BERNINA Honors Its Outstanding Dealers

AURORA, IL--(Marketwired - Jul 15, 2015) - BERNINA of America, the premier manufacturer of sewing, embroidery and quilting machines, is pleased to honor its top Dealers that demonstrated exemplary sales, service and customer education in 2014. These Dealers were recognized at BERNINA University, BERNINA of America's annual Dealer training conference, which was held July 9 - 12 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"Our top Dealers represented BERNINA with outstanding sales, first-class customer service and educational support in 2014," said Paul Ashworth, president of BERNINA of America. "These Dealers are exemplary and a model of success for our other BERNINA Dealers to emulate. We are proud to recognize them."

Linda Zachman of Linda Z's in Arlington Heights, Ill. received the BERNINA Presidential Award. The award recognizes the Dealer that best exemplifies the spirit of cooperation and education represented by the BERNINA brand. This includes successful promotion and advertising of the entire BERNINA product line, a modern store merchandising concept, a well-developed educational approach, dedication to total customer service, and above-average growth in dollar sales and BERNINA units sold. 

The Rookie of the Year Award was presented to two Dealers: Cathy Daum of Quilt Beginnings in Columbus, Ohio, and Bob and Deborah Cornella of Quilter's Quest in Woodridge, Ill. They best incorporated the lessons of BERNINA Dealer training into their operation and delivered impressive 2014 results.

In addition, District Dealer of the Year Award winners from BERNINA of America's 11 districts were acknowledged:

• Nick Meabon, Branum's Sewing and Vacuum, Augusta, Ga.
• Barb Perry, Aurora Sewing Center, East Aurora, N.Y.
• Linda Zachman, Linda Z's, Arlington Heights, Ill.
• Ron Gattinella, Close to Home, Glastonbury, Conn.
• Vida and Joe Baker, Rogers Sewing Center, Rogers, Ark.
• Marilyn Harlow, BERNINA World of Sewing, Raleigh, N.C.
• Mona Jones, Sew This, Abita Springs, La.
• Ingrid Leake, Sew Hut, San Diego, Calif.
• Treasure and Scot Auble, The Quilting Bee, Spokane, Wash.
• Darren Coombs, Blow's Sew & Vac, Fargo, N.D.
• Valerie Sparks and Diane Ebner, BERNINA Connection, Phoenix

About BERNINA
Founded in Switzerland more than 100 years ago, BERNINA is the world's premier manufacturer with a proven reputation for offering quality state-of-the-art sewing, quilting and embroidery machines, overlockers/sergers, and embroidery software. BERNINA's leadership is marked by an impressive number of ambassadors, industry leaders, influencers and bloggers, who chose to partner with the company. BERNINA products are sold in the United States through a network of over 400 fully trained independent dealerships that also offer support and education. Select BERNINA and bernette machines, and BERNINA software can also be purchased through BERNINA's eCommerce site, shop.bernina.com. BERNINA products are designed for beginning to advanced sewists and priced to meet a variety of budgets, with new products being introduced every year. You can follow BERNINA on Facebook: www.facebook.com/berninausa, Instagram: @BERNINAUSA, and Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/WeAllSew, and read BERNINA's WeAllSew blog at www.weallsew.com. To learn more about BERNINA and to find a Dealer, visit www.bernina.com or call (630)978-2500.