 2006, Past President FEDA Board Member 2000-2002, 2002-2004 CFSP Level II

Jeff Atkinson, CPADeacon Foodservice

Solutions, LLCCharlotte, NC

I am the president of Deacon Foodservice Solutions, LLC in Charlotte, NC. I have a wonderful wife and two beautiful girls age 6 and 3. I grew up in Urbana, OH; went to high school in Gallipolis, OH; and then moved to North Carolina to attend Wake Forest University. I am a 1991 graduate of Wake Forest with a BS in Accounting. I joined the foodservice industry in 2003 after a 12 year career in public accounting.

I was the CFO and GM of CE Holt Refrigeration, Inc. from 2003 until 2015. On July 1, 2015 I left CE Holt to become the CFO of FSW NC and FSW’s Mergers and Acquisitions division. FSW NC was a joint venture between FSW and CE Holt Refrigeration, Inc. FSW purchased Denver Restaurant Equipment (PRIDE Charter Member) on May 22, 2015 and merged it with CE Holt Refrigeration, Inc.’s foodservice equipment division on July 1, 2015 to create FSW NC. I received a phone call from FSW management on February 4, 2016 that a representative would be arriving on February 9, 2016 to find a buyer, management group, or to close down FSW NC. I and other FSW NC employees were asked to assist in the pursuit of potential buyers. I was able to line up an investor to meet with the FSW representative and CE Holt on February 9, 2016. They were able to reach an agreement in principle and shortly thereafter entered into a Letter of Intent for the sale. Deacon was created on February 18, 2016 to acquire certain assets and assume certain liabilities of FSW NC. On March 8, 2016 Deacon and FSW NC finalized the Asset Purchase Agreement and Deacon began. As part of the APA, Deacon was granted immediate entry into PRIDE.

Thanks to some amazing employees who believed in me, and investors who believed in us we have man-aged to weather the storm and right the ship. Now I would like to do all that I can to assist PRIDE and the dealers in a better tomorrow. I am honored to have been nominated.

Thank you,Jeff Atkinson

David G. CastinoCastino Restaurant

SupplyRohnert Park, CA

I’ve been honored to serve on the PRIDE board over the last three years. Since serving as the Vice President of the board under these difficult times I have been proud to be a part of our organizations new vision and purpose and am asking for your support to continue to serve you as a PRIDE board member for the next three year term.

I am the second of three generations at Castino Restaurant Supply, and am president of the company. Castino’s is a family owned business which my father David Castino Sr. founded in 1974. Castino’s is one of the founding members of PRIDE.

I began my career as a part time slave working in the family business after school and on weekends while in high school. After graduating high school in 1979 I began working full time in the warehouse and began drawing contract projects. In 1981 I began designing and selling projects on my own and eventually came to manage the warehouse, design, and contract sales departments.

Working in a small family business I was eager to contribute to developing operational procedures which would allow us to standardize our business methods and create a predictable path for the success of sales and contract projects. In the 37 plus years since I started full time with the company I have helped develop and push our company to move forward with new technology to assure our continued success including going from hand design drawings to learning and teaching our team how to use AutoCad.

In 1994 I obtained a Class B General Contractors License and set up our installation division and added this to my manage-ment responsibilities. From 1996 to 2005 I created and managed our refrigeration division. In 2010 I created and have been managing our chemical and dish machine rental division. Since 2004 I have been responsible for managing the company as president while my father has taken a more customer relations and sales role.

I met my future wife Susan here at Castino’s and we married in 1987. She and I continue to work together in the business and have been joined by our son David Jr., 27 who came into the business in 2014 full time after graduating college and our daughter Sarah, 25 is now working with us in our contract and accounting departments. Working together with family has been a joy as we all have learned that problems with work and relationships need to be resolved quickly to maintain a healthy and happy life.

Since we have been a PRIDE member and since I have been attending PRIDE conferences I have enjoyed the relationships I have made with other dealers. The sharing of ideas and insightful knowledge from my fellow dealers has been invaluable through both tough times and the prosperous times we are experiencing today. I previously served on the on the SATURN board of directors and continue to believe in the SATURN private label concept and we fully support it by stocking the SAT-URN label products. Currently I’m on the PRIDE Equipment Vendor Committee.

I look forward to seeing all of you in Chicago and thank you for your consideration.David G. Castino

Keith EubankCommercial Kitchen

SupplyCenterville, UT

My brother-in-law, Layne Walker, and I founded Commercial Kitchen Supply in 1994 with big dreams but almost no money or resources. We literally had next to nothing except a firm determination to succeed and a goal to provide a better customer experience. We quickly learned that in order to survive we had to work as a team and we needed the advantages of a buying group.

The hard-fought lessons from those early years led us to join PRIDE in 2002. The fact that PRIDE was member-owned and governed by a Board of Directors greatly appealed to us. Our previous buying group was run by a single owner and rarely did his interests seem to align with the best interests of the group as a whole. Over time, the benefits of joining PRIDE grew to be more than we could have imagined. Not only did we see a substantial increase in our competitiveness but the caliber of people within the PRIDE organi-zation who were willing to share ideas and help one another made us a better company.

My personal background includes a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Before graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in Marketing & Public Relations, I started two small businesses to help pay my way through college. Both of these gave me valuable financial and interpersonal lessons. In 1997, I met and married Amy -- the best partner anyone could have. Together we are raising two teenage daughters. My family keeps me grounded and refuses to let me be the “boss” at home.

I have learned from my 23 years in this industry that you must negotiate hard with manufactures but also be willing to understand that business relationships are a two-way street. In the past, it wasn’t just PRIDE members who were burned by FSW, but many of our valuable vendors were caught in the downfall as well. In my conversations with manufactures, many felt bullied by past FSW leadership into deals -- only to have it all blow up. I believe we need to focus on repairing these critical relationships and building a group other dealers will crave to join. I also feel that going back to the roots of what made PRIDE a rock-solid buying group – sharing ideas, helping each other, and focusing on building our membership -- is the right path for the future.

It is an honor to be considered for this position and I look forward to the opportunity to serve and give back to the PRIDE community.

Brian FlynnAlliance Paper &

Foodservice EquipmentFranklin Park, IL

Earl GatesServco Companies

St. Louis, MO

Earl Gates is currently President and CEO of Servco Companies and Gates Manufacturing, a family owned business that was started in 1947. Servco is located in St. Louis, Missouri and serves the midwest market. I started at Servco when I was young, went on to college and the military and came back in 1972 and have been there 45 years. I am a Charter Member of Pride. I became a Director on the Concord Bank Board in December, 2009 and was then appointed Chairman of the Board in March, 2011. I negotiated the sale of this Bank in March, 2016. I currently serve on the Board of the Sheet Metal Workers Pension and Welfare Fund and on the Bank of Sullivan. I am semi-retired and currently reside in St. Louis with my wife and two children.

First of all, I am most honored to be nominated to the PRIDE Board of Directors.

I started my career in 1973 in the wholesale meat business serving local meat markets and grocery stores, getting the order first and going from wholesaler to wholesaler to hand select beef, lamb, pork and veal and then delivering the same day. During these early years I was an employee of family owned businesses and learned the value of service to our customers. I had the itch to be an owner; this led to a partnership in a distribution and processing company until 1985 when it was time to do my own thing. Mid-year 1986 I acquired Alliance Paper Co., a family owned distributor and cash & carry in the Chicago wholesale food market. I made the move from fresh meat products to disposables and janitorial products.

Through additional acquisitions and responding to requests from our customers we expanded the company into a broad line distributor of disposables, jan san products, and a dealer of equipment and small wares stocking approximately 10,000 SKU’s. We continue to serve the Chicago market through two cash and carry stores and showrooms along with our headquarters distribution facility which handles direct delivery using our fleet of company owned trucks.

As a dealer we offer design and build services along with our showrooms and consult our customers on making sure they get the right equipment for their needs.

In 2012, Alliance acquired Schweppe which moved us into a more significant presence in the foodservice equipment market. 2012 was also the year we became members of PRIDE. I immediately joined the small wares committee to learn as much as I could about PRIDE and the wide variety of manufacturer deals to support profitability to my company and our members.

I am married 28 years to my wonderful wife Dorothy and are now joined by our children Caitlin and Connor in the company. I have enjoyed getting to know many members of PRIDE and working on the committee.

With your ongoing support I can promise I will continue working hard to bring value to our membership while looking for new opportunities to grow not only our businesses but our group as well.

Chris JonesFood Equipment

CompanyGreer, SC

Food Equipment Company was started in 1955 to serve the restaurant industry in the Upstate of South Carolina. Over the years, the company evolved to a distribution format to serve multi-unit operators. Food Equipment Company provided contract, design, build and supplies to those multi-unit brands including 900 Beverly Healthcare sites, 1800 Hardees, 229 Quincy’s, 175 Ryan’s, and 35 Applebee’s.

In 1992, in a mature market, I led Food Equipment through a transition to a Cash and Carry format and added a negotiated contract sales division. Today, Food Equipment has a state of the art 80,000 square foot warehouse and webstore housing over 3,000 items in stock for immediate fulfillment.

I have enjoyed my time in this industry and spent the vast majority of my career with Food Equipment Company, just recently celebrating my 41st year anniversary with the company. My wife Rita and I live in Greenville, SC.

As a member of PRIDE Marketing since September 2001, I have served on the Smallwares Vendor Sub-Committee as well as the Marketing Sub-Committee. I am honored to be considered for the Board of PRIDE Marketing. As PRIDE Marketing reinvents itself for the future, I am eager to provide a perspective from the small dealership as well as work for the greater good of all PRIDE member companies. I would be proud and honored to serve if chosen.

Ryan RichardRichard’s Restaurant

Supply Inc.Houma, LA

I attended college at Louisiana State University and Nicholls State University studying, business admin-istration and marketing. Growing up in a family business, my summers were spent at Richard’s. During college, I managed a college bar, owned/operated/sold a grass cutting & pressure washing business, and sold/installed high end children’s play sets. Since 2003 I have worked inside sales, outside sales, then eventually VP managing the daily operations and all marketing aspects of Richard’s. In early 2016, I was named president of our company. I am also invested in several other types of businesses that are operated day to day by my partners. My wife, Soniena, and I have been married for over 10 years and we have 2 children Max (8) and Stella (5).

My dad, Henry Richard, founded Richards in 1977. Next year we will celebrate 40 years of business, and I am very proud to be a part of this legacy. Our company has a large showroom for retail sales, a quoting and estimating department, a full parts and service department, and a rental division. We are a charter member of PRIDE, so our passion runs deep for the success and future of PRIDE. Through the years, I have been involved with PRIDE and cherish the memories, friendships, shared knowledge, and experiences I have gained with this group. I have been active with every decision we have made as a company to support PRIDE. I feel PRIDE played a major role in our company’s 40 years of success, and I expect it to continue for many more. I’d like to be instrumental in PRIDE’s future direction. I feel that now is the best time for our company to support PRIDE and help direct its future.

I am humbled and honored to be considered for this nomination to the Board of Directors. This is the same group of dealers that I met 13 years ago as a “newbie” to the group under my dad and brother’s guidance. Many of you in this group are responsible for helping this young man, and others like me, learn this industry. I personally thank you, and feel this is my time to give back to the group that gave me so much. I’d also like to thank the current board along with the PRIDE staff for the tireless work and dedication you guys have put forth to “right this ship.” I ask for your support and hope to represent the entire membership’s best interest as we move forward if elected.

Thank you, Ryan Richard

Demetre SelevredesFederal Supply USA

Waukegan, IL

In 1931, my father opened what is now known as Federal Supply USA, in the heart of Chicago’s Greektown. This year is the 85th anniversary of his dream. The lessons of my parents are their legacy and have been my personal benchmarks. I’m proud to say that these same core values that have guided our company through my tenure continue today with our third generation, firmly in place in Nicole and Demetre III, my children. If we as dealers, and by default PRIDE, expect to grow and prosper we must have an informed, capable and educated next generation, poised to fill our shoes. As a 43 year member of FEDA, I’ve served in various capacities. Among them are, Chicago area president, Board of Director, NAFEM Liaison, Asst. Chair and Chairman for the national convention. I‘m proud to be one of the few founding and charter members still remaining with PRIDE. Over the years I’ve contributed to PRIDE in many ways, however my most recent role has probably been my most important. At our last conference your Board elected me President and interim CEO to lead PRIDE through the turmoil left by those who chose and others who were asked to leave. Your new CEO, COO and CFO have made amazing progress since we last met and all are excited to present their reports to you next week. Although much has been accomplished in the past six months, there’s more to be done. I’m asking for your support to continue my work of not only restoring PRIDE but laying the foundation for its growth. My unique knowledge of PRIDE coupled with industry experience and contacts, has proven to be invaluable during these “times”. It’s been an honor representing you and I pledge to continue working in YOUR best interests.

Thank you for your consideration …..Demetre

Alan StarrBoston Showcase

CompanyNewton Highlands, MA

President of Boston Showcase Company, a family owned business started in 1913. I worked at the business part time in my teens and started full time upon my graduation from the University of Colorado in 1973.

I am 65 years old. I have 4 children. Emily - age 37, Andy - age 35, Jesse - age 30 and Jacob - age 14 . Also I have 2 grandchildren – Oliver - age 23 months and Max - age 4 months. I spend lots of time with my family who all live close by.

My main activity outside of work is road cycling which I do as much as I can with my wife, Laurie and friends and family. I have been riding in the Pan Mass Challenge for 25 years, a charity ride for the Dana Farber Cancer Center that raises $46 million a year and has raised $500 million in total.

We are a Charter Member of PRIDE. I have served on both the Smallwares and Equipment Vendor Committees. PRIDE has been very important to our company’s success and we have been a strong supporter. We work very closely with PRIDE vendors and encourage all of our salespeople and designers to promote PRIDE products .

I would be honored to serve the PRIDE membership as a member of the board.

Gary ThiakosZepole Supply Co.

Bolingbrook, IL

Zepole Supply was founded by my father Nick in 1982. Zepole provides equipment and does design build projects for independent chains and operators. We also have daily truck routes that deliver smallwares, disposable products, and chemicals. Like many of us, I grew up in this business from a young age. I have had the opportunity to become an expert in every aspect of the business and within the company. Nothing, however, prepared me for my father’s passing in 2006. It was then that I took over ownership and leadership of the company. Since then we have grown significantly and have evolved in our systems and processes. One constant has been our philosophy, which was cemented by my father. We thrive on providing value beyond price to our customers, and we take the ever-growing competition head-on and use the existing challenges as motivation to overcome them. Our integrity is non-negotiable, no matter the op-portunity or potential business and profit. My drive to grow Zepole is to extend my father’s legacy, to spread his story and history of Zepole Supply. My other motivation is to provide our staff and employees with an environment where they know they are important to the company’s success, where they have opportunity to grow personally and professionally, and to provide comfortably for their families. I recently went to Loui-siana amidst the flood disaster that took place near Baton Rouge last month. I went with a small group for a week to help gut homes and prepare those homes for reconstruction to take place. The experience was eye-opening, and I plan to implement an ongoing volunteer program within the company because of that trip. My family has been blessed with a successful, thriving company that affords us everything we need and more, and I feel that the company can be a vehicle to help others as well. I married my wife Rachel in 2012, and we have a two year old son, Nicholas, named after my father, our joy! It has been an honor serving our members on the board the last six years, thank you!