Page 88 - Lighting Magazine January 2019

rep ridE-aloNg
“What I’ll miss most about being a rep are the customers; a lot have become
retired and sold the showroom and Blizzard wasn’t keen on going back into retail. “I love interacting with people, but retail has become so demanding now that I don’t miss that aspect,” he remarks.
Instead, Blizzard wanted to try being a sales representative of a high-quality line, so he boldly called up a member of the Framburg family at the factory and asked if there were any opportuni- ties. As luck would have it, there was. Over time his territory for Framburg grew to cover North and South Carolina, plus Virginia and Washington, D.C. “I was basically burning the tires o my car with all the traveling,” he jokes. Along the way, he picked up the Weiss & Biheller line of crystal chandeliers and began building his agency. Most recently Blizzard has been a long-time rep for Quorum International as well as Elegant Lighting, among others.
In 2016, Blizzard and his business associate Mark Vinson, based in Columbia, S.C., merged their agency with James Poindexter of Poindexter Sales in the Charlo e, N.C. area. Under the new name Lumina Sales LLC, the rm covers both North and South Carolina and is a member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and NEWH the Hospitality Industry Network as well as local community organizations.
Blizzard’s idea of retirement doesn’t include taking up golf, however. In addition to spending more time with his wife, Kathy, Blizzard is looking forward to continuing his involvement with civic duties, such as serving on the board of directors at the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History, be- ing an active member of the Wilmington Railroad Museum and the Rotary Club, plus singing in the church choir. He is also considering volunteering in the hospice program with a local hospital.
“What I’ll miss most about being a rep are the customers; a lot have become good friends,” he says. “The travel part of the job is the toughest, but in order to be a good rep, you have to keep knocking on doors. I think a lot of our industry is built on relationships. I’ve had great customers and great lines that have supported me through the years,” Blizzard states.
While his tenure as a sales representative may be over, no one who knows Blizzard well would be surprised to hear of a new chapter in his lighting legacy — even if he protests that there’s no de ni- tive plan in the works yet. Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking on behalf of his customers and factories. 
Blizzard has been calling on Charleston Lighting for many years, but he espe- cially has a great partnership with industry veteran & showroom manager Ken Willoughby, who has transformed the store dramatically over the past six years.
good friends.”
two radio stations – Blizzard had his dad’s blessing to give it a try. “Unlike today, back then, the FCC wouldn’t let anyone own more than one radio sta- tion on either FM or AM so my partners and I had one station on each,” he says. It was there that Blizzard – who would also be on the air – learned about e ective marketing and sales strategies.
Blizzard sold his portion of the radio stations several years later when his partners (who were from Coca-Cola®’s bo ling division) wanted com- plete ownership. In the meantime, his father had
86 enLIGHTenment MagazIne | January 2019
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