The Bender Pipeline

October 2023

Bender Earns Top Workplace Award 

Once again, we’d like to congratulate all our teammates for earning the prestigious Top Workplace Award from the Hartford Courant. This award is a celebration of each and every one of you and your contribution to making our company a great place to work. 

Welcome New Bender Teammates! 

Antonio Albuquerque – Norwalk

Justin Hatch – New Haven

Jennifer Russel – Waterbury

Alicia Pelletier – New Haven

Josue Acevedo – New Haven

Amy D’Amaro – New Haven

Jesus Vargas – Bridgeport

Nicodemus Leduc – Waterbury

Matthew Opekun – Waterbury

Franco Pons – Norwalk 

Thank You! And Please, Come Again 

Thank you to all our teammates who joined us at Holiday Hill for our summer company outing! Your presence and enthusiasm added a special touch to the day, making it a memorable event filled with fun, laughter, and camaraderie. We hope you will join us at our next event, tentatively scheduled for January 2024. 

And the Winner Is…

We are thrilled to announce that Bender has been named a 2023 HOBI Award winner for Best Supplier Website by the HBRA of Connecticut! This award is a testament to our commitment to excellence and reaffirms our dedication to providing top-notch service and resources to our valued customers. Thanks to those who helped make this happen – we appreciate your dedication to Bender’s success. 

Happy Anniversary!

Congratulations to these Bender employees who celebrated a milestone anniversary last quarter. 


One Year:

  • Luis Colon
  • James Vincent
  • Julian Carvalho
  • Jason Santana


Five Years:

  • Brendan Dyer
  • Robert Whitley
  • Joseph Staron
  • Christina Fay



Ten Years:

  • Jason Giannone
  • Deb Keegan 

Employee Spotlight - Mike Ki

What is your position?

Branch Manager for Bridgeport and Norwalk


How long have you been working at Bender?

Over 3 years - time has flown by!

How do you plan your days at Bender?

Most of my days are planned for me! (Thanks Leanne, Susan, and Alicia!) The first and last thing I do every day is check my calendar. Although there is a lot of “firefighting” throughout the day, I try to keep to the schedule as best as I can so that I can stay focused on the tasks and meetings at hand.


What do you like most about working at Bender?

Something new happens every day and I try to learn from those experiences. The thing I like most though are the people I get to work with. I am surrounded by amazing teammates, who I also learn from, that make the day go by quickly.

 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

My spare time revolves around my family. On the weekends we run errands and go to any sports or activities the kids have scheduled. My wife and I want to make sure that the kids are able to experience everything they can, and it makes me happy being able to experience things with them. If for some reason there was absolutely nothing going on, I would hopefully be listening to and making music.


What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

Food. 😊 But seriously, anyone that knows me will tell you that I live to eat!


Name one thing on your bucket list.

Don’t really have a bucket list, but my goal is to be able to travel and experience as much as I can. I didn’t get to do it when I was younger so if I could experience it with my family, it’d be even better.



You’re happiest when…

I’m around a lot of my friends and family, or on vacation with the family.

Team Member Announcements

Join us in celebrating these Bender colleagues!


Congratulations to Chris and Malaura Pannoni who welcomed baby Stella in July.


Best wishes to Krystal Day and her husband, Ralph Day, who were married on September 2 in Stamford. 

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