JIM BLAIR
Sales Manager
VISUAL TECHNOLOGIES
Along with celebrating 26 years of success as the sales manager at Visual Technologies, Jim Blair is looking forward to saying “goodbye tension, hello pension!” Jim will be retiring and spending some quality time with his beautiful wife, Diane. Don’t fret if you have a new project. Jim will still be available to assist on specialty projects and Visual Technologies’ talented team is always working to achieve your needs. Congratulations Jim and thank you for 26 excellent years.
MARY JO CLAVIJO
Local Sales Manager
WSTM NBC3
Mary Jo Clavijo rejoined WSTM NBC3 in August 2015 as our local sales manager and had an immediate impact on our sales department. In her first year as a manager, she mentored a winning team, leading them to excel in all areas, including overall station, new business, and digital budgets. Mary Jo is fiercely competitive and goal-oriented. She has earned the utmost respect from our clients and is an inspirational mentor to her team. WSTM NBC3 is proud to present Mary Jo with this year’s Sales and Marketing Excellence Award for her outstanding achievements and contribution to the growth and development of our people.
AMBER CLARK
Account Executive
CXTEC
Amber Clark has been with CXtec in the sales department for the past 14 years. Over that time, she has built up a loyal base of customers with her infectious personality and efforts to always put her customers’ needs first. This passion and enthusiasm has led Amber to receive the CXtec annual Starman Award for the seventh time in 2016, as well as earn her third membership in our prestigious President’s Club. For the last two years, she has led all of CXtec as our top-buying representative. Amber’s success stems from her keen understanding of her customer’s business objectives, combined with CXtec’s core values. Congratulations, Amber.
SARIAH ESPINOZA
Crowne Meetings Director
CROWNE PLAZA SYRACUSE
Since joining the Crowne Plaza Syracuse team in February 2012, Sariah Espinoza has been a consistent achiever, finding success in many roles in sales and marketing. Her exponential growth has helped her promote her way through the sales office starting as the sales and social media coordinator, Crowne meeting manager, and most recently, Crowne meeting director. In each of her roles, Sariah has been presented with multiple awards, including Employee of the Month in June 2014, Manager of the Quarter for 3rd Quarter 2015, Richfield Hospitality President’s Circle Recipient, and 2015 Sales Manager of the Year for Richfield. She has achieved success through her commitment to her responsibilities.
BECKY FRIEDMAN
Product Manager
CXTEC
Becky Friedman is going on her 15th year at CXtec, having started in 2002 as an account manager in sales on the Healthcare Vertical team. In 2006, her big- picture view of growth opportunities led her to become a voice specialist in the newly created business of “Telephony.” Six months later, she had been promoted to an associate product manager, and in mid-2007 was promoted again to product manager, responsible for helping our certified pre-owned brand of equal2new Voice grow to a $15 million business. Becky’s upbeat attitude and pleasant demeanor, coupled with her passion for the business, has made her a very important contributor to our team.
ASHLEY HAVRILLA
Senior Sales Manager
WOODBINE HOSPITALITY
The world of sales in the hospitality sector is all about rapport, and Ashley Havrilla begins every day and every meeting with a smile. Her personality and spirit are always the first things clients notice, followed by her expertise in client services. In our demanding market, being goal-driven is necessary and Ashley exhibits all the qualities that help her to exceed expectations. Woodbine Hospitality and its parent company, the Woodbine Group, want to congratulate Ashley and thank her for the hard work and dedication. It’s such a pleasure to work alongside Ashley.
DONY KURIAKOSE
Business Development Manager
BUSINESS JOURNAL NEWS NETWORK
Since Dony Kuriakose joined the Business Journal News Network (BJNN) in 2015, she has had her foot on the accelerator. Her ability to build relationships, combined with her focus on her goals, has helped her to be so effective in her role as business development manager. She has taken a territory and grown it significantly in a short time period by increasing her clients’ visibility in our business community, understanding exactly what their marketing goals are, and helping them achieve those goals. Dony has a great quest for knowledge and has been working toward her MBA while achieving all her success at BJNN. She gives back to her community in so many ways by volunteering and donating to numerous local charities. Dony is a tremendous asset to our BJNN team.
MARGAUX WAFER
Senior Account Executive
CUMULUS MEDIA
In her tenured time as a senior account executive with Cumulus Media, Margaux Wafer has delivered 35 percent of all new business in the past 12 months, as well as cultivated the top five transactional clients up over 32 percent year over year. Her ability to work collaboratively, bring creative solutions to her clients, and execute with the stations are key elements of her daily success. Clients trust her implicitly and her team looks up to her as a sales leader. With Cumulus for just one year, we look forward to what the future holds for Margaux.
