Hi, I’m Van!

I live in beautiful Bend, Oregon where I put my extensive retail sales, merchandising, and product background to use as a sales consultant. I help local companies in the outdoor industry develop their go-to-market, channel, merchandising, and promotions planning strategies.

I grew up in the beautiful Walla Walla Valley and graduated from WSU with a double major in marketing and beer drinking. That’s also where I met and married my college sweetheart, Kari—the love of my life! We’ve lived in Bend since 2010 following 30 years in the Seattle area where we raised our two daughters.

After Wazzu, I was off to the big cities of Portland and Seattle where my career took me into retail buying, merchandising, product management, and planning with companies such as Meier and Frank, Lamonts, and Eddie Bauer. I gained a full understanding of what it took to do business, how to hit sales and margin goals, and how to work in a corporate environment.

Joining Stanley on the retail side was my next step. This 100-year-old brand was ripe for a comeback and as the first product manager under Pacific Market International, I established the brand in the outdoor, hunting/fishing, and farm/ranch channels. Tremendous growth followed, and I became a sales manager for major accounts, rep groups, and covering numerous trade shows.

Kari and I moved to Bend while I continued in my role at Stanley. I got involved with the local Boys & Girls Club chapter and the Bend Economic Development Advisory Board. In 2012, a group of us formed an outdoor industry networking group called the Oregon Outdoor Alliance. This organization started small, but has now grown to 400+ members, is a 501c3, has a 14-member board, and is involved in many statewide outdoor industry initiatives.

Of course, it is important to balance things out by leaving plenty of time for fly fishing, skiing, golf, mountain biking, and road cycling. I like to relax by making large ceramic sculptures when there’s time. My wife Kari loves to join me in fly fishing, is a ski instructor at Mt. Bachelor, mountain bikes, and loves to play pickleball. We take some great road trips in our 16’ Casita trailer.