: LEHTGH

C0UNTY
: COMMISSIONERS
OFFICE
Application to Filt Vacancyfor Commissloner At-Large, lehigh County pA
:

My nameis JohnR HofmannSr.A lifelongcitizenof LehighCountyand a registeredDemocrat.I aspire

to the fill the vacancycausedby the resignationof Mr. BillLeiner.I respectfully
askfor your
consideration of my relevantqualifications
to participate
asa LehighCountyCommissioner.

CurrentlyI am, and for the pastfour years,ownerof SearsHometownStore,240SWest EndBlvd,

QuakertownPA18951.SearsHometownStoreis engagedln the business of sellingmajorappliances
andelectronics to the generalpublic.Thebusiness employsa total of 4 people.Thebusiness is an S
Corpincorporated underNanhofInc.with Nancy,my wife of 38 yearsowning49%the,balanceowned
by me. Nancyis not an activememberof the business.Sheis a Speech Therapist for the Colonial
NorthamptonIntermediate Unit.

Whv Me?
1. l've beenthere and done that but on a smallerscdle.

In the lateeightiesI filleda vacancy, asa republican,

of a resigning
Catasauqua
BortoughCouncil
person.Subsequently I ranfor re-election
andwaseleded. Duringthe secondyearof my second
term I was,in my fulltimepositionwith RadioShack,prqmotedto EasternDivision'Directorof Radio
ShackRetailServices.

Thefirst yearafter re-election,spendingover 120nightsawayfrom home,travelinga territory

encompassing an areaborderedby BangorMEto Minneapolis MN to Jackson MSto MiamiFL, lt
becameabundantly clearI couldnot in goodconscience position
continueto holda of courrrcil
absentso muchfrom Catasauqua. I subsequentlyresigrhed
from council.

Sometimeduringthe ReaganadministrationI changedpartyaffiliationto Democratas I couldno

partyplatformprincipals.
longersupportnationalRepublican

Earlyin our marriageNancyandI wereweekendhouseparentsat the LehighCountyJuvenile

DetentionCenter.Mr.Bil|Candiawasincharge.

2. I am a student of historv.

HarryTrumansaid,'The onlythingnew isthe historyyou havenot read". Hewasabsolutely

correct!

Since,at the time,spendingso muchtime traveling,I neededa wayto appropriately

utilizethe
evenings spentawayfrom homeandfamily. I hadtakenthe DaleCarnegie course,Human
Relations and PublicSpeaking
andduringthe 16 weeksemester wasawardedCarrlegie's biography
of AbrahamLincoln.lt wasloveat firstsight.SincethartdayI havereadover30 volumeson Lincoln.
It alsostarteda 20+yearloveof historyandbiographies people.Thebeautyof
of successful
studyingsuccessful peopleis realizing
therearerulesfor beingsuccessful.
Therulesare passion,
persistence,perseverance,patienceandaboveall reas6nableness.

Success
is definedasthe progressive
realization
of a worthygoalandluckis that intersecting
point
wherepreparedness meetsopportunityandopportunifyis alwaysthere.

Anotherconsequence of travelingandreadingwasa d(velopinginterestin the AhericanSouth

Westand NativeAmericanhistoryresultingin interestirnphotography asa wayto:recordthe sights
visited.In THEBOOKOFTHEHOPIthe Hopiclaimthe Mayaweretheirdescendants whichled me to
subsequent tripsto the YucatanPeninsulato photograph
andstudyMayanRuins.

I mentionall thisto provideyou with an understanding,el

how I thinkand pursuean ideaor concept
thenfollowit throughtill lt is completely
comprehended.

Asa resultof researchinga topicotheropportunitiespresentthemselves. A perfectexampleis

takinga courseon publicspeaking and 30 yearslaterpreparingto opena secondbusinessin
photography establishing
an atelierin Catasauqua,
with two otherphotographers,namedlronworks
Studio.

3. To be successful
one must be a failure.

Thedefinitionof insanity,according to Einstein,is doingthe samethingoverandoveragainand

expectinga differentresult. Thisis not far from succest.Sincesuccessrequiresrepeatedattempts
to achievea goalby varyingeachattempt until the goal,isultimatelyachieved.

Wheninterviewed by a reporterafterover7,000failedattemptsat developing an incandescent

light
bulb,ThomasEdisonwasaskedwhy he didn'tjustgiveup asit wasobviousto this reporterthat it
wasan impossible
task. Edison,afterconsideration,responded"l havediscoveredr 7,000successful
waysto not makean incandescent bulbthereforeI am that muchcloserto discoveringa successful
wayto makeone".

Success
is all aboutreasoned
failures.

4. lt is all about reasonableness. i

Theabilityto reasonis what separates

usfrom wildlife.tThosewho choosenot to or cannotreason
aredestinedto behavelikeanimalsandrepeattheirerrors.

Reason allowsmeto lookof yourview,his,hers,fiscal,$ociological,

historical,
mine,andthrough
the algorithmof reasonconstructa solutionacceptable;
hopefully,to the majority'withtrue
understanding givento not purposefqrlly
andconsideration or inadvertentlyinjurethose of the
disagreeingminority.
while somewhatcircuitous I hopethe aboveprovidesan irisightintowho andwhat I am. I am Episcopal
havingchangedfrom MoravianaftermarryingNancywho ip Episcopal. I alsohappento be a long
distancerunnerwho runseverySunday.As suchI do not regularlyattendorganized services.while
activeI was,for a periodof time whileraisingour own two,children,SundaySchoolDirector

I performvolunteerserviceasa hospicevolunteervisitingonlyveterans.lt is importantto me to assure

veteransthat they arestillappreciatedandrecognized regardless
of how nearor far in time they are
from theirserviceto our country.I am affiliatedwith Heartland
HomeHealthcare HoSpice Service.

I am alsoa formerboardmemberof the LehighValleyRoadRunners, the valley'slargestrunningclub

with clubhouse locatedin the formerGoodShepherd FarmrHouse,anda currentchildren'srunning
committeemember.TheChildren's runningcommitteeis responsiblefor a seriesof elghtrunning
eventsstartinglatespringand runningthroughsummer.Thesizeof theseeventsin termsof
participationrangefrom overa thousandchildrento 250pSrevent.Theseeventsare:entirely freeto
childrenages3 to 14 with all expenses
underwrittenby LehighValleyRoadRunners.My volunteer
responsibilities
with the RoadRunnersalsoincludesthe ph6tography of all 18 eventsofferedby the
club. Theimagescanbe seenon my PhotosbyJohnwebsite,www.photosbyJohn.net.

EarlylastyearI wastouchedby the impendingbankrupcy of the LehighvalleyZoo. I contactedthen

DirectorStaceyJohnson and proposeda 5Krun throughthe zooasa wayto raiseawareness andfunds
for the zoo. OnceapprovedI developeda websitewww.runwildatlvzooSk.com andwith the helpof Zoo
BoardMemberGreggMarzanowe put on a successful eventraisingnearlySS,OOO for the zoo. Whilea
verysmallpartof a 1.6milliondollarbudgetit wasa contributionthat wouldnot haveotherwise
occurred.

Needless to sayI am no strangerto hardworkandam willirtgto engagein what is necessaryto

accomplish a difficulttask. I am goodwith numbersanda quickstudywith an acuteabilityto detectB.S.
I am a greatproponentof reasonable consideration
to accomplishconsensus by isolatingegofrom the
tasktoprec|udeemotionasaninterruptingfactor.

Attachedis a resumeof my work experience.I am happyarldmorethanwillingto meetand discussmy

qualifications
with all or partof thisaugustgroupat yourconvenience.
I thankyou forrthisopportunity
to presentmy qualificationsandlookforwardto your consideration

Sincerely,

JohnR HofmannSr,
2L5-852-4207
Januarytt,2Ot0

2l

:
I
 , 420Walnut St

GatasauquaPA 18032-1103
:
John R. HofmannSr. r Phone: (215)852+4207

Ernail: johnhofmann@verizon.net

MissionStatement:To providepositiveleadorshipfor a "OneTeam- One Goal"

environmentthat supports Gore County values of teamwork,pride, trust and
integrity.

ffi
SUMMARY I
Over twenty-five yearc of increasingly responsible management experience in leaderchip,
mentoring, change managsment,crcativity, sales traifling, operations, progrant implementation
and human resources. Applicant possess effective ne$otiatingskills and ability to communicate
well with people at all levels of an organizationto achierJeexpectedresults.

Major Strengths

I
Profit & LossControl I ManagementDevelopmcnt

ExcellentCustomerService , StrategicPlanning

Analysis& ProblemResolution I Time Management

HumanResourceTraining , Microsoft Office, LotusNotes,SAP

Photography Selfmotivatedand Disciplined

PROFf,SSIONAT
XXPNRIXNCN
',

PrincipalSearsHometownStore,Quakertown,PA
Own and Operote RetallApptiance and ElectronicsStore, dct 2OOSto Present
 :
. Managedayto day operationof retailstorewith 3 empiloyees
I FullP&1,personnel,
inventoryandfiscalresponsibility profitablebusiness
f,ora consistently

Dan'sCameraCity,Allentown,PA
Counter Salesand ClassroomTraining, Nov 2004to Sept 2005

r Classroom
training,DigitalCameras
for Beginners.
Countersalesof productsand$ervices.

AmerilinkCorp,Bensalem,PA :
RegionalManager, RadioShacktnstatlationSeruices
d.b.aAmerilinN Dec20Ol to tl/pv20O3
i
. Managed eighteen residentialand commercialsdtellite/LANinstallationoffices utilizing a
combination of employeeandcontractinstallers.
o Corebusiness satellite(Dish& DirectTV),installation,
is residential LAN,MSOand MDU. Operation
waslosingmoneyasof July2001. i
o Saleswere increased40% and profits 18%. Succes$attributed to properly managingavailable
assetsboth physicaland people,and leveraging thegethroughcontrolledgrowth and excellent
customerserviceto achieveexpectedresults. i
. Negotiatedagreements with subcontractors for satelllteand LANwork. MarketedRadioShack's
to areaandnationalprospects.
services
I'
CompUSA,Detroit,Ml :
RegionalSeruiceDiredor, tuly 7997to tuly 2007

r As Directorof Services,successfully
trained SalesTearnMembersin proper techniquesof selling
highestmarginproductsi.e.Extended ServicePlans,TrqiningClasses,
ReplacementPlansandService
CenterRepairServices.
o AssistedRegionalSalesManagerin conductingmerch{ndising auditsand plan-o.gramcompliance.
Conductedmerchandising walk-throughwith GenertalManagers,Retail Sales Managersand
OperationsMangers.
e Regionrankednumbertwo in the nationin servicesand grossmarginconsequently becomingthe
secondmostprofitableregionin the company.
o Additionalresponsibilities
includeddirectingmanagers of the Service
Centerslocatedin all stores.

RadioShackCorporation,Bethlehem,PA :
7978to 7997

Director NortheastDivisionof RodioShackRetditServices

o Managed18 locations, a combination

of consumerservlceandcomputerservicef0cilitieswithinfive
state area and Provinceof Ontario Canada. Droye full P & L, budgetaryand personnel
responsibilities
for a 524,000,000
annualsalesdivisionemployingover200 employees to bestof 18
regions.Extensivetravelrequired. :
. Executed roll out of inbound/outbound
servicefacilitiesincludingrecruiting,
staffingandtrainingfor
EasternDivisionof newlycreatedbig box retailchain'Computer City. Opened50 storesin a two-
yearperiod.
o Oneof onlytwo directorsto twiceearnRadioShack's highestachievement the covetedLeaders Club
in 10 years. This award embodiedoverallexcellencein control of all factors pertainingto profits,
salesgainsandcustomerservicescores.

ServiceCenter Manager
o Managedsuccession of progressively
largercomputefand consumerelectronicsservicefacilities
with full P & L, budgetaryand personnelresponsibilitles.
lmprovingproductivityand profitsover
peers,feadto subsequent promotion

Technical Representativefor Tandy TRS80 computer line

o Providedproblem resolution,classroomand field technicaltraining and support to Tandy
technicians
andcustomereducationfor our extensive
@rporateclientbase.
Radio Shack Store Manager
o Manageda RadioShackretailstorewith completeF & L andinventoryresponsibility.

ADUCATION

Universityof Louisianaat Monroe

o Major:Psychology

ReadingAviationService,Braden'sFlyingServiceand RayvitleLAFlyingService

o Privat€,Commercial, lnstrument,Multi-EnginePilot'sLicenses
andGroundInstructor's
Certification.Totalof 4,000+ hoursflyingtime. :

UnitedStatesAir ForceNationalGuard
:
o BasicElectronics
o AircraftRadioRepair

tehigh Countyand NorthamptonCountyCommunityCollqges

o Myriadof coursesin the math's,sciences

andhumanities.

Ongoing

Management, Technical
SalesTraining, Courses,
CafeerTrackSeminars,
and DaleCarnegie
PublicSpeakingand Human relations
course.
a Numerousphotography courses
a HospiceTraining