Fall 2005 - The Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce

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Jeff Leetz with father Bruce Leetz in North Coast Distributing’s warehouse 8 Jeff Leetz Vice President of Brand Management North Coast Distributing,Inc. When he graduated from Ball State, Jeff Leetz decided he wanted to be a part of his family’s long-standing commitment to the community. Jeff is the fifth generation of the Leetz family in business in Valpo. His great-great-grandfather, opened a grocery store here in 1891. The store was run by the Leetz family until it closed in 1959. His great-grandfather Louis Leetz owned the store while serving as Valparaiso’s mayor from 1928-1930. Jeff’s grandfather, Harlin Leetz, grew up working in the grocery store. In 1962, Harlin took over the operation of a company that was then called Valpo Beverage. Jeff’s dad, Bruce Leetz, joined the company in 1963. “He took over as president in 1970 and he’s been flying the plane ever since,” Jeff said. In 1992, Valpo Beverage became North Coast Distributing, Inc. Jeff graduated, and went to work for his father, in 1993. “I wanted to be a part of carrying on the family tradition. There’s a lot of great history here and that was important to me. There’s a romance to it I suppose.” In addition to that, Jeff says with a huge grin, “it’s the beer business! It’s a tremendous business to be a part of, and a lot of fun. For a kid out of college, it was a nice choice and I was fortunate enough to have that choice.” His career in the family business began behind the wheel of a truck. “I was a delivery driver and had my own route for two years. After that I got into sales for a couple of years. Then I spent two years down in Indianapolis with another beer company, learning the ropes, seeing how another company goes about doing things. It was a tremendous experience.” Jeff returned to North Coast and for five years was Vice President of Operations. Today his title is Vice President of Brand Management. “We have 27 suppliers. Miller Brewing Company and Coors Brewing Company are our biggest brands. But we also distribute the fine beers of Sam Adams, Corona, Guinness, Beck’s and many other beers from all over the world. I work with our suppliers and setting up budgets and programs. the programs then become the focus of our sales department to help us achieve our sales goals. I am also involved with Coastal Valley Water, our water company. We sell five-gallon jugs and coolers, and also install water softeners and treatment systems.” Jeff shares the family’s sense of pride in building a successful business. For four out of the last five years North Coast has earned the Miller High Life Achievement Award, which Miller gives to its best distributor. And, for the first time, they also earned the Coors Founders Award for being that brewery’s best distributor. “This is the first time ever that a company won both awards in the same year,” he said. North Coast’s success has a lot to do with the Valparaiso business climate. “The business community is very supportive,” Jeff said. “That’s what makes this such a great community. Everybody takes care of one another.” Location is another key to North Coast’s success. “We are centrally located in Northwest Indiana so that we can easily serve all seven counties we call on. It’s easy to get around, the highway system is great.” Valparaiso is definitely a permanent part of Jeff’s future. “My dad is a very successful person. It’s amazing what he has built here and provided for my family and it’s our job to keep it running for our kids and hopefully they’ll have the same opportunities that we had. (Jeff’s brother Jon has the responsibility over the Fort Wayne operation, where his brother Mark also runs the warehouse). We are fortunate to have strong management teams and a great workforce in both locations.” Business isn’t the only reason Jeff has decided to stay. “You have this beautiful small cozy, charming town of Valparaiso, yet it has a lot of the characteristics of a bigger town. You still have Chicago, the greatest city in the world, right next door. The location is great: Lake Michigan, the beaches, the National Lakeshore, there’s a lot to do in this area. And, this is the best community to raise a family in.” Valparaiso has also proven to be a great place to chase a dream of his own. In his spare time, Jeff plays in a band called Shotgun Elvis. They’ve had a lot of success in some of the hottest clubs in Chicago. But when it came time to record their first CD, they didn’t look any further than their own hometown. “We recorded locally at Bear Tracks Studio,” Jeff said, “on Indiana Avenue, downtown Valpo. It was fun, it was a great experience, it was very easy to do, and it was the original home of Valpo Beverage, my grandpa’s company.” The band got the sound, service and convenience they were looking for, and the CD is selling well. But for Jeff, the experience was an affirmation of his decision to live, work and play in Valparaiso. “It was grandpa’s old beer warehouse and it’s now a recording studio. You could say I had some sentimental reasons for making our CD there.”
Thomas E.Boyt, DVM,PhD Dean, College of Business Administration Valparaiso University At one time, Tom Boyt was a practicing veterinarian. But he decided education was his real calling and went back to school. In 1994 he started at UNLV in Las Vegas and eventually became Chairman of the Marketing Department. He moved on to become Dean of the College of Business at the University of Central Oklahoma. A little over a year ago he was invited to Valparaiso to apply for his current position. “The visit is what sold me,” Tom said. “I came here, I interviewed, and I asked to speak with some students. They randomly brought some students in to see me. It wasn’t scheduled. And they blew me away. I had never been around that quality of students in any place I’ve ever been. They looked like business people, they sounded like them, they acted like them, they asked great insightful questions, and they were very respectful. At that point in time I knew that something was happening here that was very good and I wanted to be a part of that. The faculty is also the best I have ever seen.” Tom was offered the job and, of course, took it. But the family hit what he called “a little bit of a snag” during the move. “We put our house up on the market as soon as I came up here and I pulled my travel trailer up here to live in just for a month or so until our house sold. Then our house in Oklahoma was hit by a tornado. So I basically lived in my travel trailer in Donna Jo’s Campground south of Kouts for almost a year.” After finally getting their house fixed and sold, the Boyt’s moved into a home in Morgan Township. Their three grown children have homes of their own. Tom and his wife wanted a place where they could fence in a yard for their two dogs. “They’re a very high priority for me,” Tom said with a smile. “We basically picked our property for our dogs.” Particularly after the trauma of the move, the Boyt’s are very happy to be finally settled in their new hometown. “I went to hear the president and CEO of Century 21 speak here in Valparaiso. He’d only been here for a couple of days and somebody asked the question ‘what’s your impression of Valparaiso?’ And he said ‘it’s homey.’ And he’s 9
Page 1: The Magazine of the Greater Valpara
Page 4 and 5: 4 From the President There are grea
Page 6 and 7: 6 Kevin Mowbray Vice President - Pu
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Page 25 and 26: Michelle Richardson, Administrative
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Fall 2005 - The Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce

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