August 2003                       return to the newsletter contents page

SEDA President Richard Rivkin

Rivkin Elected SEDA President

Richard Rivkin was elected president of SEDA during the association’s annual business meeting held at Safety Week 2003 in Miami, Florida. Mr. Rivkin succeeds Michael Stamn, who served for two years as SEDA’s chief elected official. During the President’s banquet, when the gavel was passed from the outgoing president to the new, Mr. Rivkin had high praise for his predecessor. Noting the many new programs and services initiated during Mr. Stamn's presidency, Mr. Rivkin stated, "Mike left some very large shoes to fill, and I hope to live up to the standards that he set for the office."

Rick Rivkin is president of Saf-T-Gard International, Inc., in Northbrook, Illinois. The company has been a distributor of industrial hand protection, safety products and personal protective equipment since 1936. Saf-T-Gard’s core business is located in the midwestern region surrounding Chicago. The company’s Voltgard Division operates the largest volume private high voltage rubber product testing and certification facility in the United States.

Rick has served three years on the SEDA Board. As chair of the Government Relations Committee, he has had primary responsibility for liaison with ISEA on standards development and regulatory affairs. He is a past president of the National Industrial Glove Distributors Association, and is a graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (B.S. Ec.) and Northwestern University (M.B.A.).  

New Officers, Directors

In addition to president, members elected two new vice-presidents and four new directors. Heidi Levitt, Vice President of Sales for Levitt-Safety, Ltd., Oakville, Ontario, Canada, was elected 1^st Vice President. Founded in 1935, Levitt-Safety is the largest privately held safety distributor in Canada, with 14 locations and two distribution centers covering the country coast-to-coast.

Heidi has a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario. Before returning to the family business seven years ago, she worked in Sales and Marketing for Seagram Canada, and for AT&T – U.S. She has attended the University of Industrial Distribution and is a Qualified Safety Sales Professional (QSSP).

Larry Loizzo, President of Lab Safety Supply, Inc, was elected 2^nd Vice President. Lab Safety was founded 25 years ago and is one of North America’s leading business-to-business direct marketers of industrial and safety supplies.

Larry has a BS degree in industrial technology from the University of Wisconsin in Stout. He has served Lab Safety Supply since 1987, in increasingly more responsible roles, and was named President in 1996. He serves on the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater Marketing Advisory Committee. He is also a board member of the Blackhawk Technical College Foundation and is active on the Forward Janesville Major Industries Council.                

Director: Frederick H. “Ted” Cowie is president and COO of Safety Today, Inc. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Safety Today, Inc. is a mid-sized distributor of PPE and services to industrial end-user customers throughout North America. Before joining the company in 2000, Cowie was executive VP and COO of a large regional distributor in the Southeast focused on power transmission, fluid power, cutting tools and abrasives. He has also held a variety of executive positions over a 20-year period with Barnes Distribution providing general MRO supplies and crib inventory management services to the industrial, commercial and transportation end-user markets.

A graduate of Bentley College in Waltham, MA, with a degree in Accounting, Cowie also completed the Syracuse Graduate School of Sales Marketing Management executive program in 1995.

Director: Jay Arnold is Director of Sales-Safety Products for Hagemeyer North America. Hagemeyer is a large member distributor of safety, electrical and other MRO supplies headquartered in Charleston, S.C. Jay has held a variety of positions in the safety distribution business over the past twenty years, including Sales & Marketing Manager—Safety Products for Cameron & Barkley; Regional V.P., Vallen Safety Supply Co.; and District Manager, Ansul Fire Protection.

Jay holds an AS degree in Business Administration from Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh, PA, and an AS degree in Fire Protection from Allegheny County Community College.

Director: H. Eric Emery is COO of Bennett-Bowen & Lighthouse, Inc., a small-member distributor located in Santa Fe Springs, CA. The company is a safety equipment and MRO distributor working with the petrochemical, aerospace and telecommunications industries. Eric purchased the company in 1998, after having worked for 18 years as a regional sales manager in the grocery supply business. Eric holds a BA degree from the University of Northern Iowa.

Affiliate Director: Fred Ryan is Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Moldex-Metric, Inc., Culver City, CA. Fred has been with Moldex since 1981, and has held various positions in the safety equipment industry since 1976. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Ferris State University in Michigan.

Fred has served on the SEDA Board of Directors for the past year, having been appointed to complete the term of Robert Hurley. He currently chairs the SEDA membership committee.

Remaining on the board of directors from 2002 are Elizabeth Scott, Safeco, Inc., Kingsport, TN and Rob Mulhall, Interstate Safety, Sparks, NV. Congratulations to all of our new directors and officers.