Page 11 - CFESA Magazine Sept - Oct 2017

My Introduction

to CFESA SERVICE
VIEWPOINT
by John Schwindt,

Hawkins Commercial

Way back in time when I was just a kid in the old west, (it was around
1978) Elwood Hawkins and Jeff Sinclair introduced me to CFESA.
Hawkins Electrical Service Co was a tiny company then and only
serviced electrical appliances. The other CFESA service company in
town did most of the gas appliance work. We worked pretty closely
together and referred calls back and forth to each other, bought parts from one another, shared
information, etc. Life was grand. MFG’s like Wells, Toastmaster, Lincoln, and GE (bought out by
Hobart), etc. started making both electric and gas appliances. Then 24-hour service happened. We
had to change or die. The customer started demanding that we maintained all their equipment,
not just the lines that we represented. Competition arrived, and the rest is history.

Well, every year Elwood and Jeff went to the CFESA conferences in Chicago and other places around
the country and would come back all excited about the things going on in the industry. We would
try to implement what they learned in our business, sometimes good and sometimes not so good.
As Elwood got a little older, he stopped going to the conferences, and Jeff started taking me. I
would attend every third or fourth meeting. I had the privilege to meet people like Al Fransen,
Bernie Harris Sr., Charlie McAlister, Bill Eichenauer, Bruce Hodge, and Larry Phillips, just to name
a few. Talk about the founding fathers of our organization, wow! I was always amazed how much
time these “pillars of the industry” would spend with a kid full of piss and vinegar like me. I had
great memories of these gentlemen and learned a ton of priceless information. I would start to
build a relationship, but would only come to about every third or fourth conference, so I would
spend most of my time catching up and restarting. Jeff saw this, so he encouraged and facilitated
me coming to as many events as I could. He urged me to get involved in the committees. We would
each go to a different meeting and come back and share notes and ideas. The amount of sharing
of ideas, procedures, and best practices amazes me to this day. After several years of participation,
he dropped the bomb on me, that I should run for a board position. There were a lot of things that
I didn’t know about CFESA, including the fact that I was not an owner of the business, but could
serve on the board. I felt so inadequate when I got elected, but again, people like Tony Rapanotti,
Scott Hester, Patrick Duffy, Paul Toukatly, Brock Colman, John Swanson, and others all mentored
me and showed me by example what it was to be a board member. The most important thing I
learned is how to listen, to take the time to look at an issue from as many sides as you can, and
then share your opinion. Looking back I am shocked as to how little I knew at the time unless you
are involved in the organization, you truly have no idea what CFESA both offers and does. There is
no way anyone can sit and explain all that we do as an organization. But what is more important
is where else can you get such a valuable education just by being involved.

I am proud to have been involved with CFESA for nearly 30 years now (yikes, time flies) and I can
honestly say I have learned and grown so much more (both professionally and personally) by be-
ing involved with CFESA than I ever could have by just attending every once in a while.

www.cfesa.com SEPT / OCT 2017 CFESA Magazine 11