2008 Summer Conference Speakers
Michael T. Baklarz
Michael T. Baklarz is Vice President of Business Development and a Director of Sales for the Cold Spring Memorial Group, a leading manufacturer of bronze and granite memorials, community mausoleums and private estates. He has 25 years of diverse experience in sales, marketing, finance, and strategic planning and is an active member of the Monument Builders of North America and International Cemetery and Funeral Association. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy for two years and completed his undergraduate degree at Duquesne University and also has a master’s in business administration from Ashland College.
Kirk Armstrong
Gerry Weinberg and Associates is an award winningsales training and sales force development organization. They help individuals, entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes in over 200 different industries and professions achieve new levels of personal and professional success.
Through a blend of personal experience and nationally proven sales training techniques, Gerry Weinberg and Associates has become the top 3% of all Sandler trainers in revenue. They have won numerous awards for their "Achievement of Excellence" including the prestigious David H. Sandler Award and the Sandler Sales Institute's Pinnacle Award, the highest performance-based award bestowed by Sandler.
Kirk Armstrong is an accomplished associate with Gerry Weinberg & Associates, receiving numerous awards for his sales production, training and coaching. Kirk comes from a background in sales and sales management with experience in selling capital equipment, component sales and contracted services.
With his personal style and experience, he has helped to grow his clients’ sales by an average of 30% in one year. They have learned how to sell more, in less time, stop wasting time with people that will never do business with them, and have a lot more fun selling!
He lives with his family of four in Royal Oak, Michigan, where he enjoys running each morning before work, coaching children’s sports and playing competitive hockey.
Helen Wildermuth
Helen Wildermuth of Stonehugger Cemetery Restoration was born near Buffalo, New York, and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. I currently live in a log home in Nashville, Indiana. I have two sons age 24 & 22. In 2001, I began restoring stones on a volunteer basis, and by 2003, this was my full time employment. Since 2003, I drive 50,000 miles a year, restoring 2000 stones per year, and spend 150 + nights on the road. To date I have restored over 10,000 stones.
My hobbies are travel, books, collecting glass, and driving my Mazda Miata.
I have a true passion for restoration, and gain immense satisfaction from feeling that I have made a difference in the community. The impact is both visual and historical. I restore older marble, limestone, and sandstone markers. I also specialize in statuary repair.