Top 40 supplier Charles River Apparel (asi/44620) honored its sales team at a special awards ceremony during its two-day virtual summit on July 29 and 30.

It was a meaningful way for the Sharon, MA-based company to recognize the hard work of its sales team after a particularly challenging year, according to Charles River executives. “As a sales leader, I am tremendously thankful for the entire crew at Charles River Apparel, and I wanted to take a moment to personally congratulate a few of those who have gone above and beyond,” said Dave Saracino, vice president of sales for Charles River.

Gary Schwartz was named direct rep of the year; Garrett Blankenship, multiline rep of the year; Ed Zacharski, college rep of the year; and Kelly Connolly was recognized for largest order of the year.

The supplier also announced a new award, named in honor of the company founder, to recognize superior customer service and sales performance. The Walter Lipsett Award of Excellence was presented to Dan Kramer, who has been a territory manager at Charles River for 15 years.

“These individuals have shown that they have what it takes to go the extra mile for their customers,” Saracino said. “They are excellent examples of what it means to be part of our crew.”

Charles River Apparel ranked 40th on Counselor’s latest list of the 40 largest suppliers in the industry, with 2020 North American promotional products sales of $34.1 million. A longtime executive at Koozie Group, Saracino took over Charles River’s sales department in April.