Meet the 2022 STIHL Hardware All Stars: Ill., Ind., Iowa
Here are the next three in the latest class of STIHL 2022 Hardware Store All Stars that represent community-oriented, customer-focused, high-performance hardware-and-building-supply retailing at its finest. From each of the 50 United States, HBSDealer recognized an All-Star performer.
You can read about all 50 honorees here in the digital issue of HBSDealer. Additionally, HBSDealer.com will highlight a handful of honorees one batch at a time. Three 2022 high performers from Illinois, Indiana and Iowa are featured below.
Illinois
Whitmore Ace team members created Melissa’s Closet, a yearly prom dress drive that provides dresses to girls for $5. Named for their former team member, Melissa, a young cashier, who died before prom, the Ace team remembers how hard she worked to pay off that dress. All proceeds from the prom dress drive go to a scholarship in her name. About helping others, Whitmore Ace Marketing Director Laurie Becker said, “doing Melissa’s Closet shows how helping brings the community together.”
Indiana
Kabelin Hardware began in 1912 when the great grandfather of owners Diana Kabelin Corely, Betsy Kabelin Parkison and Kristine Kabelin Moore, bought into a hardware store in La Porte. The company has grown to six stores ranging from 8,000 to 62,000 square feet. Kabelin also owns a music store and has added UPS stores inside three locations. Gene Carpenter, purchasing manager said, “we are a certified woman-owned company with over 230 associates in five towns in Northwest Indiana.
Iowa
A major expansion in 2016 made How-To the go-to for outdoor power equipment, grills, and appliances. A full-service paint department is considered a Top 10 paint destination in the state. When supply chain disruptions stalled appliance sales, the Sioux Center store loaned out display units to customers and retrieved them upon delivery and installation of new units, free of charge. The dealer recently partnered with the City of Sioux Center to help provide more affordable housing in the community.
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Special thanks to STIHL for its support of the ALL-STAR project. (Note: Not all honorees are STIHL dealers.)