BELLEVILLE, Ill. — Every year, fourth-generation retailer Mueller Furniture recognizes a sales champion, one employee who reached outstanding sales levels.
And every year, that sales champion gets a bonus and gets to select a St. Louis-area charity that gets a donation from the Belleville, Ill.-based retailer. Last year’s sales champion, Alex Martin, decided the company will donate $3,000 to The Kaufman Fund, a St. Louis nonprofit that assists veterans and their families through resources for legal referral, dental referral, mental health referral, employment assistance and other programs that help support the quality of life of veterans.
“Mueller Furniture’s donation will buy three veterans complete sets of dentures. I was able to spend time with the board members of this organization at one of their events last year, and one of the biggest reasons I chose this organization is their board is 100% volunteer,” Martin said. “All of the board members are also veterans themselves spanning the Korean War to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. I’m a firm believer that I owe all of the freedoms I enjoy to the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, and I’m so thankful Mueller Furniture and owners Mark and Viviana for giving me the opportunity to thank them.”
Mark Mueller, owner of Mueller Furniture, said the more he heard about what the Kaufman Fund does, the more he liked being able to help it.
“It’s a bunch of men and ladies who have connections to professional services. They know accountants, dentists, chiropractors, mental health organizations,” Mueller told Furniture Today. “They’ve got a group of these professional services they know they can reach out to for free services for the veterans. That’s amazing. You’ve got a bunch of connected people connecting the veterans to the right places to get these essential services to help their lives.”
Mueller’s sales champion program has been in place for three years, and in addition to the annual award, monthly awards of $250, plus donations of the same amount, are given for top performers. Similar programs are also in place for delivery, service and operations teams.
Located near one of one of America’s top baseball towns, Mueller said the everyday nature of retail is similar to the 162-game baseball season, and recognitions go a long way in managing the ebbs and flows.
“I think it helps everybody strive for excellence and it helps you keep a hot streak longer and get out of a slump quicker,” Mueller said. “Retail is every day. When you’re hot you want to stay hot, and when you’re not feeling your best, you want to figure out how to get the most out of every day. Awards like these help pick you up.”
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