There is no doubt, 2019 was a tough year. As an organization, we worked together to confront the challenges the year had in storedstore, with a number of individuals stepping up. Looking back, the efforts of Darla Warnsdorfer and George Masi warrantswarrant consideration for the Professional of the Year award.

The Las Vegas facility faced substantial internal and external obstacles during the year. CompetitiveA competitive business market, bad-debt, and staff turnover have all pulled Catalina results toward finishing significantly behind PY. As we work to address the competitive challenges and managingmanage credit in the direct business segment, there is no doubt Darla has stepped up to fill in the gaps with the staff turnover, while displaying solid growth.

During the year, Darla has been instrumental in providing details and support for cross functional departments, including finance. The finance team relies on Darla on a regular basis, for a wide range of information regarding the Las Vegas facility. Despite taking on additional responsibilities, Darla continues to be prompt in addressing questions and concerns. During the year, finance worked on monitoring scrap and working capital initiates for the facility. In both areas, Darla’s support and engagement have been vital forto the progress that has been made.

For our Lakewood facility, the better part of the year was positive, with results exceeding prior year and plan. The challenges started late in the 3rd quarter, with leadership turnover, followed by significant quality issues with vendors which looked to derail CET’s achievements. Stepping up to confront these challenges head-on iswas George Masi, as the new Operation’sOperations Manager.

Since moving to his new role, George has been able to make a positive impact by recruiting experienced personalpersonnel and making tough, necessary decisions in rather short-order. In addition, George’s knowledge and experience in the business gives CET the chance to promptly address issues related to supplier disruption promptly.