BERNINA Honors Its Outstanding Dealers for 2016

AURORA, IL--(Marketwired - Jul 14, 2017) - BERNINA of America, the premier manufacturer of sewing, embroidery and quilting machines, is pleased to honor its top Dealers for 2016 that demonstrated exemplary sales, service, and customer education. These Dealers were recognized at the BERNINA University Dealer training conference, which was held July 10 - 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Our top Dealers for 2016 represented BERNINA with truly outstanding sales and first-class customer service and educational support," said Paul Ashworth, president of BERNINA of America. "They are a model of success for other BERNINA Dealers to emulate. We congratulate them on a job well done."

Aurora Sewing Center, East Aurora, New York, received the 2016 BERNINA Presidential Award. The award recognizes the Dealer that best exemplifies the spirit of cooperation and education represented by the BERNINA brand. This includes the implementation of a successful integrated marketing program that supports the entire BERNINA product line, modern store merchandise concepting, a well-developed educational approach, dedication and years serving BERNINA customers, and above-average growth in dollar sales and BERNINA units sold.

The 2016 Rookie of the Year Award was presented to Dawn Krier, Chestnut Ridge Sewing in Millersburg, Ohio; Marla Gibson, Sew Much Fun with BERNINA in Belleville, Illinois; Mary DuPont and Yvonne Smith, MY Sewing Shoppe in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Melissa Helms, Keep Me in Stitches in Tampa, Florida who best incorporated the lessons of BERNINA Dealer training into its operation and delivered impressive 2016 results.

In addition, District Dealer of the Year Award winners from the BERNINA's 11 districts were acknowledged:

• Lisa Stevens, Once Upon a Quilt, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
• Ervin Zimmerman, Hinkletown Sewing Machine Shop, Ephrata, Penn.
• Nina Homann-Clark & Justin Shattuck, Stitchin' at the Barn, Imlay, Mich.
• Lisa Alfonzetti, Pins and Needles, Mt. Kisco, N.Y.
• Trent Von Behren, Quality Sew & Vac., Grand Island, Neb.
• John & Carol Watkins, Loving Stitches, Fayetteville, N.C.
• John & Lorene Bonewitz, Sew It Up Studio, Hurst, Texas
• Herb Baron & Nerine Hein, Baron's Fabrics, Woodland Hills, Calif.
• Michelle Luce, BERNINA Sewing & Fabric Center, Billings, Utah
• Jean Graham, Quilter's Haven, LLC, Rosemount, Minn.
• Susan Igou, Studio BERNINA, Lafayette, Colo.

About BERNINA
Founded in Switzerland more than 100 years ago, BERNINA is the world's premier manufacturer with a proven reputation for offering quality state-of-the-art sewing, quilting and embroidery machines, overlockers, and embroidery software. BERNINA's leadership is marked by an impressive number of ambassadors, industry leaders, influencers and bloggers who chose to partner with the company. BERNINA products are sold in the United States through a network of over 400 fully trained independent dealerships that also offer support and education. Select BERNINA and bernette machines, and BERNINA software can also be purchased online. BERNINA products are designed for beginning to advanced sewists and priced to meet a variety of budgets, with new products being introduced every year. You can follow BERNINA on Facebook: www.facebook.com/berninausa, Instagram: @BERNINAUSA, and Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/WeAllSew, and read BERNINA's WeAllSew blog at www.weallsew.com. To learn more about BERNINA and to find a Dealer, visit www.bernina.com or call (630)978-2500.