People first is more than just a nice slogan; it's truly how MITER does business. Karen Watson popped in to say hello to her fellow colleagues, and shared a bit about her nearly 30 year career on the Milgard side. With territories in Western Canada, Alaska, Washington State, and Hawaii, there is never a dull moment for this industry pro.

Sales training events allow colleagues a chance to sharpen their skills and connect with each other. These three all work in the sales side for Western Window Systems, and our conversation reflects their energy and personalities. You'll hear why building relationships is a natural thing for them to do, and why customers appreciate connecting with them.

Sometimes our experiences elsewhere helps us see how wonderful our present circumstances are. Eric has spent time in large organizations, and he has been instrumental in getting our companies integrated. As an HR professional, Eric appreciates the "people-first" attitudes that prevail with MITER Brands leadership.

Customer service is a critical piece of any successful business, and great leaders come from the ground up. Jillian began 17 years ago on the manufacturing floor and now leads the teams taking care of customer and warranty services for the western side of MITER Brands. With the tremendous legacy to uphold, Jillian appreciates the opportunity to embrace new technologies that allow for improvements in the customer experience.

As the Operations Manager for Internal Supply, overseeing nearly 200 team members, Marc is a wealth of knowledge! He understands the process as someone who began 31 years ago on the production floor. He and his team are continually working to innovate and improve how we manufacture our extrusions in Tacoma. Like others, he is learning more about AI to expand our capabilities.

When people love what they do, it's been said they don't work a day of their life. After 22 years at MITER Brands, Tim enjoys working in his current role as Pricing Manager for Milgard. It provides a great opportunity for him to leverage his years of experience across various roles. Tim is also involved with the MITER Foundation and appreciating the teamwork involved in that effort.

Meeting colleagues on the other side of the country is such a fun thing to do! And then learning how their expertise supports the business. Jeremiah (a fellow Iowa native) shares about his various roles in the business over a 20+ year tenure. He now serves as VP of Marketing Operations. Joanie is working on a major puzzle, blending two different SalesForce platforms across our enterprise. She began as an intern and has grown tremendously in her career at MITER Brands, always focusing on what is possible.

What makes a company innovative? Is it the people, the products, or their process? Maybe it's a magical mix of all three. Kevin and Erik share a bit about their roles in researching and developing products for our Western brands (Milgard, Western Window Systems, and Anlin Windows & Doors). The collaboration between product marketing and engineering allows for growth of this market share and profitability.

Some folks just inspire others to greatness - and Dave Alexander is definitely one of those people. His enthusiasm for leading our Manufacturing Excellence Teams is evident - and a bit contagious! With the challenge of 20 manufacturing sites, and thousands of products manufactured daily, Dave remains humble while in the relentless pursuit of 100%. You'll learn about the attitude and mindset around the quality initiatives across all of the MITER Brands product portfolios.

Building relationships is an intentional component of our business, and the ETP trip allows for that very thing. Today we peek behind the curtain and chat about what goes into planning this trip, the criteria for going, and why we continue to provide this amazing trip for our partners. Brian and Katie share a bit about their experience and why it's so valuable to our customers, and to us.