Columbia is proud to welcome Brian Wagoner to the team. Brian has been brought on as the National Program Specialist for the U.S. Communities program. He will primarily be working in the field, consulting with dealers and customers on the benefits of Columbia products and the U.S. Communities program.
Brian said that his primary reason for working with Columbia is " . . . the relationship with the management of the company. Over the past many years, Columbia was a supplier to our company and in that time, I got to know the values of the company and found them to be full of integrity, honest and fair. That is a rare combination and when choosing what to do with this chapter of my life, that made the choice easy." He feels that the U.S. Communities program can be a game changer for dealers all over the U.S. "The U.S. Communities program is the single most important program to all participants that I have ever been part of. Most programs are designed to disproportionately favor one party over the other but this program gives equal weight to all participants. Further, it opens opportunity doors for dealerships that have never been available before and lastly, it provides a great service to public and qualifying entities by saving them great amounts of time and money which benefit us all in the long run."
Brian comes from a unique military and sales background. He served 7 years in the U.S. Navy as a Navy diver and submarine nuclear power operator. He also has over 30 years experience in dealerships in various departments including parts, service, and sales and has held the roles of branch manager and most recently dealer principal.
When asked about his hobbies and interests, Brian had this to say, "[My] current interests are food, music, travel and USC Football and the USC Marching Band. I also consider work to be a bit of a hobby. Its choice-driven, which is something I love and it is particularly rewarding to help other people in their careers."
More About Columbia
Based in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, Columbia is a premier electric vehicle manufacturer whose history dates back to 1946. Columbia has one of the most expansive electric vehicle product line-ups in the world, producing electric vehicles for private use as well as commercial and industrial applications that include models that move from 1 to 24 people, carry up to 6,000 pounds of payload, tow up to 16,000 pounds and travel up to 25 miles per hour. To learn more about Columbia, visit http://columbiavehicles.com/.
Columbia Vehicle Group, Inc. is a member of the Nordic Group of Companies, Ltd. Nordic Group (headquartered in Baraboo, Wisconsin) is a privately-held holding company consisting of subsidiaries with 22 facilities, and 24 marketing units around the world with over 2,400 associates. Nordic Group member companies manufacture and distribute plastic, seating and transportation products worldwide for industrial, commercial and consumer markets. For more information, visit www.nordicgroup.com.
More About U.S. Communities
U.S. Communities is the leading national government purchasing cooperative, providing world class government procurement resources and solutions to local and state government agencies, school districts (K-12), higher education institutions, and nonprofit organizations. U.S. Communities was founded in 1996 as a partnership with National Sponsors. Today, our National Sponsors include the Association of School Business Officials, the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the United States Conference of Mayors, and the National Governors Association. U.S. Communities is the first cooperative purchasing program to earn the NIGP Accredited Cooperative (NAC) accreditation. More than 55,000 registered agencies, education institutions and nonprofits utilize U.S. Communities contracts to procure more than $2.3 billion in products and services annually.