Brandon Daw
Regional Sales Coordinator, Aflac
I grew up in Pocatello and graduated from Highland High School. I attended Utah State University in Logan, Utah and graduated in Social Work. It was there I started my career with Aflac and also met my wife, and we started our family. We moved to Boise for a few years, and now live in Idaho Falls. When I’m not working, I’m spending time with my family: coaching soccer, cheering on from the sidelines, watching dance recitals, playing games, or riding bikes. I love playing and watching sports, or reading in my down time.
I am proud to be a part of the Aflac legacy. Their philanthropic work in the childhood cancer community is exceptional. The Aflac field force has raised over $140 million for the Aflac Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in Atlanta. I have been with Aflac for sixteen years. Thirteen of those years have been in leadership positions. In 2019, I was named Regional Manager of the Year in the Mountain Market. My success in team development and sales performance has qualified me for multiple awards over the years. I am currently a member of a leadership council for the western United States. I enjoy representing Aflac because it has allowed me to make a difference in the lives of policyholders.
Eric Driscoll
CEO, United Ag & Turf
Eric grew up in Aberdeen Idaho and spent his youth working on the Driscoll Farm, Ranch and other Driscoll businesses. After serving a two year mission, Eric attended BYU-Idaho and studied Agriculture-Business Management.
Following college, Eric returned to work with his family business in American Falls Idaho. Shortly after being married, Eric and his wife Victoria re-located to Salt Lake City. Eric and Victoria worked at Westridge Academy, a program for troubled youth. Eric has always credited this experience as one of the keys to working well with people and developing as a Manager and Leader.
Eric has had extensive business experiences in Sales, Management, Leadership and Mergers and Acquisitions. Eric is currently the CEO of United Ag & Turf Northeast. Eric as recently as this year led United Ag & Turf in the acquisition of 10 John Deere Dealership Organizations, consisting of 25 locations & 480 employees from New York to Maine.
Eric's other business experiences include:
- Realtor: Re/Max Results (Salt Lake City, Utah)
- General/ Sales Manager: Driscoll Truck Center (American Falls, Idaho)
- General Manager: Stotz Equipment (Casa Grande, Arizona)
- CEO: Driscoll Management Company (Pocatello, Idaho)
- Region President: Ag-Pro Companies (Columbus, Ohio)
- Currently, CEO United Ag & Turf Northeast (Portland, Maine)
Eric is passionate about working with people, building teams, improving business operations and in creating continual value for both customers and employees. Eric finds the most rewarding part of his work to be helping other individuals gain confidence, progress personally and professionally and develop as successful individuals and leaders themselves.
Eric is excited to join the Sales Professional Advisory Board at ISU and to help make a positive difference with the rest of the Board Members.
Merril Hoge
Former NFL Running Back, Best-Selling Author, and Motivational Speaker
Find. A. Way.
Merril Hoge has proven that those three, simple words can be the most powerful words in the English
language. Merril’s Find-A-Way philosophy helped him achieve his dream of becoming an NFL
powerhouse and would later help him fight to live as he struggled to overcome cancer, open-heart
surgery, and family tragedy.
As a speaker since 2005, Merril has taken the stage to deliver his message to hundreds of associations
corporate audiences, such as Highmark Insurance, Equifax, and Verizon Wireless. He uses the tenacity of
that simple phrase to help people realize their gifts and uncover the tools they need to find their way.
Best-Selling Author
In 2018, with the national discussion on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) at its peak, Merril
released Brainwashed: The Bad Science Behind CTE and the Plot to Destroy Football. He collaborated on
the project with board-certified forensic neuropathologist, Dr. Peter Cummings, to take an unbiased
look at the facts surrounding this misunderstood pattern. Together, they conducted a provocative
examination of the science, as well as the hysteria around CTE and how it is being manipulated to serve
an agenda.
Merril’s first book, Find a Way: Three Words That Changed My Life, was released in 2010. It is a moving
memoir in which he shares the simple philosophy that guides him to this day and has enabled him to
overcome obstacles throughout his life.
NFL Football: The dream
Merril Hoge graduated from Idaho State University in 1987. As a four-year starter, he held 11 of the
school’s football records, including single-season and career marks for rushing attempts, rushing yards,
and all-purpose yards. Merril also scored 44 ISU touchdowns, a Big Sky Conference record, and still holds
the record for the most receptions by an Idaho State running back (182).
After graduation, Merril achieved his dream of playing in the NFL, starting a successful eight-year run
with the Pittsburgh Steelers. As a Steeler (1987-1993), Merril set the team record for most receptions by
a running back (50 in 1988) and was one of only two Steelers to rush for more than 100 yards in back-to-back
playoff games. After signing a three-year contract with the Chicago Bears, a series of concussions
forced him into early retirement in 1995. By the end of his career, Merril had played in 122 consecutive
games, the longest streak in the NFL at that time.
Broadcasting: The Second Career
Always one to find a way, the former NFL running back has transformed himself into a successful analyst
for ESPN for 21 years:
• Appears regularly on NFL Matchup, the network’s longest running show
• Host of Fantasy Football for the show’s launch
• Routinely offers his analysis on shows like NFL Live and NFL PrimeTime
• A regular guest on LIVE SportsCenter over many years
Merril continues to provide analysis to ESPN’s annual Super Bowl and NFL Draft coverage and is a
regular voice on ESPN Radio and ESPN.com. He also served as a game analyst and sideline reporter on
ESPN2 for its college football coverage and made his way to the telecast booth to call games for the
Arena Football League.
Overcoming Challenges: Creating Victories
In 2003, Merril was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, which he fought – and beat – using the
same resolve he demonstrated on the football field. He received the Chairman’s Advocacy Award from
the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in 2004 and 2008 for his outstanding participation in driving
awareness for LLS and its mission.
His doctors told Merril in the fall of 2015 that he was suffering from an enlarged aorta and would need
to undergo open-heart surgery. That experience and the awareness he gained led to his on-going
partnership with the American Heart Association in helping deliver their “Lifestyles for a Healthy Heart”
message.
CTE: Common-Sense Advocacy
In the years since his career-ending head trauma, Merril has championed concussion research, resisted
the hysteria surrounding the disease, and become an informed advocate in the prevention and
treatment of brain injuries.
• 2009: Testified at a congressional hearing on football head injuries, challenging legislators to
institute a head-trauma protocol for players ages 8-18
• 2010: Appointed in 2010 to the NFL MTBI Committee, which initiates research and advises the
NFL on best practices for concussion prevention and management
• 2010: Named to the board of directors for USA Football, the sport’s national governing body on
youth and amateur levels
• 2011: Invited by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to serve on the NFL’s Return-to-Play
Subcommittee which deals with head, neck, and spine cases
• 2011: Met with senior officials at the Pentagon to discuss the military’s tough-guy culture and
instilling the benefits of leaders suffering a concussive head injury to voluntarily remove
themselves from a situation as the best course of action for the troops under their command
• 2011: Participated in the NFL-USO Tour to Afghanistan with Matt Millen and Hall of Famer
Anthony Munoz, visiting troops overseas
• 2012: Helped launch Heads-up Football with USA Football
• 2014: Became an active part of the USA Football Advisory Committee
Refocused Efforts: New Frontiers
To help bring the focus back to football, Merril also worked with the NFL in developing its “Way to Play”
program to celebrate athletes who play the game right. Throughout the season, the spotlight falls on
players doing things well, with a weekly “Way to Play” winner who awards the $2,500 prize to their
selected charity. Season winners receive the honor of being named to the Lott/Madden team during
Pre-Superbowl week.
Merril’s life-long love of the game also helped launch a new kind of league in 2018—Your Call Football.
YCD blends football and app technology enabling fans to call the play in real time. As head coach, Merrill
took his team Power to 4-0 in the league’s inaugural season.
Helping Others: The Goal
As a believer in helping your community, Merrill serves as Chairman and a member of the board of the
Highmark Caring Foundation. The group helps grieving children, adolescents and the families who lost
loved ones and is particularly meaningful to Merril, who lost his mother when he was just 21 years old.
There are currently four centers in Pennsylvania, in Erie, Harrisburg, and two in Pittsburgh.
With the Chuck Noll Hall of Fame Game for Life award, Merril was instrumental in developing a program
that recognizes the youth football community in each state. Since 2017, the program, together with
business partners Dicks, Riddell, and USA Football, has awarded recipients over $150,000.
Merril also joined forces with Hall of Famers John Madden and Ronnie Lott to help launch The NFL’s
Way to Play program, spotlighting great ambassadors of the game. Each week throughout the season,
one player is recognized for excellence in playing the game with skill and integrity and is awarded $2,500
to donate to any football program of his choice, along with a letter from the NFL commissioner.
Kent Malinowski
CEO, SuccessWorks, Inc
Leads a company that has increased client revenues by a billion dollars over 25 years. Company presidents and individual salespeople alike rely on Kent to catapult their sales successes. His company’s training and coaching have “Broken the Sales Code” by inventing a groundbreaking sales methodology (SW3PTM). This system re-invents tired, old school approaches for hiring People; managing the sales Pipeline; and executing the sales Process.
Kent began his sales career at the age of 16 selling advertising after school. He spent years “carrying a bag” by selling enterprise accounts in the technology space. At 30, Kent doubled revenue twice while leading a Fortune 500 company division before founding his own sales training company in 1994. He trained thousands of salespeople for companies (small and large) including General Electric, Harris Corporation, Ultimate Software, Weitz Construction and Nationwide Insurance.
He carries certifications in the sciences of human behavior, motivation and emotional intelligence (which simply means he discovered some keen insights about how customers buy and how salespeople attempt to persuade). Kent’s expertise guides others on voyages deep inside The Buyer and Seller Brains.
Virginia Lee Williams
Vice-President of Global Customer Success, Planview, Inc.
Virginia studied Speech and English in college thinking she’d be a lawyer. The need for a summer job led her to a radio news gig which led to roles as a broadcast journalist. Little did she know her work behind the microphone was excellent preparation for what was waiting for her on the other side of the microphone: a career in sales and customer success.
Virginia’s proven that foundational sales and customer success skills and processes span industries. She has nearly 30 yeas of global sales, sales operations and customer success experience in the media, satellite communications, industrial printing and enterprise software/SaaS industries. She’s worked for start-ups, public, and private equity-owned companies. She’s led global direct, multi-channel and OEM sales teams. She’s revamped sales models for increased margin and profitability. She’s led customer success teams focused on increasing customer value realization and retention. She’s also been a sales leadership consultant providing leadership to and establishing best practices for companies. She’s known for recruiting and developing top talent and building strong teams.
Virginia considers one of her career highlights as leading sales and marketing teams in China, requiring her to embrace cross cultural differences and be the bridge to achieve company and customer success. She also found learning some Mandarin phrases, and eating authentic cuisine goes a long way!
Virginia lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, loves travel, experiencing new cultures, and her cat. She is also an advocate and fund raiser for suicide prevention and erasing the stigma around mental health.
Jeff Wimer
CDO & Career Financial Advisor, Northwestern Mutual
Is the Chief Development Officer and a career Financial Advisor with Northwestern Mutual in Boise, Idaho. Jeff graduated from the University of Idaho in 1994 with a degree in Business Marketing with emphasis in Finance and Economics. After graduating, he entered the workforce with a career in sales and advanced through all levels of Sales and Sales Management at MicronPC. In 2007, he changed directions and in desiring to build his own firm he started with Northwestern Mutual. Decades of sales experience coupled with strong mentorship and advanced learning opportunities put Jeff on a path to success with an organization recognized as premiere institution in their space.
His first year of work at Northwestern yielded Rookie of the Year accolades. In the next five years he was awarded New Financial Advisor of the Year three times and was awarded Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum accolades in those years. As his personal practice matured he became a consistent member of the Region’s Top 10 Advisor of the Year. In addition to this, as Chief Development Officer, his calling is to work with new advisors to grow their practices, to stretch beyond their dreams and to create their own firm that will bring them their brightest possible future.
Jeff also believes strongly in Idaho and his local community. He is involved with multiple local and nationally recognized non for profits. He is Northwestern’s local sponsor for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a national charity doing amazing work for children’s cancer and supporting the families of those fighting this terrible disease. He leads from the front on ongoing efforts for social equity by championing his regions Diversity and Inclusion council.
Don Zebe
Vice President of Brokerage Services, Colliers International
Don Zebe is a 1980 graduate of the Idaho State University College of Business where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in business management. In his early career, Don worked as Vice President of Sales for General Electric, later joining Oracle as the Vice President of Sales Process Manufacturing. Don has also served as Chief Executive Officer of Aplicor but returned to Idaho as Vice President of Coldwell Banker Commercial Advisors specializing in retail, investments, industrial, office and land properties.
Don serves as the chairperson of the Sales Advisory Board and also serves on the College of Business’s Advisory Board since 2018. Don and his wife Cyndee were the first to establish a scholarship endowment for the College’s Professional Sales Program.