Sean Baughman wears many hats. To those at VendEdge, located in Roswell, GA, he is a colleague and route driver; to his congregation he is a bi-vocational pastor; to others he is the manager and operator of a successful dog kennel company; and to his nine children he is “dad.” Regardless of his many roles, Baughman is known to all as “friend.”
Baughman, the 2015 Route Driver of the Year Third Quarter winner, began running routes for VendEdge 17 years ago. “Sean has been with us and seen the highs, lows and everything in between of the industry for nearly two decades,” said Sandy Thornton, managing partner at VendEdge. “Throughout all of the years, he has proven himself to be hardworking, flexible, resilient, dependable, responsible, concerned, thoughtful and any number of other qualities that make up an outstanding route driver.”
People person
When he is on route, Baughman is always focused on his customers, who are his first priority. “His customers love him,” exclaimed Thornton. Baughman listens and responds to customer needs by providing the snacks that they crave. He even repairs his own equipment so his customers don’t have to suffer because of a malfunction. Thornton is grateful for Baughman’s dependability, good attitude and work ethic. In fact, VendEdge executives gave Baughman the responsibility of managing his own satellite warehouse two hours north of the company’s headquarters. Baughman places his own orders, manages his customers’ needs and takes responsibility for his day-to-day duties, with minimal support from the main office.
“When he does visit our main office once a week, colleagues gather around to hear a story or two of some vending antics that happened ten years ago or find out the latest on the Baughman kids,” said Thornton. “Sean is truly one of the best storytellers you could ever hope to meet. And with nearly two decades in this industry, he certainly has some stories that can’t be beat.”
Rise to the challenge
Baughman’s nearly 20-year history in vending also means that he has seen a multitude of changes, particularly in technology. When VendEdge transitioned from paper tickets to EasiTrax, Baughman remained hardworking and flexible. When the company more recently introduced Cantaloupe Systems and added micro markets, Baughman embraced the innovation. “He made all of the transitions with ease and has always been willing to accept the changes other drivers find difficult,” said Thornton.
“There is no one more dependable, no one more loyal and no one more dedicated to the job as Sean,” Thornton concluded. “He is truly deserving of this honor.”
