ALCO OFFICE PRODUCTS



BELOW IS A LIST OF "WHO WE WERE"
(click on the name to go to their site or scroll through)
CLICK ON OLDER POSTS AT BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE







More names will be added as we build pages
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We did it "Our"Way"

PLEASE READ>>> When you get to bottom of each page, click "Older Posts" to see more
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Bill Cracklen

Bill 1990
Claudette and Bill 1992
Bill Cracklen ALCO
Benndorf-Verster
Vancouver BC, Canada 
Email (billcracklen@gmail.com)
Dear AOP Friends:
Many of you know that Bill Cracklen’s  health has been declining for some time. He is now facing significant challenges and has made the difficult decision to pursue end of life Medical Assistance and a doctor will visit on August 12th, for an evaluation.

Bill would be deeply touched to hear from friends. If you’d like to send him a short note, you can email him at billcracklen@gmail.com (large letters (fonts) are appreciated).
Your kind words and memories would mean the world to him during this time.
Jim
In 1976 two major local firms, Benndorf Office Equipment and Verster Business Machines, merged to become Benndorf-Verster.  At that time Bill and two investors purchased the newly formed Benndorf-Vester and 11 years later (1987) they joined the AOP Team and Bill was named President of ALCO Canada as well as continuing to oversee the operations of Benndorf-Vester.  Bill knew most of the players which made him the best person to acquire, grow and developed the Canadian operation for ALCO.  Bill continued in these positions until his retirement in 1995. 

Claudette and Bill 1991
Prior to Bill becoming the President of Benndorf-Vester, Vancouver BC, Canada in 1976, he ran the family carpet business "Cracklen Carpets" from 1961 till 1975.  

Today, Bill and Claudette live in Quebec (on Lake Champlain since 2002) and have a home in West Palm Beach, Florida.   They have 3 adult children and 2 grandchildren all in Vancouver. Both of them continue to play as much golf  as possible (Bill says his golf game isn't very good anymore), Claudette still enjoys photography and they enjoy their grandchildren, family and friends in Quebec, Vancouver and Florida!  
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Lee Archer

Lee in 2011
Peter Shoemaker and Lee Archer 1993
Lee Archer ALCO
Associated Business Products
Salt Lake City
Email (Click Here)
Phone:  (Click Here)

Founder of Associated Business Products, which became one of the Great AOP companies! He became the Rocky Mountain District President from 1990 to 1998. 

Upon leaving AOP, Lee Founded "Copiers Now" in 1999, and sold the Technology developed in this enterprise in 2002.  He then founded Associated Payroll Systems in 2002 and sold this company in 2005. From 2005 to 2006 worked as an Executive in Residence for the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. In 2006, Lee co- purchased controlling interest in VFC, a specialty construction business engaged in the Lightning Protection and Grounding Business doing business in 26 States, in 2010 sold his interest in this company. 

In August of 2011 Lee co-purchased controlling interest in Salt Lake Legal LLC and continues today as its President.

Lee was Board Chairman for Canon USA’s National Dealer Advisory Board, he has also served as Board chairman for Children’s Aid Society of Utah and Delta Sigma Foundation, and a member of the YMCA Utah board. He served his country as an Army Officer in the Armor Branch for 13 years. Mr. Archer received his B.S. and MBA from the University of Utah. 
Leslie Archer                                                 Lee Archer                                                                          Bill Curran 

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Guy Mattola

Guy Mattola ALCO  
Allegheny Business Machines
Pittsburg, PA
Email: (Click Here)
Allegheny Business Machines in Pittsburg,  became an AOP partner in 1989.  Guy A. Mattola was the president of Allegheny, with the belief that the future of the office equipment industry belonged to those who offered the best technology and supported their customers with the highest quality of service possible. And that is exactly what Allegheny did.  

Today, Guy is very involved with the City of Pittsburg and County of Allegheny.  In addition to being the Co-Chairman of the Allegheny Port Authority Board, he is the chairman of the Port Authority Board of Directors Planning & Development Committee and a member of the Governance Committee.  Mr. Mattola serves on the Finance Committee of St. Joan of Arc Church and is an annual supporter of the Allegheny Valley School and Pittsburgh Vision.  





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Bill Curran

1990
Bill Curran ALCO
Southern Copy Machines
Email (Click Here)

Prior to founding Southern Copy Machines in Atlanta Bill was National Sales Manager for S.C.M. Corporation.  He started  Southern Copy Machines on April 1, 1979 and in eight years, grew it to be one of the largest copier companies in Georgia and one of the largest in the country.  He sold Southern Copy Machines to Hillman in 1987 and in 1989 ALCO acquired the Hillman Group.  Bill became a member of the AOP Team in 1989. In subsequent years, he became the President of the AOP (IKON) Georgia, managing 1200 employees, 35,000 customers producing more than $200 million dollars in revenue before retiring from AOP in 1999.
  
Catherine and Bill Curran   2010
Bill married Catherine (many of you will remember her) in 1998 and proclaimed “it was the best thing he has ever done”! They still reside in Norcross, GA and are enjoying a great life together!   Bill has had some health issues since 2004, but doing well now (Dec. 2012).

Today, Bill and Catherine travel the world and enjoy as much time as possible at their Hilton Head home.  He and Barry Taylor take a couple of extended, exotic hiking trips in places most people dream of visiting.  In fact, they just returned from a fantastic hiking trip to Machu Picchu, Peru! 

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Earl Benson

Earl - 2011
Earl Benson 1994
Earl Benson  ALCO 
ACME Business Products 
Email (Click Here)

Prior to founding Acme Business Products in 1979, Earl Benson drove a bread truck, delivering bread to groceries and restaurants.  From '79 to '83 and beyond, Earl grew ACME to be one of the largest and leading privately owned office equipment companies in the nation, respected by customers, vendors and manufacturers alike.  Earl sold ACME Business Products, to AOP in 1983 and continued expanding his regional and national responsibilities with AOP until retiring just a few years ago. 
Earl and Sandy  1992  Peter and Ros
Before AOP and while part of the growing office equipment giant, Earl was know as a very strong, hard working, soft spoken, southern gentleman, and "that he was"!  He expected great things from everyone and usually got it!  Earl was definitely a leader in our industry and understood every aspect of this business inside and out.  
Earl and Sandra 2011

Earl and Sandra 1994

Today, Earl and Sandra still live in their beautiful home in Macon and he spends his retirement with Sandra and his family.  "Personally, it was a real pleasure working with Mr. Benson"!   The link below talks more about the kind of people that Earl and Sandy are, please take a look. 
Sandra and Earl on one of our Hawaii trips
2 comments:

Rick Maier

Rick 2010
Rick 19con, GA
Email: Click Here
Birthday: June 16

 Rick was originally from Wilmington, Delaware.  He moved to Macon, GA in 1984 to become President of ALCO's IOS Capital.    IOS Capital was formed to provide lease financing primarily for office equipment marketed in U.S. marketplaces. IOS Capital would later become one of the largest captive finance companies in North America. Rick left IOS in 2000.
Click on this link to see the wonderful people who created and ran Alco Capital Resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xre4RsHNTJE  

Rick 2012
Rick started writing in 1990 and has published  several books and numerous articles.  To learn more about Ricks books and writing, 
Rick 1993

Rick has three adult children and is a board member of  Martha Bowman Church and serves on several boards including Stratford Academy,  Friends of the Trail,  Rotary, Ocmulgee Heritage Trail, College CFO Groups, Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences and The Chamber of Commerce.
Comments by Rick Maier: "I majored in accounting in college to avoid a lot of reading and writing.  As my career in corporate finance advanced, I realized that writing was the key to getting things done; soon my co-workers were calling me ‘memo man’.  In the mid-nineties, I began writing editorials to our local paper and took a couple creative writing courses at Wesleyan College.  Just as 5K road races lead to 10Ks which lead to marathons, short articles led to longer pieces and I began writing Bone Dust in 1998.  It takes me a few months to write a novel, and years to edit.  I ask friends to read the story along the way and take their comments to heart.  This collaborative style works for me, and I hope my friends realize how much I appreciate their help.  Writing is now a primary hobby for me, although it’s not always easy to find time between the often pressing demands of kids, work and social activities. I’ve also found that reading popular fiction is a great way to improve my own writing skills. The most popular authors (e.g. Dan Brown, John Grisham, J. K. Rowling) took ten years and three books to get noticed.  Orange Terrace represents the first decade and third book of my adventure".
2 comments:

John Hey

John Hey 2010 
John Hey 1990
John Hey ALCO
D.C. Hey Company
Email:  Click Here 
Phone:  Click Here

 John Hey began his career with the family business, the D.C. Hey Company in 1973 and became owner and president in 1985.  He grew the business from $5 million to more than $170 million in sales and had more than 1,250 employees.  The D.C. Hey Company became an AOP partner in the early 1990's and John continued to oversee and grow the business as President, and later becoming a regional director  for the AOP.
John and Sandy in 1995
Today, John and Sandy still live in Minneapolis and spend as much time as possible in Naples, FL.  Both of their adult children still live in Minneapolis (No marriages and no grand children at this writing).  Sandy, sold her Minneapolis theater in 2004 but continues to do some production and consulting work in the theater business. John is an associate of "Strategic Business Associates" which he and John Hanson founded in 2001.Strategic Business Associates works with leading entrepreneurs in the US Office Imaging industry. SBA provides unique expertise that blends leadership and management skills, business analysis, growth strategies, and profitability improvement. Including: Leadership skills and training for Business Owners & Key Management,  Business performance analysis using our “Model for Success”, Growth strategies, including Acquisition, Profitability strategies, Business Plan development, Performance based compensation plans, Exit strategies and Implementation of Best Practices.
2 comments:

Jim Hovinga


Jim Hovinga ALCO

Hovinga Business Machines Grand Haven, MI
Hovinga Business Machines, Inc. was founded in May 1973 by Jim Hovinga and was purchased by ALCO in 1989.

Jim Hovinga of Hovinga Business Machines, was one of the early companies purchased by ALCO.  Jim was not only a very nice gentleman, he was also an excellent businessman but didn’t stay long with ALCO/IKON.  He left IKON in 1996 and formed JPH Properties,  in 1997 Jim formed JPHP Capital,  in 2006 he founded Mojo Group Too and JPHP Condo in 2007, all in Grand Haven, MI.   JimA became very successful (again) in the property, construction and finance business in Michigan.  

Today, Jim and Debra still live in the Grand Haven area and if you have information or details about Jim Hovinga, please email me at this email address.  

 

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Hallie Gibbs

Hallie 1990
Hallie Gibbs 1996
Hallie H. Gibbs  ALCO
Modern Business Systems
Email  (Clidk Here)
Phone (Click Here)
Prior to founding Modern Business Systems in 1965, Hallie was a barber in Central Illinois.  He and Paul Pierce started Modern by selling copy machines out of a garage and grew it to be the largest independent copier dealer in the United States.  Hallie sold Modern Business Systems to AOP and became a partner in 1982.  He retired from AOP in 1996.

Hallie mentioned that his son Bruce, whom many of you know, was co-founded GFI Digital office equipment business in Saint Louis in 1999. "GFI" stands for Gibbs Family Investments.
Hallie 1992
Hallie 1992

 Today, Hallie and Karen still reside in Jefferson City, MO but winter in Palm Springs!  As you may remember, Hallie was always big on "motor coaching".  He has recently acquired a Newel Motor Coach, one of the finest available!  He and Karen  travel the country when-ever and where-ever they get the urge.  Hallie served as chairman of the Easter Seals Telethon in 1988 and 1989 and Honorary Chairmanof the Easter Seals "Walk- With-Me" from 2004 through 2007, raising more than $100,000 for Easter Seals in Jefferson City. In 2007 the Missouri House of Representatives honored Hallie and Karen as Exemplary Citizens in local communities and neighborhoods through excellence of their endeavors as entrepreneurs and philanthropists.  It is also obvious that Hallie and Karen are very proud of their children and 12 grandchildren. To say the least, they are really enjoying their retirement!  

 Every year (for 33 years) Hallie takes a group of friends and associates pheasant hunting which has become a highlight of the year for him!

 Hallie and Karen are doing great but both had knee replacement surgery in the fall of 2012 and after recovery they both were as good as new and didn't slow down at all.  Karen recently (Jan. 2014) had back surgery and is recovering at home in Jefferson City. 
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