If you were casting the role of “mom” in the promo products industry, Sweda’s (asi/90305) Kellie Claudio would get the part. After all, who else is so devoted to her reps that she makes 40-gallon pots of homemade soup for her team to share at sales meetings? Her office, meanwhile, is the place where everyone goes to chat – about anything, not just work. And when her company went through a tumultuous time in 2016 with a new boss, it was Claudio who talked reps off the ledge, promising to do everything she could to make things better. She was the glue that held her Sweda family together, like the best of moms would do. “I want everyone to know that I care,” says Claudio, Sweda’s senior VP of sales and marketing. “I think I’m real, and I don’t mask my passion.”

Indeed, after you spend a few minutes with Claudio you’ll see she’s as authentic as they come, a “hugger” with an endearing and unassuming personality born out of her West Virginia roots. After getting a master’s degree in dance education, she moved to the bright lights of California, where she danced, choreographed and had a studio. Then one day, while in line getting coffee, she met the owner of a surfwear company who needed someone to sell across 13 Western states. “I told him that I was his girl,” Claudio says.

And just like that, Claudio stepped into the life-changing world of sales, calling first on retailers and later transitioning into promo with Ashworth. She got pretty practiced at “romancing” apparel and wouldn’t touch hard goods until she arrived at Sweda eight years ago, hired by CEO Jim Hagan. He knew that bringing in Claudio was a coup. “When I hired Kellie we didn’t even have a position open, I just knew I needed her to be a part of my team,” says Hagan. “Her energy, commitment to our customers, to the company and to her team is second to none.”

Since joining Sweda, Claudio has helped the supplier increase sales by almost 30%. She played a massive role in keeping the company steadied while Hagan stepped away for a time. Now that he’s back, Claudio just finished a record May and is having “one of the best years” she’s ever had at the company. “Sweda is just a happy place for all of us right now,” she says.

Clearly Claudio is a big reason for that happiness, so it’s fitting that this lifelong “giver” now gets to receive the accolades she’s always deserved.