Blog

AED’s Promise to Our Members

The world is facing unprecedented times, but your association is here for you. With the rapid spread of COVID-19, we are continually adapting and adjusting how we operate and making sure the safety of our members is a top priority. The association is prepared to keep every member of our AED family informed on an ongoing basis.

We have faced many challenges as an industry before, and together, we have come out victorious every time. To keep everyone healthy and safe, we wanted to share a few guidelines/tips to keep you informed during these difficult times.

Hours of Operations:

AED will have hours of operation Monday through Friday from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm CT. Please note that staff is working remotely for two weeks, starting on March 16, as safety remains our top priority for all. Any calls to the office will be handled by Sandy Brassel. AED has also suspended all business travel; any meetings or events taking place during this two-week quarantine will be rescheduled for a future date.

Regional Managers can be reached at:

Phil Riggs
Sr. Director Member Engagement
priggs@aednet.org or 630-465-3622

Michael Dexter
Sr. Director of Canadian Engagement, Chicagoland, Iowa
mdexter@aednet.org or 630-465-2888

Sean Fitzgerrel
AL, FL, GA, IN, Southern IL, KY, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV
sfitzgerrel@aednet.org or 630-352-9372

Thomas Lunney
AR, CO, KS, LA, MO, NE, NM, OK, TX
tlunney@aednet.org or 630-465-6647

Scott McPherson
MN, MT, ND, SD, WI, WY
smcpherson@aednet.org or 312-882-2473

Michael Murray
CT, DE, MA, ME, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT
mmurray@aednet.org or 630-465-4232

Business Services can be reached at:

Jon Cruthers
Vice President of Sales
Phone: 630-468-5127
Email: jcruthers@aednet.org

Dennis Budz
Business Development Specialist
Phone: 630-468-5119
Email: dbudz@aednet.org

Michael Kondrath
Business Development Specialist
Phone: 630-468-5121
Email: mkondrath@aednet.org

Upcoming AED Events. Our team is following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization to ensure your safety. AED is abiding by the CDC’s recommendation of postponing gatherings of 50 people or more over the next eight weeks due to the coronavirus.

AED has postponed its annual Ottawa Parliament Hill Day, March 30-31. Stay tuned for decisions on future AED events as those judgments will be made on a case-by-case basis after studying the latest data on the outbreak. Registrants will be contacted shortly for further details.

Also, be on the lookout for online programming specifically for AED members on dealing with COVID-19 and its economic impact.

On-Demand Services. If you are currently quarantined and still interested in furthering your career, AED and The AED Foundation offer a wide variety of flexible learning options, including manager certification, self-study courses and webinars. For more information, visit our dealer learning center here.

As an incentive to stay busy during our quarantine efforts, we are free access to all recorded webinars in our library. Use the code FREEWEB2020 at checkout to zero out your cart and receive the webinars free of charge. Additionally, we have scheduled two upcoming webinars that will specifically address the ongoing COVID-19 situation and its implications for our members:

• COVID-19: Employer Rights & Responsibilities | Michael Airdo | Thursday, March 19 – 10:00 am CST
• Dealing With Volatility: What You Need to Know | Michael Ribich | Wednesday, March 25 – 10:00 am CST

Furthermore, AED is offering its members one FREE self-study course of their choosing. Your course can be redeemed using coupon code FREECOURSE2020 until April 15, 2020. For more information, please click here. This code applies to the following self-study courses:

• Financial Management 101, 102
• People Management 101, 102, 103
• Sales/Customer Service 101
• Rental Management 101, 201, 301
• Parts Management 101, 201
• Service Management 101, 201
• Sales Leadership 101, 201

Your self-study course completion will apply to your management certification and the certification program will be offered at a discount ($1950, as opposed to $2250). If you have any issues when registering for webinars or self-study courses, feel free to reach out to your regional manager.

Government Affairs. AED continues to engage with policymakers in Washington, D.C., and Ottawa to ensure legislative proposals to address the COVID-19 situation provide economic support for all impacted businesses, regardless of size and industry. Please email AED’s Vice President of Government Affairs Daniel B. Fisher if you have any recommendations to provide economic relief for the equipment industry.

If you are a Canadian member and would like a resource for how to best conduct business during the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Quick Tips from the CDC: Protecting you and your employees against COVID-19

• Interim guidance for business and employers, click here.
• How to protect yourself, click here.
• What to do if you are sick, click here.
• Symptoms and testing information, click here.
• Environmental cleaning and disinfection information, click here.

There’s no doubt that these are challenging times, but AED is here to help in any way we can. We will continue to keep you updated as we get through this together!