Public Announcements

Election Results & New Board Announcement

Dear ERA Pacific Northwest Chapter Members,

We are pleased to announce the results of our recent chapter elections and introduce the newly elected officers who will help lead our organization forward:

Newly Elected Chapter Officers

Tracy Williams – Vice President
Cascade Sales, Inc.

Johnson Jew – Treasurer
Disman Baker Northwest

Brad Wooldridge, CPMR – Secretary
Electronic Component Sales, Inc.

David Wilkes – National Delegate (Incumbent)
Westmark Electronics

First Order of Business

The new board will begin their term by forming an Advisory Committee composed of representatives, manufacturers and distributors who are active members of our National Association. This committee will serve as a collaborative forum to guide chapter initiatives and foster stronger industry connections.

Congratulations from the Chapter President!

Congratulations to the newly appointed ERA PNW Chapter Board! I look forward to collaborating with each of you as we continue building a vibrant, inclusive and forward-thinking electronic representative community. Together, we'll drive engagement, elevate our industry presence and create meaningful opportunities for our members across the Pacific Northwest.

Sincerely,

David Fitzgerald
Chapter President, ERA Pacific Northwest
WESCO Sales Group

ERA PNW Chapter Top Golf Networking Session

In mid-October 2023, we hosted our first ERA PNW Chapter Top Golf Networking session – the attendance was 30+ representatives, distributors, and several principals.  It was a great event lead by Brad Wooldridge (Electronic Components Sales) and Dave Williams (Cascade Sales).

It offered an opportunity to network with industry professionals and in fact was the first one since the pandemic.  No golf ability was required, just participate with your presence an enthusiasm – is all we asked from the attendees!  We will be doing some different mixer / networking type events in 2024 – if you have some ideas, please let us know.  All ideas will be considered!

New additions to the ERA National Executive Committee

ERA Elects New Officers for 2019-2021 Term

The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) has announced that its board of directors elected new national officers for the 2019-2021 term during its Feb. 27, 2019, meeting.

They are: chairman of the board – Dave Norris of Norris and Associates; president – Chuck Tanzola, CPMR, of the Fusion Sourcing Group; senior vice president / fiscal and legal – John O’Brien, CPMR, of Coakley, Boyd and Abbott; senior vice president / education – Tom Griffin, CPMR, of Catalyst Sales Inc.; senior vice president / membership – Cameron English, CPMR, of English Technical Sales; senior vice president / industry – Bob Evans, CPMR, of EK Micro; and senior vice president at large – David Fitzgerald of WESCO Sales Group Inc.

ERA Elects New Officers for 2019-2021 Term

Questions from the PNW ERA – Board of Directors

What have you learned and or what contacts have you made through ERA that have had a greatest positive impact on you or your business?

Asked by Dave Fitzgerald – President PNW ERA to Dave Wilkes – Westmark Electronics

The greatest asset the ERA has are the members and their combined experiences dealing with different situations. The ERA has allowed Westmark to make and build with relationships, not only with our own chapter members but also with those from other chapters around the country. The value for us has been to access the resources that the ERA has—through either written white papers, national conferences, etc. But the most valuable single asset has been the ability to directly discuss rep issues with other reps that have experienced the same problem. Getting various viewpoints on an issue or issues has helped Westmark make better decisions.

– Dave Wilkes / Westmark Electronics

February 25th-27th – ERA Nation held its annual national conference at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas.

The conference took place on the campus of The University of Texas. The picture is of the UT famous clock tower – if you know the historical event that took place there – fill out the contact us form on the PNW ERA web site and place your answer in the comments section. First three correct responses – wins a prize.

The conference was a huge success with over 400 people attending with 130 first-timers – if you weren’t available to attend, please try to get there next year. There was plenty of representation from the PNW – call one of your counterparts to hear about the awesome breakout sessions.

New Year Kick-Off & Networking Social on January 31 in Portland, Oregon.

The EMA/ERA (Co-sponsored with Electronic Manufacturers Assn.) New Year Kick-Off & Networking Social on January 31 in Portland, Oregon. Approximately 60 people attended and we treated to some great food and drink.

Every attendee was provided an opportunity to introduce themselves and provide a brief description of their business.  This stimulated some solid conversation and an opportunity to see folks that you may have not seen in quite some time.  Several attendees mentioned that they had met some key target folks and actually generated some new business opportunities during the evening.

Future functions were discussed with the big one being the NEDME Show in October which is in the planning stages now.  If there are any volunteers out there please contact Art Henderson from ERA. 

Post-Holiday networking event at the Bellevue Brewing Company in Bellevue, Washington

The PNW ERA held a post-holiday networking event at the Bellevue Brewing Company in Bellevue, Washington on January 30th.  This was the first event in the Seattle area that was open to representatives, distributors and in one case a principal in over 10 years.  In effort to pull a significant group of individuals together, PNW ERA extended invites to members and non-members of both representatives and distributors – close to 30 participants discussed industry trends, concerns and changes.

PNW ERA plans to do two (2) more of these functions throughout 2019 in the Seattle area, future events will support guest speakers from OEMs, Contract Manufacturers, Engineering firms etc.  We are always open to suggestions and volunteers, the Pacific Northwest Electronics market is in itself a unique ecosystem – getting the key contributors from the various sales and support channels is a great way to extend your individual networks.  Keep an eye on the all NEW PNW ERA website (https://era-pnw.org/) for future announcements on upcoming events.

Upcoming Event: Women in Electronics

The Seattle chapter of Women in Electronics is holding their chapter meeting. Register by February 1st! Learn more and register on the event page

2018 ERA-PNW Lifetime Achievement Award

In appreciation of his outstanding contributions and achievements to our industry and association for more than 37 years, ERA-PACNW recognizes Mark Taylor with the 2018 Life Achievement Award.

After graduating from the University of New Hampshire, Mark started his sales career at General Electric. When a new opportunity called in 1981, Mark moved to the Pacific Northwest and started in the representative business as an account manager for Earl & Brown, and later became their Vice President of Industrial Business.

Mark’s sales success did not stop there. In 1997 he purchased the industrial representative business from Larry Brown. As the business continued to grow, Mark acquired another representative firm in 2006, eventually changing the name to EBCO Northwest. EBCO Northwest operated offices in Seattle, Portland and Spokane covering the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In August of 2017, Mark sold EBCO Northwest to another representative firm. He currently is working for Osram, a former long-time principal of EBCO NW.

In his free time, Mark enjoys hiking, skiing, running, sailing and golfing.

During his 37+ years as a representative and owner, Mark has held various positions with the Pacific Northwest Chapter of ERA and participated in numerous National ERA conferences. “Mark Taylor’s accomplishments speak for themselves, he has been a testament to what is takes to be a leading manufacturers representative for such an extended tenure, he is a tremendous example to all of us in the industry”, said Dave Fitzgerald, President of ERA-PACNW Chapter.

ERA National Conference 2019

ERA National Conference 2019

The ERA Conference Committee is delighted to announce the return of the 50th Anniversary Conference to Austin, Texas, Feb. 24-26, 2019, at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center.

Dedicated to sharing practical, proven best practices

The 2019 ERA 50th Anniversary Conference is the only opportunity for electronics industry reps, manufacturers and distributors to learn together from many experts in an environment dedicated to sharing practical, proven best practices in field sales and marketing.

Celebrate the Past, Embrace Tomorrow

The 2019 program is designed around the theme “Celebrate the Past, Embrace Tomorrow.” This will be ERA’s 50th Anniversary Conference, a significant milestone that deserves to be celebrated and honor the people who have laid the foundation of ERA to help make it into the successful organization that it is today.

The industry is changing rapidly and ERA’s 50th Anniversary Conference will address ways that you and your business need to redefine, adapt, change and transform in order to be successful in the future.

The conference dynamic educational program is designed to answer the questions: Where has the electronics industry gone in the past few years? Where is the industry going? How to adapt and change to be ready for what tomorrow brings?

Join ERA to celebrate the past and prepare to embrace what the future holds!