Amazing how a college trip to FL at 19 years old would be the beginning of an entire career in the health and beauty care industry. Little did I know that selling suntan lotion in Northern Wisconsin would be the foundation of Steve Anderson & Associates. Living in Minneapolis was not exactly the nations “hotspot” for suncare products, but I loved every minute from the time I invested my only $721 to purchase Native Tan which I sold to drugstores and resorts. I pursued other small companies looking for a young aggressive sales rep and was fortunate that a few allowed me that opportunity. Our agency sold to every drug, food and mass account in MN, WI, IA, ND and SD. St. Ives was just expanding when I contacted them and became their broker. Being one of the original brokers from their start in 1980 was certainly one of my proudest achievements. In addition, Kao Corporation, which at the time was considered the "Procter & Gamble of Japan", was trying to enter the US. They launched in two test markets, one in Portland, ME and the other in Minneapolis and I was thrilled when they selected us to be their broker. Minneapolis was the larger market of the two and was their focal point. I worked closely with their senior management and we had an incredibly successful introduction of their ActiBath bath tablet. Even though the product was never successful on a national basis, it gave them knowledge of the US marketplace and led to their acquisition of the Andrew Jergens Co. This gave Kao the entrée into the US market and is now a major US supplier. After all these years, I still enjoy a strong relationship with my Japanese contact as he has visited me several times, including last summer. With the help of some great employees, our agency grew and in 1991 we agreed to be acquired by Sales Force Companies, Inc. which was one of the largest food brokers with nine offices. I agreed to move to Chicago to be their VP of GM/HBC. I enjoyed the challenge of working with bigger and more powerful manufactures and after four years decided to take those skills to Hockfield & Associates. Ed Hockfield had a solid business with numerous retailers in Illinois and Wisconsin and I learned a tremendous amount, not only from Ed, but from our vendor partners. As the business consolidated and retailers merged or were acquired, we focused our business on Walgreens which today accounts for 100% of our attention. We have been blessed with a great team of people which has allowed Hockfield to continue to grow and expand our service level to Walgreens and our vendors.