Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Vendor Hustle Awards!
The Vendor Hustle Awards celebrate vendor partners who consistently exceed expectations—strengthening the channel through collaboration and measurable impact.
This year’s honorees made a lasting difference by stepping beyond their core responsibilities, working closely with the AVANT team and peers across the industry to better support Trusted Advisors and their clients. Through their dedication and relationships, they helped to advance the growing Trusted Advisor movement.
A big congratulations to our 2025 award recipients! We’re proud to recognize each of you, and we thank you for an outstanding year of achievement and excellence. Here’s what your nominators had to say about you:
Trevor Haworth of Akamai, nominated by Aaron Crotty. Aaron expressed:
“Trevor braved the Houston snow to join us in Portland for the PDX Partner Toast. He spent 3 days meeting with TAs and getting them excited about what Akamai is bringing to our community. We have seen a massive uptick in engagement from our TAs ever since Trevor took over Akamai’s support team.”
Ryan Pellegrino of Arelion, nominated by Peter Callowhill. Peter said:
“Ryan is a true industry professional. He brings knowledge, energy, and a quest for winning to every opportunity.”
Jim Milner of AT&T, nominated by Sherry Arledge. She shared:
“Jim has been a tremendous help guiding and assisting me with the Parexel NOW International orders. The international order process with AT&T is very cumbersome with a lot of moving parts and Jim has educated me on completing the forms correctly to enable me to submit the orders to AT&T for processing. Jim is very kind and extremely helpful with any questions about Parexel or any other customer that we work on together. Jim needs to be recognized as an outstanding AT&T employee and we are lucky to have him on our AVANT AT&T Channel team.”
Joanna Serafin of AT&T, nominated by Leslie Anderson. Leslie said:
“Joanna recently joined the channel supporting AVANT, and to say she hit the ground running would be an understatement. Her dedication, determination, and relentless drive to get things done for our Trusted Advisors, Channel Managers, and AVANT as a whole are truly unmatched. And through it all, she does it with grace, kindness, and humility. Joanna is the Robin to my Batman, an absolute powerhouse and the hardest-working rookie in the business.”
Megan Holtzclaw of CBTS and Monica Wolterman of Altafiber, nominated by Nicole Shae. Nicole expressed:
“Megan & Monica have been so helpful with providing us with key details amid the CBTS/Altafiber transition. They are always very quick to respond to our inquiries so we can get our partners the most up to date information. We really appreciate their speed and efficiency so our partners can accurately track their commissions moving forward!”
Andrew Childs of Comcast, nominated by Nicole Shae, who had to say:
“Andrew has gone above and beyond for the AVANT Commissions Inquiries team by often answering questions after hours to ensure timely resolution of commissions issues. He is always professional and courteous, no matter his workload. He is a true asset to the Comcast commissions team, which is proven by his tenure there and his ability to resolve issues quickly and accurately. Andrew, thank you for all that you do to keep our partners happy!”
Jessica DeCicco and Seth Patterson of Comcast, nominated by Josh Swenson. He shared:
“Jess and Seth have generated over a million dollar funnel with one of my top partners. They have flown out multiple times to meet them face-to-face, invited their customers out to The Players open, and have gone above and beyond when it comes to TA engagement. I am so excited to have them on the team.”
Nick Krammer of CommandLink, nominated by Thomas Baker. Thomas shared:
“CommandLink has been outstanding to work with. A big shoutout to Nick for showing up and teaming up—exactly the kind of partnership we should all strive for.”
Chase Bouchard of Digital Realty, nominated by Haley Zoller. Haley expressed:
“Chase recently joined Digital Realty to take over the AVANT relationship and has hit the ground running with force. He has quickly built strong relationships across AVANT Sales teams and partners, actively engaging to drive collaboration and mutual success. His proactive communication, hands-on support, and commitment to improving shared processes and goals have elevated our partnership to a new level. Chase consistently demonstrates reliability, responsiveness, and a genuine investment in joint growth—setting the standard for what a true vendor partnership should look like.”
Beth Widic of Equinix, nominated by both Christy Clark and Toni Fourness.
Toni expressed:
“Beth has been an exceptional partner to our team. Always responsive, highly professional, and consistently delivering on time. Her dedication to excellence and ability to anticipate and meet the needs of both our partners and their customers truly sets her apart. She doesn’t just meet expectations—she exceeds them. Whether it’s stepping in to resolve last-minute issues, offering proactive solutions, or simply being a reliable point of contact, Beth goes above and beyond.
Christy stated:
“While there are many moments Beth has excelled for me and my commissions team, most recently she showed her usual wonderful true colors in supporting AVANT. It reminded me of her amazingness and that I should speak out loud about it. Beth is always available any time, day or night, and her enthusiasm for supporting AVANT is remarkable. She is a true advocate for AVANT in her company. She’s fearless and proactive, always stepping up to help wherever she can to make sure AVANT and our Trusted Advisors are supported.”
John LaClair of Lumen, nominated by Lori Gingrich, who had to say:
“John has been an absolute lifesaver! He’s always willing to step in and offer support whenever I need it and is never too busy to help. John is dependable, kind, and truly passionate about his work. When all my attempts to get our TAs paid their commissions fail, he’s the one who fights for them. He takes the time to dig into the issue and provides me with the correct information so I can get it resubmitted to the commissions team. I’m incredibly grateful for him. We’ve built a fantastic working relationship over the last year or so, and I can’t express how much I appreciate him.”
Mark Chambers and John LaClair of Lumen, nominated by Thomas Baker. He shared:
“Mark and John have been an incredible duo when it comes to escalations and negotiations. They’re transparent, responsive, and consistently go above and beyond for the TAs I support. Mark and John make themselves available, act fast, and genuinely operate with an “open door” mindset. These two always find a way to break through the complexity and move things forward.”
Jim Marchese of Rapidscale, nominated by Annie Dempsey. Annie wrote:
“Jim has a phenomenal work ethic. He is the definition of what a Channel Manager should be. He is responsive, accurate, and adds value to the conversation. I do not hesitate to put Jim in front of the Trusted Advisor community. I appreciate him very much!”
Derek Collins and Jim Carter of Thrive, nominated by Josh Swenson. Josh mentioned:
“I would like to nominate Jim and Derek for the Vendor Hustle award. We have a 6-figure deal in the works and the amount of effort, attention to detail, executive sponsorship, and just knowing the basics of running an enterprise sales cycle has put them, in my opinion, in a league of their own.”
Boe Mellor of Zayo, nominated by Toni Fourness, who had to say:
“I have had numerous partners and they tell me how fantastic it is working with Boe. He is responsive, follows up, and gets them what they need. I have seen this with Boe. He does not take the approach of “this is not my job” but “how can I assist and help the partner”. I personally love working with him and hope to continue doing so.”
Sam Stettler of Zoom. Nominated by Nicole Shae. Nicole shared:
“Sam consistently goes above and beyond, addressing issues and inquiries promptly, whether on call or off. He provides clear and accessible answers that resonate with both partners and professionals. He listens attentively and offers valuable guidance in navigating complex commission scenarios, willingly delving deeper when solutions aren’t readily apparent. He also maintains a consistently friendly demeanor and eagerness to assist which speaks volumes about his dedication. These are the many reasons the AVANT Commissions team would like to nominate Sam Stettler for an AVANT Hustle Award.”
A big thank you and congratulations once again to all the winners of the 2025 Vendor Hustle Awards. We appreciate your dedication and hustle every day, and we look forward to celebrating you and many others next year as our partnership and shared success continue through 2026 and beyond!