Curt Viehmeyer – Owner/General Manager, Airpark location
After graduating from Colorado State University with a degree in biology, Curt spent two years teaching science in Malaysia with the Peace Corps before launching his career at Sears Trostel. His career started at the loading dock as a truck driver, leading eventually to an equity stake as co-owner in 1981. He has been general manager of the company since 1983, and continues to play a hands-on role with day-to-day responsibility for directing the company's growth and quality strategies. His free time is spent with family and friends, coaching youth baseball, and playing golf.
Steve Schwartz – Owner/President, Airpark Location
Steve was born in Arizona, raised in Cuba and New Jersey, and moved to Fort Collins in 1974 after graduating with a BA in Environmental Biology from Florida Atlantic University. He worked in agricultural research and the ecology laboratory at Colorado State University before coming to Sears Trostel in 1979 as a truck driver. In 1981, he acquired an equity stake in the company, and today focuses on sales and marketing as the company continues its expansion throughout Colorado and neighboring states. He and his wife of 32 years have four grown children. In his spare time he enjoys skiing, golf, camping and fishing, and building custom furniture.
Kevin Wellington – Sales Manager, Airpark Location
Kevin has sold a variety of merchandise and services over his career including newspapers, fire extinguishers, hardwood shelving, dining sets, educational software, staff development solutions, and now, architectural mouldings. He started with Sears Trostel Lumber in 2002. Kevin earned his BBA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, in 1988. His spare time is spent with family, often in the Colorado mountains.
Jon Davis – Head of Tooling Dept./Knife Grinder, Airpark location
Jon spent several years in emergency medicine and as an auto mechanic before coming to Sears Trostel in 1999. He joined the company as a moulder operator, then moved to knife operations to work with the company's extensive collection of knife sets, currently at 8,000 sets and growing. He has been head of the tooling department since 2000. Jon is married and has two daughters. He's an avid fan of Professional Bull Riding, and spends his free time fishing and riding horses in nearby mountains.
Kristi Hill – Administrator & Marketing Coordinator, Airpark location
Kristi started in the construction industry as a receptionist in 1995. Since then, she has been in counter sales, administrative management, marketing, and graphic design. She joined Sears Trostel in 2003 to handle accounts payable and receivables, marketing communications, and graphic design. Kristi has a BFA in Illustration from Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in Denver. She hails from the Pacific Northwest and loves anything to do with the great outdoors, especially water sports and activities. In her free time, she enjoys illustrating children’s books, photography, camping, and spending time with her family.
Deanna Payne – Accounting/HR Manager, Airpark location
Originally from Maryland, Deanna has spent most of her life in Fort Collins. She began her career at the Fort Collins Women's Clinic in medical records, and also worked for a local robotics company in accounting. In 1996, she joined Sears Trostel as Accounting Manager, and added the responsibilities of HR Manager a year later. She graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a BS in finance. She enjoys traveling, creative writing, watching hockey, and being a soccer mom.
Rob McAfoos – Warehouse Manager, Airpark location
Rob started his career at Sears Trostel in March 2008 as a CDL driver, and two months later moved to his current position as Warehouse Manager. His responsibilities include efficient transportation of lumber and millwork, DOT compliance, filling warehouse orders, and supplying the mill with materials. A native of Clovis, New Mexico, Rob grew up in the family welding and trucking business before moving to Excel Recycling & Manufacturing, first as a crew leader responsible for constructing that company's new facility, then as manager of the company's paint shop. He has 10 years of managerial experience with Rental Service Corporation. In his spare time, he enjoys woodworking and making knives, as well as playing the guitar and mandolin.
Dereck Hill – Warehouse Material Handler, Airpark location
Born in Albuquerque, NM, Dereck but was raised in Fort Collins and came to Sears Trostel in 1999 as gang saw operator. After six years, he moved to his current position as warehouse material handler. In his free time, he enjoys hunting, camping, fishing and anything to do with the outdoors.
Jim Roberts – Lead Moulder Operator, Airpark location
Jim is originally from North Dakota but has lived in Fort Collins for the last 46 years. He started with Sears Trostel in 1996 on the gang saw line and has moved up through the years to be the lead moulder operator on the Unimat line. His interests outside of work include astronomy, building telescopes and photography.
Matthew Hirsch – Inside Sales, Riverside location
A Colorado native, Matthew was a Sears Trostel customer for years before coming to work for the company in 2003. He began working with wood at an early age, and pursued his passion to San Diego, CA, to study boat building. In his time with Sears Trostel, he has become very knowledgeable in the use of tools and finishing products, and has extensive knowledge for finding obscure woodworking and epoxy products. His enthusiasm for woodworking has taught him much about the individual working characteristics of various species, and inspires him to continue to expand his knowledge if this natural fiber, which is as individual as a fingerprint. In his spare time he likes to hunt, rock climb, and sail. He is currently making racing sails and experimenting with epoxy composites, and helping to design a 20-foot racing sailboat called “Voodoo”.
Carl Herrmann – Operations Manager, Airpark location
Carl came to Sears Trostel in 1994, and started in the old Linden store when the company had one saw, a planer, and a moulder. With the opening of the Airpark location, he was put in charge of running the newly purchased Mereen Johnson gang rip saw, then took a position as an inside salesperson, and moved into a dual role of purchasing and inside sales. He became Operations Manager in 2001, and in 2002 led a team of people to plan, implement and maintain a newly arranged shop floor and work procedures based on the principles of Lean Manufacturing. In 2008, he helped orchestrate another shop floor reconfiguration in which a ValuRip optimizing station feeds a Raimann gang rip saw, replacing the old Mereen Johnson saw. The 2008 project also involved adding a profile sander and updating the company's delivery truck fleet to handle the increased volume. Carl is now focused on simplifying and integrating the main and shop floor computer systems, as well as continuing to identify and eliminate waste in all aspects of the operation. In his free time, he enjoys playing guitar and playing chess.
Patti Catania – Warehouse Lead & Sales Consultant, Riverside location
Patti took woodshop in junior high and discovered the satisfaction of turning a raw piece of wood into a finished product. She brought her woodworking talents to Sears Trostel in 2000, and continues to enjoy the fast-paced environment of lumber warehouse, and helping customers find creative solutions. She also enjoys the physical aspect of a warehouse job, working outside, gardening and strolling through the warehouse alleys.
Kris Hammond – Production Supervisor, Airpark location
Raised on a farm in Southern Idaho, Kris grew up fixing and building things, and took those skills into woodshop and metalshop classes in high school. Prior to joining Sears Trostel in 1999, he worked as a custom harvester traveling from Texas to Idaho for two seasons. He started at Sears Trostel as a driver, and has also held positions as a warehouse employee, warehouse lead, warehouse manager, and production supervisor. He spends his free time with family and friends, and enjoys hunting, fishing, and camping.
Jack Hegdal – Outside Sales, Airpark location
Jack is a Fort Collins native who has been with Sears Trostel since 1999. His first position with the company was inside sales at the Airpark location, followed by inside and outside sales at Riverside location. He moved into outside sales at the Airpark location in 2009 and currently services the Mountain Region. In addition to providing great customer service and networking with people, his interests include skiing, bicycling, reading, hiking among the trees, and home restoration projects.
