April Seraphin

“I’m a multi-passionate and an avid learner. I’ve always approached things with a sense of curiosity. I enjoy the challenge that comes with learning and discovering answers and solutions to challenges.”

April never intended to be part of the industrial industry, but it’s where she found her home. A massage therapist who ran her own business and also had experience in property management, April came to Ferguson in 2010 through a temp agency. She was assigned part-time administrative duties, including expediting. To help her learn more about the job, she was placed in the warehouse for a few days. That suited April because her natural curiosity took over and she started absorbing all there was to know like a sponge. She even made herself flashcards to teach herself specs and terminology so she would be better able to look up information.

With that level of initiative and personal motivation, it’s no surprise April was a fast learner and quickly proved to be an asset to the company. She began helping with the Duke Energy account and writing orders for larger industrial customers. Realizing how much she loved the work and how much she had to offer the company, she asked the branch manager to make her a full-time Ferguson employee. And he did! For several years April supported the Duke Energy account and was proud of growing the business by leaps and bounds during that time.

As sometimes happens, in 2017 April left Ferguson to work at Duke as an engineering technologist on the nuclear supply chain. But even while at Duke she kept in touch with Ferguson. And when there was an opening on the Ferguson team that fit her to a T, she came back. Now a National Account Manager, she has been back at Ferguson for almost 5 years.

April credits her maternal grandfather and father for their lessons and example that forged her strong work ethic, curiosity, and her drive to understand how things work. Specifically, her grandfather taught her that any job worth doing is worth doing 110 percent, whether that is sweeping the floor or being an executive. In other words, be willing to do whatever it takes to contribute to a company’s success — and do it with pride.

For anyone new to the industrial PVF distribution business, April recommends taking a page from the same notebook. She believes success lies in approaching the job with curiosity and getting hands-on to learn all you can by doing things like reviewing the data, visiting the warehouse, and visiting customers to learn first-hand what they do and how they do it. She emphasizes the importance of good communication skills, excellent customer service, and, most importantly, resilience. “With national accounts, I may have an agenda for the day, but it can go right out the window in 5 minutes,” she says. “I never know what opportunity I’m going to get — to tackle my way through or to accomplish. I love it.”