Recognized at Home: Frank Groen Named Young Professional of the Year

We are proud to share that Frank Groen, our Vice President of Sales & Marketing, has been named Young Professional of the Year by the West Coast Chamber. The honor carries even more weight coming from a Chamber recognized nationally as the best in the country, and from the community Frank calls home.

We asked Frank to reflect on the recognition and the people who shaped his path to it. Here is what he had to say.

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To put it simply, winning the West Coast Chamber Young Professional of the Year is an honor. This award was never on my radar, but the fact that it comes from my local community, which also happens to be recognized nationally as the best Chamber in the country, makes it that much better.

Last year, I had the opportunity to go through West Coast Leadership, a program offered by the West Coast Chamber. It was great to have a diverse group of community leaders in my cohort, and to build real relationships with the Chamber staff along the way. Britt Delo and Collen Schipsi did an amazing job throughout the course of the program, and I’m grateful to have built relationships with them as trailblazers in the community and a powerhouse Chamber staff.

I don’t think there is one standalone accomplishment that warranted my recognition. Instead, I look back at those who have helped me in my career. This has been an exciting year of promotion and transition for me, joining our Executive team at DISHER this past June, and there were many years of triumph and challenge that led up to where I am now.

I owe a lot of my journey to my former boss, Keri McCarthy. While she was a boss by title, she was an exceptional leader and mentor. Keri was great at stretching me out of my comfort zone, from my first year at DISHER to when she retired this past June. She grew me as a Recruiter for six years at DISHER and as a leader for DISHER Talent for four years. This past year, she tapped me on the shoulder to join the Sales team at DISHER. I knew this was a complete career pivot for me, and I had to push through the nerves. Keri saw potential in me in an area I had not worked in before. I knew this was her last push for me before she retired, and I knew it was the right thing to pursue.

By challenging me with new customer projects and hard conversations, she was intentionally growing my skill set. I hope everyone can have a leader who sees potential and, more importantly, puts the tools in place for development.

I also want to acknowledge Joe Dyer, President of DISHER, and Phil Dirkse, Vice President of Engineering at DISHER. Working with them these past few months has been exciting. We share a united vision for the future of DISHER and how we can help our customers Make a Positive Difference and leave the world better than we found it.

Moving forward, I see the responsibility I have. Grow the next leader, and then the next.

I am excited to continue uncovering meaningful opportunities for our team and our customers, and to pour into more of our current and new leaders at DISHER.

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Congratulations, Frank!

The way you show up for the people around you reflects the heart of what we value at DISHER, and this recognition from your community is well earned.

We are grateful to have you on our Executive team, and we cannot wait to see the leaders you grow next.