September-October 2022 - 30

HILLARY HIGGINS
Hillary Higgins, sales strategy manager with Ararmark,
is utilizing her experience from the convenience store
industry to elevate the customer experience in the micro
market industry. She is passionate about driving product
sales and product selection within micro markets. She is
excited about the evolution of micro markets and what all
they will become.
JAIME IBANEZ
Jaime Ibanez is the owner of Vending
Bites, a vending machine company
established in 2018 and serves the
Dallas-Fort Worth area. Ibanez makes
YouTube videos about his vending business
and has over 485,000 subscribers.
The company has built long-lasting relationships with
numerous customers all over Dallas-Fort Worth. Ibanez
was recently featured in The Dallas Morning News as a
successful young entrepreneur.
BLAKE JONES
Blake Jones is second-generation owner
and vice president of Pot O' Gold Coffee
Service, a large independent office coffee
service in Washington state. Alongside
running the company with his father, the
majority of his time is spent on sales and
marketing. Since the devastating loss of business during
the COVID-19 pandemic, he has worked tirelessly to gain
85% of its sales back, servicing over 180 new customers.
A large part of the company's growth came from a
decision made at the beginning of the pandemic. Jones
took the steps to make a change - not only is it an office
coffee service, but it is also now licensed and providing
kegs, cans and bottles to its customers, officially making it
a one-stop shop for the breakroom. Jones' and his team's
dedication to clients got them where they are today.
BRIDGER KEALLY
Bridger Keally started as the sales director
at Panoptyc with an extensive background
in sales but little knowledge of the vending
industry. After consulting with industry
experts and operators, he quickly realized
the stress that theft and labor shortages
were inflicting and the need for Panoptyc's solution.
Since then, Keally has been instrumental in bringing
Panoptyc to almost 3,000 active markets across the
country. To keep up with this growth, Keally aims to
integrate with kiosk providers and other key industry
partners to make Panoptyc's services as seamless and
accessible as possible for customers. Looking forward,
he is focused on providing solutions for vendors outside
of just micro market theft. He relishes the opportunity
to meet with customers at conferences and site visits to
explore their challenges and develop solutions. Keally is a
graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder.
KEITH KRAIL
Keith Krail joined AVS Companies in
August 2021 as a digital marketing
manager, and he was quickly promoted
to the director of marketing in March
2022. With prior marketing experience
in the legal industry, his enthusiasm
and his attention to detail have allowed the
company to achieve great success with exciting
new marketing initiatives and updated processes.
Krail and his team provide marketing support for
several divisions within the company, including:
vending, amusements, gaming, parts and service.
With a greater emphasis on customer growth and
communication, he has made several important
changes to better position AVS for the future, such
as having larger presences at trade shows, where
he was able to showcase the company's subsidiaries
(US Products and Premium Product Group). Krail is
overjoyed to be working for AVS Companies, and he
is extremely grateful for the assistance provided to
him by his marketing team (Rebekah Cartlidge and
Eric Schreiner).
ALYSSA LESMEISTER
Alyssa Lesmeister is an experienced
account management professional at
Custom Data Solutions and has a proven
track record of overseeing a portfolio
of acclaimed clientele and an internal
team of account managers and support
specialists. Lesmeister earned her bachelor's in
business administration and marketing from Western
Michigan University, and over the past 12 years, she has
demonstrated her expertise in account management,
employee training and marketing, earning her
promotions from an account support position to
her current role as manager of the account services
department. She manages a team of six and regularly
conducts trainings, web demonstrations and sales
presentations for potential and current clients and
brokers. Lesmeister works closely with her CEO and
national sales director to keep up with industry trends
and attends trade shows. She is passionate about
the services and results that Custom Data Solutions
provides its clients and takes pride in her knowledge of
the company and its products and services.
" Bridger Keally has been
instrumental in bringing
Panoptyc to almost 3,000 active
markets across the country. "
30 Automatic Merchandiser * September/October 2022
September-October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September-October 2022
