A. O. Smith was recently awarded the Strategic Partner of the Year award by Nexstar Network. Nexstar chooses a strategic partner that goes above and beyond the call of duty for their members to earn the annual honor, which has been awarded for the past six years.

The business-development and best-practices organization for independent home service plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical professionals has over 580 member contractors and 114 partners in the U.S. and Canada. Since 2013, A. O. Smith has been a partner of Nexstar’s strategic partner program.

“The increased rebates and the comprehensive work with our members and our distributors really shine above all us and that’s why Mark (Yasumura) and A. O. Smith were chosen for this award,” noted Nexstar’s Strategic Partner Manager Susan Tigner.

National Accounts Manager Mark Yasumura was instrumental in building the partnership with Nexstar.  Yasumura manages A. O. Smith’s contractor groups, franchise groups and the Interline brand.

“This is a company award; I couldn’t do it without marketing, transportation, etc. I’m the guy they see every day and they contact, but it really has to do with everyone that is involved in the company with 15,000 plus employees. It’s a team effort.  Everyone always helps me in a timely manner,” said Yasumura.

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