ISSUE NUMBER 18

JUNE 2023

A MESSAGE FROM NICK HARITOS

AIS STAFF VOLUNTEERS

Alison Achilles

(DATA ENTRY)

Marjorie Bilodeau

(PROJECT

MANAGEMENT)

Jenny Cooper (CSR)

Aileen Harris (CSR)

Julie Cronin (DATA ENTRY)

Christine Cruz (CSR)

Debbie Falconer (CSR)

Jay Macchione (ENGINEERING)

Rick Marchand (BOOST)

Sarah Mott (CSR)

Shelly Richardson (DATA ENTRY)

Kelly Stevens (CSR)

Thatsany (TT) Thirakoune (CSR)

Lynn Walker (CSR)

Tammy Walsh (HR)

Elyse Williams (CSR)

PROVIDING MEALS TO FAMILIES

Just the Right Number of Cooks in the Kitchen to Get the Job Done

Where would you turn if you couldn’t provide shelter or food for your family?

Fortunately, there are resources out there to assist but many are overwhelmed and rely on the support of generous companies and volunteers.

AIS and a group of employees stepped up to help.

Organized by the company’s Boost committee and funded by AIS, a group of volunteer employees provided food and household items to four families living in a shelter supported by North Star Family Services. The goal was to provide meals for seven days which included groceries and a hot, cooked meal each evening.

AIS staffers from data entry, customer service, human resources, engineering, and project management signed up for various duties including shopping, cooking, and delivering the meals. First up was the massive shopping trip to purchase household supplies, and food for the residents who make their own their breakfast and lunch and pack snacks for the kids to take to school.

Meals included a main dish, a starch, vegetable, and dessert and were prepared by a variety of the volunteers in their own kitchens with the cost of ingredients covered by AIS. Each morning, staffers brought in the food in disposable pans donated by AIS and by 9:30, they were delivered ready to heat for the evening meal.

Among the entrees prepared were rice with chicken, mixed vegetables, garden salad, green bean casserole, American chop suey, chicken tenders, and roasted potatoes. Desserts included lemon cake, cookies and brownies, and a trifle. For two of the nights, AIS covered the bill for a pizza night and take out from a local Italian eatery.

AIS has volunteered to provide a week’s worth of meals four times per year. The local Spanish American Club has offered kitchen space so that our volunteers can cook the meals together in a commercial kitchen. Watch for information about the next opportunity to help these families get back on their feet.

OUR PEOPLE

Welcome to AIS - New Hires

Yarieli Encarnacion

Order Entry Representative

yencarnacion@ais-inc.com 

An AIS employee since 2021 when she began work in the factory as a pre-assembler and later on the control team, Yarieli “Jay” joined the order entry team in April. In her new role, Yarieli enters orders, ensures accuracy, and interacts with dealers to complete orders.

Prior to AIS, Yarieli worked on the packing line at a manufacturer of medical products. Originally from the Dominican Republic, she now resides in Leominster. Jay is trilingual speaking Spanish, English, and Portuguese.

Dave Sage

Specials Estimator

dsage@ais-inc.com

Dave returns to AIS in this new role having previously worked in installation from 2017-20. In this new role, Dave provides “specials” pricing for custom or modified versions of our standard product offerings.  

He works closely with the manufacturing and engineering departments to determine the viability, then provides quotes or recommendations to help them accomplish their goals.

He holds an Associate’s Degree in show production and is an avid outdoor and event photographer.

 Joan Hanson

Territory Manager, Eastern PA, Southern NJ, DE

jhanson@ais-inc.com 

609-280-0425

Joan began her new role after Dan Toomey retired from AIS. She is collaborating with the dealer network and influencers to increase awareness and sales for AIS. Joan’s career has primarily been in manufacturing and design.

Joan enjoys being outdoors, especially gardening and hiking, and is an avid Philly sports fan. She, and her husband Jeff, have an 11-month-old Mini Bernedoodle puppy that they are training to become a therapy dog.

Zoey Zarkadas

Customer Experience Manager

 zzarkadas@ais-inc.com

617.571.1228

Zoey is working to optimize the AIS customer experience through the strategic design, implementation, and optimization of customer facing programs and initiatives. Zoey has many years of experience in management and customer service including customer experience at (Creative) Office Resources and Red Thread - both furniture dealerships

She holds a Bachelor's in business management and resides in Watertown with her spouse and two dog. They visit Maine frequently to enjoy a getaway and the beach.

Taylor Picard

Receptionist

tpicard@ais-inc.com

978.562.7500



As part of the strategic resource team (SRT), Taylor is the first point of contact for visitors and callers, directing callers, greeting guests and maintaining an organized, welcoming lobby. She is also responsible for managing mail, assisting SRT and marketing, and supporting other teams on various projects.

Taylor has held numerous customer service positions in both the retail and restaurant industries. She is attending Quinsigamond Community College. She enjoys her dog, Tucker, indulging in a good TV show, and spending time outdoors.

Staffers on the Move

PROMOTIONS

Marjorie Bilodeau

Senior Project Manager

mbilodeau@ais-inc.com

978.567.5147 

Marj was promoted to senior project manager and will now manage the team’s workload in addition to managing complex projects. Her 16 years of experience, attention to detail and vast design and product knowledge will make her successful in this role.

She holds a Bachelor's in Interior Design from Becker College. Marj enjoys her two cats, Mac and Wilson, who live with her in Rhode Island. She spends as much time as possible on the beach, experiments with cooking, and enjoys traveling 

to new destinations.

Sophie Neto

Strategic Support Team Manager

sneto@ais-inc.com 978.567.5180

Sophie, a 10-year veteran of AIS, has been promoted to strategic support team manager in SRT. She is now responsible for the continued development, management, and maintenance of sales tools including our CRM and DealerNet, oversight of literature and samples, and managing the strategic resource assistant and front desk and reception staff.

This summer, Sophie will be moving from Marlborough to Leominster with her cat, Itty Bitty and her Barry Gibb collection.

Natalie Cardozo

Strategic Resource Asst.

Natalie.cardozo@ais-inc.com

978.562.7500

Natalie has been promoted from receptionist to strategic resource assistant in SRT where she will assist with opportunity registration, bid responses, supporting contracts, and helping dealers and reps. She speaks fluent Spanish and assists with translations including for this newsletter, The Insider.

A resident of Leominster, originally from Uruguay, Natalie resides here with her five-year-old daughter Leliana and boyfriend, Ryan with the rest of her family nearby. Natalie enjoys baking, Disney, and Harry Potter.

Help Us Find New Talent

Earn an Employee Referral Bonus!

Earn $500 for EVERY referral – there’s no limit on the amount you can earn. Employees who refer a candidate that is hired for a full-time position will receive a referral bonus of $500. Half ($250) will be paid out 30 days from the referred employee’s start date, and the second $250 will be paid when the referred employee has worked for 3 months. In order to qualify, both the referred candidate AND the AIS employee must be currently employed at AIS.

Irma Baez

Miguel Contreras 

Sylvia Gonzalez

Daniel Seiler 

Jose V Alonso 

Miguel Alvarez

Angel Cardona

Fidel Cardona Baez

Antonio Dominguez 

Benito Gonzalez

Esteban Marquez

Macrina M Mendoza-Cardona 

Martha A Reyes

Maria Reyes

Rafael Martinez

Margarito Rivera

Karon Brown

Martha Roades

Gloria Rangel 

Terrilyn Williams

Adam D Yarbro

Katharine Sommer

WELCOME

BABIES!

Remember! After ONE YEAR, your health spending account (HSA) password will expire, To prevent expiration, be sure to login more than once a year.

If you need assistance, the account manager can be reached at 877.765.8810 or employerservices@wexhealth.com

AIS Kicks it on the Soccer Field

AIS employees, and a few family members, came together to enjoy a game of soccer on Leominster's historic Doyle Field on a beautiful spring afternoon.

Factory Birthday Celebrations

Each month, the factory celebrates team members' birthdays with pizza and cake.

FEBRUARY 2023

Lunch for Factory Leaders

Supervisors and managers in the factory were treated to a lunch in appreciation of the hard work they have done to ramp up production.

REMINDER! Company Policy Prohibits the Sharing of Passwords

If you need access to a password protected resource, please contact your immediate supervisor and request that they submit a Helpdesk ticket for access.

Memorial Day 

Remembering those who sacrificed so much.

The lobby and grounds (left) at our headquarters in Leominster, Mass. have been decorated to pay tribute to our fallen heroes. AIS sponsored the flag (below) which is comprised of dog tags with names of local heroes. AIS thanks them for their service and remembers our service men and women from Massachusetts.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Mother's Day Celebrated in the Factory

A sweet treat - chocolate of course! - helped all the moms in the factory celebrate Mother's Day. Thanks to HR for providing the deliciousness and taking time out to wish all the moms a great day.

Father's Day Celebrated in the Factory

When Father's Day rolled around in June, HR was sure to provide a treat for them too. We're hoping that there were a few winners out there when they scratched off the instant lottery tickets!

At the North Central Regional Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting, Bruce Platzman, co-founder and vice chair of AIS was recognized for his years of service on the chamber's board of directors including on the executive committee.

Also at the meeting, Nick Haritos, president

Giving Back, Getting More

Submitted by Jeanice Bulnes, SRT

I was able to be part of the North Central Chamber of Commerce 2023 Community Leadership Institute. The Institute is an opportunity to build skills and confidence for the company you work for and for the community you live in. Together we learned how to work as team and help to make a change in the community we live in, planning a legacy project that hopefully leaves a mark and can continue to grow.

Graduating seniors are faced with important decisions, however, not all student experiences are created equal. Many traditional avenues exist for students who have demonstrated academic excellence. We wanted to recognize a different, yet deserving, segment of students. 

My group created a scholarship to support non-traditional students who want to complete coursework to obtain a professional license. We partnered with MY TURN who focuses on socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged youth. We were pleased to exceed our fundraising goal of $14,000 to award $2,000 to scholarships to seven students to continue their education in areas that will result in self-employment including cosmetology, real estate, and massage therapy.

JC White

Miami Gardens, Florida

Empire Office

Hollywood, Florida

Atlanta Office Furniture

Norcross, Georgia

Business Environments

Atlanta, Georgia

Brett Stortz

Territory Manager Midwest

Business Office Systems

Illinois

ABOUT OUR ELITE DEALERS

AIS established the Elite Dealer program to reward high-selling dealers with additional benefits.

Earlier this year, the sales leadership team added another level called "Diamond Elite" which provides an even higher level of rewards to dealers who sell greater dollar amounts of AIS product.

We thank these dealers for their support of AIS!

WHAT'S NEW IN PRODUCTS

ABOUT NEOCON | NeoCon is the top trade show and conference for the commercial office furniture industry. It takes place once a year at The Mart, a building in Chicago that houses dozens of showrooms, including ours.

Thousands of furniture dealers, designers, and others interested in the newest products and applications converge on the show for information and inspiration. It takes the entire company to be successful at NeoCon but a special shout out goes to the product line management, marketing, design, sales, and engineering teams for making it all happen. This year, the AIS team greeted about 10,000 guests in our showroom. Well done!

View a Walk Through of Our Chicago Showroom

Watch the video walk through of the Chicago showroom during NeoCon. Guided by Tracy Reed, VP of marketing and communications and Brianne Devine, VP of product line management, see AIS products come to life and learn how they are positioned in the marketplace.

Meet Chelsea!

Chelsea Snow, one of our sales team's New England territory managers, took a spin in our newest task chair (see above) also named Chelsea.

The wall display illustrates how easy it is to assemble. With three parts and three minutes, your Chelsea (The chair that is!) is ready to go.

AIS seating has been named after communities in Massachusetts including: Auburn, Chatham Cove, Bolton, Devens, Essex, Grafton, Natick, Paxton, Revere, Rutland, Stow, and Upton.

ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION