The retirement party for EO Johnson’s Roger King was a fitting send-off to a man who has given so much to his company and beyond.
Top: Frank Cannata (center) and David Pohlman (right) celebrate with Roger during the event’s cocktail reception.
Left: Roger graciously greets, regales, and thanks all those in attendance. 2nd from left to right: Gordon Flesch Company’s Patrick Flesch, Modern Office Method’s Kevin McCarthy, and C.A. Reding Company’s Steve Reding all attended the event and paid special tribute to Roger.
CJ and I had the good fortune to be invited to the retirement party for Roger King, the former president of EO Johnson Company in Wausau, Wisconsin. The venue was packed with friends; EO Johnson employees; fellow dealers, including Patrick Flesch of Gordon Flesch Company, Kevin McCarthy of Modern Office Methods, and Mark Steadman of Stan’s LPS Midwest; and representatives from EO Johnson’s business partners, including David Pohlman of GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp. and Gary Willert of LMI, who have worked closely with King over the years.
After cocktails and a buffet dinner, tributes to King were shared by a string of speakers who shared their heartfelt connections to the guest of honor. Mary Jo Johnson, daughter of the founder and current CEO of the dealership, spoke with a mixture of joy and sadness as she described King as more like a brother than someone who had spent 44 years employed by the dealership. Dave Greene, EO Johnson’s current president and COO, and Dave Johnson, vice president of sales and branch operations, who worked alongside King for 37 years, followed Mary Jo. Dave Johnson and King’s bond of friendship was evident to all present. More speakers followed, and the message was consistent””everyone respected and admired King and thoroughly enjoyed their relationship.
One of King’s greatest gifts has been the ability to make everyone feel important. We, at The Cannata Report, have known him for the past 12 years, and every time we met, he has always made a point of saying how much he appreciated what we were doing, ending each conversation with, “Count your blessings.”
King’s tenure established him as a leader in the classic sense. He spent his entire career at EO Johnson, having joined the company following his college graduation. He made staff and employees know how grateful he was to spend his entire business career working for one company. He also made sure team members knew how much he valued their contributions. In previous discussions and interviews, King expressed enormous respect for the dealership’s founder, and he embraced the culture and values that he espoused.
With a generous nod to Mary Jo Johnson, who supported King and encouraged this very talented man to help bring her family’s company to new heights, EO Johnson grew exponentially under King’s tenure. Today, the company represents Canon, Ricoh, and Toshiba, and has headquarters in Wausau with branches in Eau Claire and LaCrosse, Wisconsin, driving revenues of more than $50 million. On October 14, 2014, EO Johnson acquired IT company Agosto in Minneapolis, which has been a big contributor to the company’s growth.
In today’s market of mega-dealerships, achieving more than $50 million in revenues may not seem like an amazing feat, but it truly is. EO Johnson’s three-city market has a combined population of 750,000 people. EO Johnson dominates this specific territory with what we estimate to be a 75% market share. We’d like to note, the company had firmly established this market share before acquiring Agosto.
While in Wisconsin, we took the opportunity to visit EO Johnson’s Eau Claire location. For us, the highlight was its production print center. After touring the facility, CJ exclaimed, “We have visited with the top 30 independent dealerships in the United States and none have a production print product area as good as that.” I agree.
In the fall, we will be producing an issue devoted to production print, and we’re thrilled to prominently feature the EO Johnson Customer Experience Center in Eau Claire. We want to thank Mary Jo Johnson for her generous hospitality while in Wisconsin, and Dave Johnson, Jeff Reuter, director, production print, and Aaron Black, production print field manager, for taking the time to conduct a tour and allow us to interview their team of professionals.
To our friend Roger King, we wish you the best. Our industry has been fortunate to have had you for 44 years, and your many friends will never forget you. Thanks to you, we will remember always to count our blessings.
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