Contact Us

Tag Archives: employee spotlight

Employee Spotlight: Cardec Martinez

Meet Cardec Martinez! Field Service Manager – Springdale, AR

Where is your hometown?

Cardec Martinez was born in Killeen, TX but was raised in Puerto Rico until I decided to move to Arkansas in 2001. I currently call Fayetteville, AR home.

Do you have family? Kids?

I am happily married with three wonderful children, two girls and a boy.

What does your typical day at work look like? Daily job duties?

As of right now I have 10 outstanding road technicians that I manage. I follow up every day with their job progress and help on any major repairs they might need me for. I also work with CROWN Infolink systems for Tyson, Walmart, and GLAD Manufacturing other small businesses in the area.

How long have you been with the company?

I have been with Hugg & Hall for 6 years now.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I get to talk to and meet new people daily, and everyday there is a different challenge so it is never boring.

Do you have a favorite memory while working at Hugg & Hall?

My favorite memories while working here have been the company potlucks for the holidays. Nice to break bread with colleagues and we are all family here.

Have you had other roles while working here? Did you work in the industry before Hugg & Hall?

Before Hugg & Hall, I worked as a Service Manager for Volvo Rents in Springdale. Prior to that, I worked in different companies such as Detroit Diesel, Caterpillar and in the trucking industries as a diesel technician.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside of work I enjoy grilling and playing golf.

What is something that the people you work with might be surprised to know about you?

I primarily listen to country music, but have a mix of other music I enjoy as well.

 

Cardec is an essential part in keeping daily operations moving smoothly at Hugg & Hall. We are proud to have him on our team!  

Employee Spotlight: Jon Bailey

THE PROBLEM SOLVING DOESN’T END AT 5:00!

Say ‘hello’ to Jon Bailey, a Product Support Sales Representative, stationed at our Texarkana branch. Jon works with the Product Support Sales Team to create seamless, stress-free transactions for our customers. Representatives like Jon are always on the run and their day rarely ends at 5:00.

Jon understands the struggles customers deal with on a daily basis, and his previous work at a chemical plant allow him to excel at Hugg & Hall. Additionally, growing up in Magnolia and living in Texarkana help Jon uphold the values and expectations of local industry.

When Jon is not working, he enjoys fishing, hunting, and hanging out with his friends and family; wife Kimberly, and two children Dylan and Presley. Recently he has even taken up leather tooling, which he believes is a lost art – and wanted to make himself familiar with the process. Jon also loves music and songwriters, when asked what is something people may be surprised to know about you, Jon said, “I like learning about the story behind the songs. Nashville, TN is my Disney World.”

Dealing with customers and helping make their jobs easier is Jon’s favorite thing about working for Hugg & Hall. He loves to get to know the customers and to know more about what is going on in their lives. He always makes sure his clients know Hugg & Hall is a family owned business and that our owners are very much involved – and that we are willing to go the extra mile for all our customers.

After each interaction, Jon wants each customer to feel like it was a visit from a friend and to be able to see how much he truly loves his job, while assisting with product support. To Jon, “No is not an answer, we can make it happen!”

Hugg & Hall appreciates the work Jon Bailey does as a Product Support Sales Representative and thanks him for his service and dedication, while upholding the values of the company.

Employee Spotlight: Kevin Dye

THE ONLY WAY TO DO GREAT WORK, IS TO LOVE WHAT YOU DO!

Hugg & Hall is a company that strives on longevity, we continue to congratulate our tenured employees. This year, Kevin Dye, a delivery driver in our Fort Smith branch, has reached a 20-year milestone! When describing his work, Kevin mentions, “I pick ’em up and put ‘em down and enjoy, or overcome, different challenges and different people along the way.”

Growing up in the Fort Smith area, Kevin was taught to, “work hard, do your job with pride and integrity, treat others as you would like to be treated, let your bad days be few and far between, for without question many blessings are all around you if you are willing to look beyond your problems long enough to see and receive those blessings.”

Shortly after graduating high school, Kevin joined the United States Air Force and became an aircraft mechanic. His passion and drive have made him a beloved driver to both employees and our customers. Delivery Department Manager Claude Martin mentions, “Kevin has been a loyal dedicated employee for 20 years, he works with high integrity and you can always depend on him getting the job done.” He continues, “Customers give us great feedback in regard to his work performance; bottom line, Kevin is a model driver for Hugg & Hall and he is a pleasure to work with. I look forward to working many more years with Kevin.”

When he isn’t working, Kevin enjoys the outdoors, specifically mountains, rivers, creeks & trails. These activities are a great opportunity to spend time with his bride of 25 years, Kimberly, and their growing family a son and daughter who both got married this year.

Throughout his 20 years at Hugg & Hall, Kevin recalls his first day as his most fond memory. Getting to know and share meals with his co-workers have also presented many unforgettable moments. He mentions, “I truly enjoy the friendships I have been blessed with at Hugg and Hall.” He also enjoys the fun challenges that come along with working with trucks and equipment.

Kevin is very proud of his work and wants each customer to know we appreciate their business and that Hugg & Hall is trustworthy, professional and enjoyable to do business with.

Hugg & Hall would like to send a huge thank you to Kevin Dye for his hard work and dedication throughout 20 years of service.

Employee Spotlight: Bryan Hooks

SAY HELLO TO BRYAN HOOKS!

Bryan works as an Outside Rental Salesperson in our Oklahoma City branch. He likes to begin each day just before sunrise, to make time to deliver “happies” (cookies or donuts) to his clients’ jobsites and research new potential partners. While visiting clients, he may find himself taking measurements and making recommendations to assure each customer has the perfect piece of equipment.

With great pride, Bryan and our rental team work together to provide equipment with competitive pricing & delivery to meet the customers’ needs. This includes thinking strategically to provide innovative solutions when issues arise. When speaking with Bryan he states, “I believe every interaction, transaction, or piece of equipment associated with my name should be of the highest quality. I also take pride in simply doing what I say I will do for my customers, every time.”

Growing up in Newcastle and currently residing in Edmond, Bryan knows the Oklahoma City area well. On the job, he works to make sure each customer is confident that all their rental needs are met, within their requested time frame. “I ensure customers know that we are problem solvers, not just order takers.” Bryan continues, “Repeat business is the lifeline of sustainability, so customers satisfaction with each transaction is of utmost importance.”

In addition to being a customer favorite, Bryan lives a very active life. When asked, he mentions he could not live without Jesus or his children, Eli, Noah & Micah. He enjoys playing golf and attending college football games. After work and on the weekends, you can find Bryan enjoying a game of catch with his youngest son, who is the quarterback of his high school football team. Bryan enjoys grilling for his older sons and their friends and meeting for lunch and church.

When asking about Bryan’s past, he mentions that in his days at the University of Memphis, he was crowned Tush Push King of Memphis; he even has the belt buckle to prove it! While in Memphis, Bryan studied Sales & Marketing while playing college baseball. He even played semi-pro after graduation.

In his time at Hugg & Hall, he has worked hard to make everyone smile. With the world on hold because of COVID, Bryan wanted to bring cheer to not only our customers but to the people of Oklahoma City. He dressed in one of his dad’s famous costumes, the Easter Bunny, and waved to passersby traveling on Interstate 35 from a 40-foot scissor. Helicopters from at least two local news stations covered the story and a reporter interviewed him for the evening news.

Bryan’s favorite thing about working for Hugg & Hall has been the teamwork atmosphere and “never say no” attitude. He says, “We have a competitive yet family-oriented sales and management team that always work collectively to help employees achieve our goals.” Hugg & Hall would like to send a huge thank you to Bryan Hooks for his hard work and positive attitude as an Outside Rental Salesperson.

Want to read more about our awesome employees? Check out our employee spotlights page! 

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in September 2020. We updated it for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness in March 2023.

Employee Spotlight: Britney Bradshaw

“Ask Britney!”

Meet Britney Bradshaw, Service Manager at our El Dorado branch! 

Britney’s original spotlight was published 9/20/2020. Read on to get an update about her new role at Hugg & Hall! 

 

What’s your hometown?

Camden, AR.

Family?

One son, Roen, who is 11 years old and will be attending 6th grade this year.

What does your typical day at work look like?

I feel like I do a little bit of everything! But a quick way to sum it up would be that I help manage the daily operations of our service department, and make sure our operations are going as smoothly as possible. I’m constantly on the phone assisting technicians and make sure they have everything they need to handle a service job. I communicate with customers and do everything we can to accommodate any requests, and I help my coworkers with anything they’re unsure of. I think one of the most common phrases around here is “Ask Britney!”

Britney Bradshaw smiling. She is wearing a purple shirt and has blond hair. How long have you been with Hugg & Hall?

10 years.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

Honestly, the people I work with! Even though there are days we all drive each other crazy, I wouldn’t trade them for the world. We have a great group of people here, and it makes a huge difference being able to come to work and having a good team to work with every day!

Have you had other roles while working here? Did you work in the industry before Hugg & Hall?

I started out at Hugg & Hall as a Service Administrator, moved into the Field Service Coordinator position, and have since been promoted into the Field Service Manager/Coordinator role.

Before coming to Hugg & Hall, I was still enrolled in college (for dentistry) and working part-time. I got a call from Tracey Gibbs asking if I was interested in the Service Administrator position. After I got my first degree, I was going to take a break from school for a semester or too. Honestly, I thought I would just be at Hugg & Hall for a couple of years until I had to move to continue school. But I enjoyed working here and loved the people I worked with, so I never did end up going back! Here I am, 10 years later, and hopefully many more! I definitely went into a totally different career than what I originally planned!

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I love spending time with my family, and that’s mostly where you’ll find me in my free time. I like to travel. To me, experiences are way more important than materialistic things. I try to make memories with the people I love, more than anything else!

What are your passions?

Outside of work, I would have to say I’m most passionate about helping children. This past year I completed my 5-year term being a volunteer/board member for the nonprofit organization National Association of Junior Auxiliaries (NAJA). Their focus is meeting the needs of children in our local community, spotlighting their welfare, health, recreation, culture, and education. It took a lot of time and hard work, but it was so rewarding! I’m enjoying having free time, but I look forward to getting involved with another non-profit organization.

What’s something that the people you work with might be surprised to know about you?

This isn’t a surprise to most of my coworkers in El Dorado, but a fun fact about me is that I’m a 2nd generation employee. My mom started working for Hugg & Hall when I was five years old and worked here for 13 years before she retired after I graduated high school. Today, there are several employees still working that have been here from the beginning of my “Hugg & Hall life.” I honestly feel like I grew up here and Hugg & Hall is my family!

 

2022 Update

Britney Bradshaw smiling and sitting at her desk. She is a blond woman wearing a green shirt.

In 2022, Britney accepted the position of Service Manager in El Dorado and celebrated 12 years with Hugg & Hall! We took the opportunity to catch back up with her.

What does your day look like in your new position?

I’m taking additional responsibilities and developing myself and my team. I’m super excited about the Field Service Manager that I selected to fill my prior position, and I’m thrilled with the “Dream Team” I’m building. I have big plans for us!

What do you want to bring to the department as Service Manager?

As always, our first and main focus is having happy, well-served customers! In addition, I believe having happy, well-treated employees plays a huge role in that! I want to make sure my team feels how much they are appreciated, and that they’re getting all the training and tools they need to do their job more efficiently and effectively. El Dorado just became the Bobcat dealer for our territory, and we officially started a new branch in Shreveport this summer to take over our Northwest and Central Louisiana territory. We have a lot of new, exciting thins happening and we continue to grow and evolve like never before!

What’s the most interesting place you’ve traveled since we last spoke?

I haven’t traveled out of the country since the pandemic started, so we’ve stuck to our normal Florida beach trips. One cool thing we’ve done, that will most likely end up being a once-in-a-lifetime experience, was go to Universal Studios when they first opened after the pandemic. A lot of people were still nervous about the unknowns of Covid, so park attendance was super low. There were no lines and we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves! I told my son he got spoiled on his first trip and if he ever went back, it would definitely not be the same experience!

What’s your favorite quote that impacts your daily life?

“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”

 

Congratulations on your promotion, Britney!

Want to hear more about our awesome employees? Check out our Employee Spotlight page! 

Employee Spotlight: Trey McClenahan

Meet Trey McClenahan!

Trey works as an Industrial Truck Salesman in our Little Rock, AR location and has been with the company five years!

On a typical day, Trey keeps busy by selling forklifts, meeting new customers and providing solutions to their needs. When asked what his favorite thing about his job was, Trey replied, “There is a new application every day, no two days are ever the same”.

Trey has a long history with Hugg&Hall. In 1997, his mother, Neeli Kinzler, started working here. Trey would often come with her to the office when it was “still okay to bring your kids to work”.

Later, he came back and interned at our Jonesboro location as a sales intern while attending Arkansas State University. Now, Trey is officially a part of the Hugg & Hall sales team!

When Trey is away from the office, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Tessie, and their two dogs Bama and Harper. Trey also has a passion for two of his favorite hobbies – duck hunting and fishing.

We are thrilled to have Trey as a part of the Hugg & Hall family! To learn about our other employees, check out our Employee Spotlights page! 

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in August 2020. We updated it for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness in March 2023.

Employee Spotlight : Edwin Espinoza

Meet Edwin Espinoza!

Outside Rental Sales – Tulsa Branch

As one of the newest additions to the Hugg & Hall rental team, Edwin works as an Inside Rental Salesman at our Tulsa location! 

Edwin was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Tulsa. Outside of work he enjoys eating healthy and working out to stay in shape!

Edwin is married to his high school sweetheart of 11 years. Together they have two beautiful children. When asked about his family, Edwin explains “I enjoy any family time possible, it can be doing absolutely nothing, but as long as I am around them, I enjoy it.”

He says he enjoys working for Hugg&Hall because his co-workers are very helpful and always there to help when he doesn’t know about a piece of equipment or its process!

We would like to thank Edwin for all of his great work so far — we are happy to have you on the team!

Want to learn more about our awesome employees? Check out our Employee Spotlights page! 

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2020. We updated it for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness in February 2023.

Employee Spotlight : John Sefcik

Collaborations and growth are continuously occurring at Hugg&Hall.  With this growth, we have acquired phenomenal employees that now call Hugg&Hall home. One of our newest employees, John Sefcik, made the transition to Hugg&Hall with the redistribution of Scott Equipment Companies Toyota Material Handling brand. His combined service marks 24 years! 

SAY HELLO TO JOHN SEFCIK

Sefcik works as a Sales Representative in Central Louisiana. In his 24 years of service, he has been in several different positions including Outside Rental Sales and Construction Equipment Sales. His tenure in the industry began soon after his graduation from Louisiana College with a BS in Business Administration.

There is great commitment and pride that goes into being a Sales Representative. John says the job, “keeps him on the move interacting with customers in all kinds of industries.” He wants customers to reach out to him for anything. Even if he cannot help, he will get the customer to someone who can help.

John’s understanding of the local industry comes from his upbringing in Alexandria. Today he, his wife and daughter live just across the river in Pineville, LA. In his free time, Sefcik enjoys mountain biking and spending time with his family.

Over the years John has realized he cannot go without his morning coffee. When asked what he wants customers of Hugg&Hall to know he said, “We are a great team of people and good at getting things done!”

We would like to thank John Sefcik for his tenure and dedication to hard work. Without his attention to detail, customers would not receive the exemplary service Hugg&Hall is known for.

Want to learn more about our awesome employees? Check out our Employee Spotlights page! 

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March 2020. We updated it for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness in February 2023.

Employee Spotlight : Emily Altazin

Emily Altazin – Service Administrator – Baton Rouge

Meet Emily Altazin, our Service Administrator in Baton Rouge!

For six years, Emily has been working in the service industry. Here’s a glance into her work day. “I begin my day by checking and posting payroll,” She says. “Once that is finished and balanced, I start going through work orders to prep and bill out. By the afternoon, I go through any invoices that need to be submitted for payment, and review and schedule any Safety Alliance training that our technicians need.”

Emily’s favorite part of her job is “definitely the people, we are a family!” A special memory during her time at Hugg&Hall was after the 2016 flood. “Since we all live in different areas, some of us took longer at coming back to work. Some of our coworker’s houses flooded while others had family that were affected. It was such a hard time. I remember my first day back, everyone was waiting outside to start the day, and when I walked up, every single person came to hug me. It was emotional and truly showed how caring and great the people I work with are. As everyone slowly came back to work on different days, we welcomed them back with a hug!” 

Before her role as a Service Administrator, Emily worked as a Rental Coordinator for Scott Equipment and a Fingerprint Analyst for the Louisiana State Police. A little-known fact about Emily is her fear of crowds.

Emily says if she wasn’t in the service industry, she would probably be an Office Manager or work in accounting.

Emily was born and raised in Denham Springs, LA and still lives there with her husband of 19 years Jason, daughter Fallon (age 13), and dogs Sven (age 5) and Gumbo (age 6 months). Outside of work, Emily enjoys camping, hanging out and cooking with family and friends, and LSU football!

When asked to give advice to others in a similar profession, Emily says to “be patient and kind”.

We agree, Emily, and are so glad you’re a part of the Hugg & Hall team! We appreciate you!

To learn more about our awesome employees? Check out our Employee Spotlights page! 

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2020. We updated it for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness in February 2023.

Employee Spotlight: Rhonda Griffith

Meet Rhonda Griffith!  Rhonda has been with Hugg & Hall for 20 years and works as our Accounts Payable Manager at the company’s corporate location in Little Rock, AR. 

Griffith is from and currently resides in Carlisle, AR but spent most of her life in Hazen, AR. She is happily married to her high school sweetheart, Marty and they will celebrate 36 years in May.

They have two children, Ashley and Martin.  Ashley and her husband Kyler live in Cabot, AR where Ashley is a family nurse practitioner. Martin and his wife Courtney live in Little Rock, AR but travel a lot since Martin is a welder and inspector for 798 pipe liners.

In December, Martin and Courtney welcomed Griffith’s first grandchild, Katelynn. Griffith stated, “We are so excited to be Gigi and Pop!”.

Griffith enjoys family time, being outdoors, and has a “green thumb”. She loves planting and watching her flowers grow. In the summer, you can find her relaxing by the pool. Something you might be surprised to learn about Griffith is she was crowned Rodeo Queen and spent most of her childhood on a horse and traveling to horse shows and rodeos.

Griffith says a typical workday is “Crazy, but I love it. Lots of invoices, interruptions, and lots of money being spent”. Her daily job duties include managing a “great group of employees, along with vendor invoices and check disbursements, all the while maintaining a strict schedule to keep us on good terms with vendors”. Each month includes 8000+ invoices to process for payment, fuel cards for over 350 company vehicles and corporate credit cards to maintain. All this keeps Griffith and her team very busy. “I love what I do, but it’s not just the job, it’s the people…I love my Hugg & Hall family!” Griffith stated.

We are thankful for Griffith’s years of dedicated and loyal service.

We enjoy sitting down to talk with our fellow employees! Visit our website for more employee spotlights!

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2020. We updated it for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness in February 2023.