► ► CONTRIBUTORSPOTLIGHT Courtney Hammer Courtney joined the hearth industry about a year and a half ago, but she didn’t come in through the usual door. By trade and education, she’s a chiropractor. After a string of injuries and surgeries on both wrists, she realized she needed to find something
► ► CONTRIBUTORSPOTLIGHT Patrick Ryan Patrick Ryan’s connection to the hearth industry didn’t start with a job application or a chance encounter—it started before he was born. In fact, he was conceived during a snowstorm at the 1989 HPBA convention in Reno. The moment is even documented in the Family
► ► CONTRIBUTORSPOTLIGHT Phil Connor Contributor Spotlight: Phil Connor During his eleven years in the hearth industry, Phil Connor did just about everything: He called on retailers, distributors, and builders in various sales roles; he led sales teams; and he even managed a 16-person call center handling consumer issues. Along
► ► CONTRIBUTORSPOTLIGHT Dave Anderson Dave Anderson has been part of the hearth industry since 2003, but his professional journey actually started in the backcountry—not behind a showroom counter. At the time, he was working full-time as a hunting and wilderness guide, spending his days packing into remote areas on
► ► CONTRIBUTORSPOTLIGHT Tim Reed Tim has been in the hearth industry since he was 18 years old. At that time, he was in a failing punk band that was playing shows up and down the West Coast, and his future father-in-law asked for some help installing a wood insert.
► ► CONTRIBUTORSPOTLIGHT Clay Dennis Clay has been part of the hearth industry since 1995. In May of that year, Tommy and David Lancaster of Lancaster Gas Service in Greensboro, N.C. recruited him while searching for an experienced salesperson. Clay started in sales at Lancaster Gas Service, and he was
► ► CONTRIBUTORSPOTLIGHT Ryann Blake Ryann joined the hearth industry about a decade ago. At the time, she had just gotten her MBA, so her dad asked her to help him run their family business, Chimney Techniques, which has been open in Aberdeen, Washington since 1985. After her dad retired,
► ► CONTRIBUTORSPOTLIGHT Chris Neufeld After graduating from Cal Poly, Chris went to work at Santa Anita in Arcadia, where he started in sales and eventually became the Vice President of Marketing. After that, he worked at Bay Meadows in San Mateo before joining the hearth industry. But about 30
► ► CONTRIBUTORSPOTLIGHT Matt Bradley Bill Lentz holds Economics and MBA degrees from the University of California. His sales career began in 1972 with Exxon Mobil. In 1979, he took a six-year break to study and teach meditation. After moving to New Mexico in 1985, he sold Dale Carnegie Courses
► ► CONTRIBUTORSPOTLIGHT Matt Bradley Matt never planned to work in the hearth industry. But after a wide range of roles in food service, plywood production, and public education, he eventually found his way into the hearth world through a part-time role with Tim Reed in 2020. At the time,