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Our Staff
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Don Naumann, Founder and President
Don has been in the turf care business for more than 25 years and has received a number of accolades for his contributions to the industry.
He was named Man of the Year by DFL International Seeds in 2004 and was previously honored as Affiliate of the Year by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Northern California (GCSANC).
Don received his BS in Ornamental Horticulture from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo in 1977 and worked for another turf supply company for about 5 years before starting his own business. Don is passionate about providing quality turfgrass products and programs to his customers, and ensuring that they get what they want, when they want it at a fair price.
He is past president of the Independent Turf and Ornamental Distributors Association (ITODA), which was formed in 1990 to foster the trade and marketing of products for the turf and ornamental landscaping industries. He has also been a contributing writer to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Northern California newsletter for more than 20 years.
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Becky Naumann, Vice President
Becky graduated with a BS degree in Horticulture from Oregon State University in 1979. After graduation she spent a short time in the wholesale floral industry before moving onto the landscape and golf industry. She spent several years in outside sales. However, the direction of her career rapidly became more focused on the growth of Sierra Pacific instead of the growth of plants and turf. As the business grew, her responsibilities shifted away from sales and into management. Currently, she is the operations manager for the company as well as the branch manager for the Campbell warehouse. When she is not working or driving her teenage daughter, Elizabeth, all over the Bay Area, she is clogging (a folk dance) or taking the family dog, Kona, for a walk.
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Dean Kinney, Sales & Marketing Manager
I was born in El Paso, TX and 6 months later moved to Medford, OR. After graduating from Oregon State with a Bachelor's of Science in December of 1990, I accepted an Agricultural Research Technician's position working with Rhone-Poulenc Ag Company. My responsibilities included doing about 30-40 trials per year with experimental and registered compounds in such crops as strawberries, grapes, lettuce, wheat and broccoli. During this time, I went to graduate school at Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo and received my Master's of Science in Agricultural Science in June of 1995. I was then offered a Sales Position with Rhone-Poulenc Ag Company responsible for the coastal territory from Paso Robles to San Diego. I moved to Folsom in May of 1997 to become the Turf and Ornamental sales representative for Chipco and covered Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Nevada and Utah. In March of 1999 I accepted an offer from then Novartis, to become the Turf and Ornamental Sales Representative for Northern California and Reno. I worked for Novartis/Syngenta in this capacity until joining Sierra Pacific Turf Supply, Inc in 2005. I have been married to my wife Victoria for 12 years and have two daughters Natalie and Cloe.
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JEFF HILL, Branch Manager in Sparks
I spent thirteen years working for a military contractor in Europe and Southeast Asia. I returned to the USA and spent nine years working for a pest control company as a regional manager covering Colorado, Nevada and Washington. I recently left a distributor that I had been with for over eight years to come to Sierra Pacific Turf Supply. I look forward to serving my current customers in Nevada and California. I have lived in Nevada for sixteen years now and I love it here.
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Tom Jackson, Rain Bird Irrigation Sales Manager
Tom was born and raised in Baker, Oregon and attended the University of Oregon in Eugene. He traveled extensively in Europe and Africa. Tom began his career in the irrigation industry in 1973 working for Precision Polymers, Inc., a PVC pipe and fittings manufacturer in Mountainside, New Jersey. A job offer to work for a Rain Bird distributor in Menlo Park, Ca. brought him back to the west coast and northern California in 1977. He began specializing in golf course irrigation in 1985, joining Sierra Pacific Turf Supply in 1994. Tom loves to golf and snow ski. His most prized accomplishments are his three boys, Scott, Trevor and Derek.
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RYAN JOHNSON, Golf Accessories Manager
I was born in La Mirada, Los Angeles California, and grew up in San Jose California. I went to West Valley College in Saratoga, subsequently transferred down to Cal Poly Pomona majoring in Communication Studies. I studied abroad in Perth, Australia for a semester where I studied International Human Resource Management and Professional Selling. While in Australia I also got to live out a long time dream of mine of surfing some of the worlds best waves!
I worked at Piercey Toyota for a total of about 7 years growing up. I held various positions from the service department to the sales department. When I moved to Pomona I work as a parts counterman at a motorcycle shop. In 2007 I bought a mobile car and plane-detailing company called Aptos Mobile Detail and have owned and worked for my company since.
I realized I had a passion for golf at a young age of around 13 when I had my first golf lesson. I continued to play and go to golf camps around northern California until about 17. At 17 I started to take my surfing more seriously and it took up most of my extra curricular time. Now I participate in many activities and sports as far as snowboarding, surfing, golfing, wakeboarding, camping and 4-wheeling.
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Ted Nakada, Branch Manager in Rocklin
I was born and raised in the San Francisco Peninsula. I grew up and worked in our family nursery business which was established by my father in 1961. I taught gardening classes for several years through the S.S.F. Parks & Recreation depart. I also operated our family landscape business. I attended college and studied Green House Management & Industrial Arts. After 38 years, our family business closed their doors. I was offered a position with a national turf fertilizer company, worked 10 years and became their Northern Cal. Regional Manager. In 2010, I came to work for Sierra Pacific Turf Supply as their Rocklin Branch Manager.
I enjoy spending time with my wife Sharon of 25 years and 2 children Lian (21) & Michael (12). On my spare time I enjoy plant propagation, gardening and attending my son’s sporting activities.
I’m excited to be part of the Sierra Pacific Turf family.
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Deann Norris, Accounting/Office Manager
I graduated from Camden High School in 1978 and from West Valley College in 1983 with an AA in Liberal Arts. I worked for Bank of the West from 1979 to 1996. At Bank of the West I held various positions at the Hamilton office, progressing from bank teller, to vault teller to head teller. In 1987 I became the Assistant Operations Supervisor at the Hamilton office. In 1989 I became Customer Service Manager at the regional McKee White office. In 1994 I moved to another division of the bank as Electronic Banking Manager, supervising 5 departments. In May 1996 I decided to make the move to Sierra Pacific Turf Supply to work in the accounting department. I am currently the office manager at the Campbell branch.
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Al Schlothauer, Warehouse Manager
Hi. I am the warehouse manager and inside sales store manager for our Campbell store and 21,000 square foot warehouse. We current have 2 warehouse people, 2 delivery drivers and 1 extra inside sales person. I have been with Sierra Pacific Turf Supply for almost 7 years and have known the owners, Don and Becky, for 30 years. Prior to working for Sierra Pacific I was a golf course superintendent. I enjoy all sports. I play softball, swim, work out and surf. I have a 26-year old son who is a Staff Sgt. in the US Army and a 22-year old daughter who is in college.
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Dave Wilber, Technical Agronomist, Sierra Pacific Turf Supply Director of Agronomy, Sierra Pacific Turf Services
I joined Sierra Pacific in July of 2007, after 15 years as an independent agronomy consultant. Prior to that I was a golf course superintendent in Northern California and Colorado. I’ve been a GCSAA Member since 1985 serving on several committees and chapter boards. I am a graduate of the Landscape and Turf Management Program at Northeastern in Sterling, Colorado. I grew up in the mountains of Colorado and started working on a golf course construction crew when I was 15 years old. I’ve advised on construction, renovation/restoration and turfgrass management issues ranging from “Top 10” facilities to places with no maintenance budget at all in more than 20 countries as well as all over the USA. My passion is soil. Be it physical, biological or fertility oriented, I love the challenge of integrating sustainable soil management into the turfgrass environment.
The Sierra Pacific Team is simply amazing! I think that is what sets Sierra Pacific apart---Strong, Passionate, Amazing people who give the best to our customers. I’m married to Barbara. We have 2 great dogs and a spoiled cat. I’m an avid Bass player and my other hobbies are computers, audio production, motorcycles, cartography, travel and of course Turfgrass!!
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Gary Hoff, Golf Accessory Sales
I was born in San Jose, Calif. and grew up in Lake Geneva, Wisc. I served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Kaiser Slautern, Germany. I grew up in the golf business, as my father was a golf professional in Chicago, Ill. I’ve worked as a golf pro at private, semi-private, resort and public golf courses in Wisconsin, New York, Florida, California and Toronto, Canada. I am now in sales with Sierra Pacific Turf Supply covering part of Northern California and Northern Nevada. Prior to that, I was with Country Club Sales covering the same territory. I am only 63, married with two children.
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Jeff Roberts, Salesperson
Little did the turf world know that when Jeff Roberts told his Mom at a Giants game a long time that he wanted to work on the field, it would turn into a career with Sierra Pacific Turf Supply. This tidbit was tossed into the back of his mind until a couple of summer jobs clearly pointed him in that direction. His desire to work outside and prepare a place for people to enjoy their time off was the final straw that shot him into turfgrass management (besides the fact that he had to pass calculus to teach math.)
Jeff graduated from Chico State with a BS in ornamental horticulture and afterwards was the only American selected to be an intern at the Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland. After a couple of months of travel in Europe he came back to the states and was hired as the assistant superintendent at the Resort at Squaw Creek followed by superintendent positions at Blackhawk Country Club, Aptos Seascape Golf Course and Willow Park Golf Course. After 15 years in the golf game, Jeff was looking for another career and chose sales with Sierra Pacific. He’s responsible for the areas of landscape, municipalities, schools, universities and selected golf courses.
When he’s not driving the roads of the Bay Area, Jeff participates in surfing, golf, hockey, softball and any other sport available. He is a voracious reader and likes going to the theater.
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Ryan Smith, Golf Accessory Sales
I was born in Charleston, West Virginia and grew up just outside of Chicago in Naperville, Illinois. I moved to the bay area at the age of 14, and attended Foothill High School in Pleasanton. After high school, I moved on to California State University, Chico, where I graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. After graduating from college I decided to pursue a career in the golf business. I worked as an assistant golf professional at Brentwood Golf Club for nearly a year and a half. I enjoy sports, travelling, and being with family and friends. I spent two summers in Europe competing in international soccer tournaments in 1998 and 1999, and just last year I spent nine months backpacking throughout Southeast Asia. Upon returning to the states, I was lucky enough to join the team here at Sierra Pacific Turf Supply.
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Tim Texeira, Golf Irrigation Sales
Tim was born in Oakland, California. Tim was introduced to golf at a very young age; his Dad was an avid golfer so Tim started caddying at Chabot Golf Course in Oakland. Tim spent most of his young life growing up in Hayward, Ca. and he later attended Chabot College. Tim began his career in the irrigation industry in 1972. He worked for Automatic Rain Company, which was a Rain Bird Irrigation Distributor in Menlo Park, Ca. In 1978 Tim decide to move his family to Grass Valley, Ca. He went to work for another Rain Bird Irrigation Distributor in Sacramento, Ca. This is where Tim became an expert in Golf Course Irrigation and Golf Irrigation Sales Manager for Normac Inc. for over twenty years. The last six years Tim lived in Arizona and worked for a pump manufacturing company and also worked for an irrigation distributor. In April, 2010 Tim was offered a position with Sierra Pacific Turf Supply. Tim and his wife Rita then decided they wanted to get back to Northern California to be close to their three kids and six grand-kids. Tim loves the golf business and he also loves to play golf.
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Craig Thordsen, Salesperson
I have been a branch manager in Rocklin, and a sales representative with Sierra Pacific since 1994. I service the professional turfgrass and horticultural markets, including lawn care, landscape, sports turf, arborist and nursery. I work throughout Central and Northern California and into the Tahoe, Reno and Carson City areas. I have more than 27 years experience in the industry.
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CAMPBELL STAFF |
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Andy Ducey
Inside Customer Service Rep since 2007
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Richard Haro
Driver since 2001
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Kelly Kotla
Data Entry Clerk since 2000
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Peggy Norris
The Best Receptionist since 1996
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Bill Pigue
Driver since 1996
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Cindy Saunders
Office since 2006
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ALEX TORRES
Warehouse assistant since 2006
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Rick Visser
Rain Bird Service Technician since 1999
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Curtis Williams
Warehouse assistant since 2000
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ROCKLIN STAFF |
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Brian Bradford
Customer Service since 2008
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Dan Gustafson
Customer Service since 2007
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Roberto Rodriguez
Driver since 1999
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Gary Shannon
Driver since 2003
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Doug Thompson
Warehouse assistant since 2009
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Kelly Kerr
Rain Bird Service Technician since 2010
I was born in Summerville, South Carolina in 1964. I spent all of my youth as an Air Force brat, which allowed me to live in and visit many different areas all over the United States and Germany. At the age of twenty I arrived in the Sacramento area. In April of 1988 I married my lovely wife Shiryl, whom I originally met as a child while stationed at Rain Main AFB, Germany in 1968. Shiryl and I have two wonderful children, Justin 20 and Jessica 16. We enjoy traveling, camping and spending time with family. Some of my passions include Formula 1 racing and restoring my 1971 Datsun 240Z.
In 1988 I began working in the irrigation industry at Normac Inc. From 1989 to 1990 I was employed at McClellan AFB where I gained experience in electronics repair while rebuilding components for the F-15 Eagle. I then returned to Normac Inc. to become the Service Manager for both the commercial and golf product lines. I remained in that position for next twenty years. During that time I was able to form a lot of great relationships with many of the outstanding professionals in the Golf industry. I joined the highly dedicated and accomplished staff at Sierra Pacific Turf Supply in March of 2010. I look forward to continuing these relationships and using my experience to help our golf course customers become even more efficient users of California’s most precious resource…..water.
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SPARKS STAFF |
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Mark Naumann
Customer Service Rep since 2009
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Andy Servi
Driver since 2010
Garage band enthusiast.
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