Viking Electric

Fridays are fun at Viking Electric! Friday, August 16th was National Hawaiian Shirt Day and our Marketing Manager, Lynn Peterson, celebrated accordingly!

Members of WATT, our Women's Employee Resource Group (ERG), had the opportunity to help out with this year's Power Girl activities. Power Girls is a camp that allows Girl Scouts to participate in hands-on, exploratory activities from role-models in STEM careers. Viking Electric is a proud sponsor of Girl Scouts River Valleys!

Kyle Fugar, Oshkosh Sales Manager invited Stacy Stanslaski (President) and Brett Wilson (VP Contractor Sales) to participate in the ESGR Air Refueling Bosslift. Kyle is Chief Master Sergeant serving in the 128th Wing in the Civil Engineering Squadron of Wisconsin’s Air National Guard. The Bosslift is the 128th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) based on the east side of Mitchell Field in Milwaukee. Stacy, Brett, and Kyle flew on a KC-135 Strato tanker aircraft that has the ability to refuel many military aircraft in flight.

Monday means another week of our delivery drivers tirelessly delivering products to our customers. We appreciate them every day!

Want to join our fantastic team? Check out our openings here: https://bit.ly/3SwMchA

Congratulations to Doreen Berg! Doreen is retiring after 32 years on the project team in our Eau Claire location. We will miss her, but know that she will enjoy her retirement!

WATT is all about wellness this month! Women Advocating Today for Tomorrow (WATT), our Women's employee resource group, is hosting a contest challenging associates to get out and about, and show off their WATT swag!

July 25th is National Hire a Vet Day! Viking Electric is proud of our Veteran associates, and to continue recruiting Veterans into our organization through national partnerships with many different organizations. Earlier this year, two of our recruiters alongside Sonepar USA's Military Relations Manager, spent a day networking with Military candidates and Viking Electric customers at the Hiring Our Heros Hiring Expo in St. Paul, MN.

Summertime is here in the Upper Midwest! We love to join our customers, suppliers, and industry members on the golf course.

Viking Electric appreciates the contributions that our military veteran associates bring to our organization. Thank you for your courage, sacrifice and hard work during your military service. Managers presented our veteran associates with a Sonepar challenge coin as a thank you!

**Viking Electric will be closed on Thursday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day.

That's a wrap on our June National Safety Month celebrations! Our teams covered weekly safety topics, with many meetings attended by our Safety Manager, Gabe Sandholm. We are excited to take our new knowledge with us throughout the rest of the year!

Welcome to the Viking Electric 2024 STEP Participants! Sonepar Training for Emerging Professionals (STEP) is a rotational program that gives a broad understanding of our business. They kicked off their program at the Sonepar USA headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina! Welcome to Zach Paxton, Brenna Holtz, Drew Hurley, Andy Kry, and Carter Peterson, pictured with their program champion, Mary Anderson!

We have a winner! Congrats to Scott Kainz from Elite Electric Solutions who earned an Igloo Party Bar Cooler during our Ledvance Spring Lake Life Promo.

Pictured with: Mark Buttell, Account Representative, Viking Electric-La Crosse.

Happy Juneteenth! Today we honor the past and the celebrate the progress on the promise of freedom for all. Check out how Ken Scott, Field Account Manager in Addison, IL, and his family celebrate Juneteenth every year at his brother's home in Georgia! We encourage you to take time and celebrate Juneteenth by attending local Juneteenth events, learn about the history of Juneteenth and/or support an organization.

Viking Electric continues to promote diversity, inclusivity, and innovation within our industry and encourages associates to join our African American Employee Resource Group (AAERG). Our AAERG is a group that cultivates cultural awareness at Sonepar USA, with the ambition to allow its members to reach their full potential. AAERG is open to everyone and welcomes new ideas, perspectives and suggestions.

Attention: Milwaukee! Join us at our Open House event this Thursday, June 20th from 3pm-7pm. Enjoy a catered dinner, music, and refreshments. Meet our Pros, tour our Solutions Center/warehouse, and enter for a chance to win great prizes. Plus, our suppliers will be on hand with product demos. See you there!

The Viking Electric HR team got together for "walk at lunch" day! Did you know? A 15-minute walk every day can improve your energy levels, your mental and physical health!

Viking Electric kicked-off National Safety Month with our week-one safety topic: G.O.A.L. - GET OUT And LOOK! This topic is relevant at work and in our personal lives. Associates at our St. Paul & Blaine facilities set aside time to discuss the topic during Safety Manager Gabe Sandholm's visit to their branch.

We thank Tim Brennan from our Rochester branch for his commitment & many contributions throughout his career at Viking Electric. We wish you well and an extraordinary retirement. Congratulations, Tim!

The Sonepar Training for Emerging Professionals (STEP) program is in session! STEP is a 12-month, dynamic rotational program for recent college graduates designed to educate, train and develop skills in emerging professionals. Welcome to Viking Electric's five STEP associates! Their program kicks off with an orientation event in Charleston, SC. Stay tuned to see where they go next.

Join us in celebrating Pride Month! Viking Electric celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community and the differences that our associates bring to work that lead to broader perspectives and greater innovations. Our Sonepar Pride Employee Resource Group welcomes everyone and encourages everyone to be their full authentic self in the workplace. Learn more about how V LaForest, Counter Sales Associate, in Green Bay, WI encourages her community to help spread the love during Pride Month and the amazing acceptance she's had identifying as non-binary.

"In 2022 I came to the realization that I identify as non-binary. I've struggled with my gender identity my entire life and now it all is so much clearer. A huge contributing factor to this realization was meeting and marrying my wife. She made me feel absolutely comfortable in my own skin and made my life and my family feel as complete as it ever has. I am biologically a woman and am married to a woman raising three beautiful children in a day and age where LGBTQIA+ is accepted so well. We have found amazing acceptance in our community, through our children's school as well as working under the Sonepar umbrella." - V LaForest

Join Viking Electric- Eau Claire tomorrow Wednesday, May 29th from 11:00am – 1:00pm for a fun and informative day! Check out the product demos, learn about our value-added solutions, enjoy a picnic lunch from Chicken Chasers, and enter the drawings to win some great prizes!

Viking Electric honors the men and women who have fought and given their lives to our country. In observance of Memorial Day, Viking Electric will be closed today, Monday, May 27th. Regular business hours will resume tomorrow, Tuesday, May 28th.

Congratulations on your retirement, Tim Hoida! We thank you for your many years of contribution to Viking Electric and wish you the best in your retirement.

Happy National Military Appreciation Month! This month we honor current and former members of the US Armed Forces, and encourage associates to join MERGE, Sonepar's military employee resource group. MERGE's mission is to embrace our proud community of Sonepar USA employee veterans, family members, friends, and supporters. Learn more about Kevin Anastacio, family member of Joe Daniello - Account Manager in Addison, IL,

"Kevin Anastacio joined the Navy four years ago because he wanted to follow in his parent's footsteps, as they were also part of the Navy. We appreciate his service and pray that he returns home safely each year. He has three years remaining in the Navy and we know how much it means to Kevin to be able to serve in the military." - Joe Daniello

Congratulations to our 2023 Safety Focus Champions!

Our Burnsville location was the recipient of our 2023 Safety Focus Champion - Store Category award, for the second consecutive year! This award recognizes manager and associate engagement in our safety program.

Our La Crosse, WI team was the recipient of our 2023 Safety Focus Champion award in our Regional Distribution Center category. Our La Crosse team sets the standard for safety engagement at Viking Electric through their consistent safety education discussions, strong safety committee involvement, and exceptional safety audit scores.

To conclude, congratulations to our Milwaukee associates for their 2023 Safety Focus Champion award in our Distribution Center Category! Associates in Milwaukee significantly upped their safety engagement in 2023, showing improvement in all leading safety indicator categories.

In recognition of their achievements, we celebrated with a safety appreciation event at all three locations.

Viking Electric's HR team recently volunteered at the Simpson Housing Services (SHS). They prepped food for shelter guests and helped with the SHS mission - to house, support, and advocate for people experiencing homelessness. SHS began as an emergency overnight shelter and, for 40 years, have been a leading nonprofit that helps homeless people.

Happy National Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month! AAPI, our Asian American & Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group (ERG), aims to celebrate AAPI employees and their distinct contributions and experiences. This ERG fosters an inclusive and equitable workplace environment, and empowers AAPI associates to reach their full potential.

Help support our National Forests this Earth Week! For every online order placed during April 22-26, 2024, we will plant a tree in partnership with the National Forest Federation.

Your orders make a difference! Since 2021, Sonepar has planted over 30,000 trees thanks to digital orders placed during Earth Week.

Visit our website to place an online order: https://bit.ly/4d6JWGi

Happy Earth Day! Invest in our planet by spending time outdoors, planting a tree, conserving water, or making efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle. At Viking Electric, we are committed to a sustainable future. Learn more about our sustainability mission, our strategy, and watch our video regarding our new 100% recycled boxes. We are committed to small changes that can make a big impact!
https://bit.ly/3Usz3r3

Our Good Catch program recognizes and rewards associates for their safe actions. Congratulations to our 2023 All Stars and MVP (not pictured: Jimmy Lemmons), who were caught being safe multiple times, plus have participated in additional safety initiatives across the company. Thank you for making all of us safer!