ALCO OFFICE PRODUCTS



BELOW IS A LIST OF "WHO WE WERE"
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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"

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George Fortino (Deceased)


George Anthony Fortino, 81, of Elkhart, passed away on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, at Ernestine Raclin House Center for Hospice.

He was born on January 13, 1940, in Elkhart, Indiana, to Frank and Mary Fortino. George later married the love of his life, Sandra Kemble, at St. Mary's Catholic Church, beginning a devoted partnership that would span nearly six decades.

George was a respected businessman and entrepreneur, serving as co-owner and president of St. John’s Business Machine and Fort Wayne Business Products. Under his leadership, his companies rose to national prominence, ranking among the top ten dealers for Canon copiers—a testament to his work ethic, leadership, and commitment to excellence.

Outside of his professional life, George embraced the things he loved most. He was an avid fan of the Chicago Blackhawks and found great enjoyment in golf and fishing. George and Sandy spent their winters in Naples, where he could often be found on the golf course or out on the water—two of his favorite places. Together, they shared a love for jazz music, dancing, hunting, and entertaining friends, creating a lifetime of cherished memories.

Above all, George’s greatest joy was the time he spent with his family and friends. He was a man who valued relationships, loyalty, and the simple pleasures of life.

George's wife of 58 years, Sandy passed away in April 2026.  

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George (1989)
George (2012)
George Fortino  ALCO
St. Johns Business Machines

 George was a founding partner of St. Johns Business Machines, acquired by ALCO in 1988.  George continued to operate St Johns until 1991 at which time he retired, moved to Naples to spend time playing golf, travel and fish.
George and Sandy (April 2012)
                                                 
1988 Newspaper Ad
Sandy and Mr Murase 1990
George 1990
George 1989

1989 Cruise

The last time I had the pleasure of seeing George was in 2012, when Joyce and I joined him and Sandy for brunch in Naples. It was a wonderful visit filled with conversation and reflection, as we reminisced about many of our mutual AOP friends, shared experiences, and memorable trips over the years.

George and I also enjoyed revisiting our time as Canon dealers, exchanging stories that brought back a number of meaningful moments from our professional lives.

George and Sandy sold their Naples home in 2012 and moved back to South Bend, Indiana.

Sandra L. Fortino
December 28, 1938 — April 24, 2026 

Elkhart, Indiana

Sandra L. Fortino, age 87, of Elkhart, passed away on Friday, April 24, 2026 at Esther’s House Center for Hospice in Elkhart, IN. She was born on December 28, 1938 in Elkhart to Robert and Betty Warner. Sandy was raised most of her life by her grandma Hazel Johnson, while her father was at war honorably serving his country. Sandy married George Fortino on July 29, 1963 in Elkhart, IN together they celebrated over 58 years of marriage. George preceded her October 27, 2021.

Sandy graduated from Elkhart High School, class of 1956. She and her husband wintered in Naples, Florida. They also enjoyed listening to jazz music, dancing, and entertaining friends. Sandy was an amazing lady, she enjoyed cooking wonderful dishes for family and friends to enjoy. If someone was not feeling well, Sandy was known for making them a nice cozy spot. Her greatest love was spending time with her family and friends.

Sandy and George are survived by theri children, Mark (Carol Fournier) Kemble of New Buffalo, MI and Jeanne Sawyer of Elkhart; grandchildren Ross (Amanda) Sawyer of FT. Wayne, IN., and Alexandra (Andy) Suever of Indianapolis, IN; great-grandchildren Leighton Sawyer, Lena Sawyer, Georgia Suever, Warren Sawyer, Goldie Suever, Scarlett Suever and Dean Sawyer; her sister-in-law Mary Jo (Jim) Kiefer of Naples, FL; cousin David Robison and several special nieces and nephews. Sandy was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Betty Warner; Aunt Marian Wade, daughter Christine “Chrissy” Ann Fortino and grandson Nicholas Sawyer and her siblings.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church, Bristol, IN. Burial at Oakridge Cemetery in Bristol, IN.  Memorial donations may be made to St. Mary's Catholic Church, 411 West Vistula Street, Bristol, IN 46507, www.stmarysbristol.com, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, www.stjude.org. Stemm Lawson Peterson Funeral Home presided.



4 comments:

Bill Cracklen

Bill 1990
Claudette and Bill 1992
Bill Cracklen ALCO
Benndorf-Verster
Vancouver BC, Canada  



 

W.D. “Bill” Cracklen passed away on August 21, 2025, on his own terms. He is remembered with love by his devoted wife of 44 years, Claudette; his children, Cindy Jewel (Leonard), Grant, and Todd; and his cherished grandchildren, Jesse (Jef) and Daniel. He also leaves behind many friends, along with a large circle of former employees and business associates who will remember him with great respect and appreciation.

 https://complexefuneraire.ca/en/obituaries/226972-william-bill-cracklen/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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.  

Bill and Claudette have 3 adult children and 2 grandchildren all in Vancouver. Claudette still enjoys photography, golf and their grandchildren, family and friends in Quebec, Vancouver and Florida!  
1 comment:

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.
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