Our Western Michigan Team
Jon Ritchie
CEO
Cell: 616-581-4203
"Jon is a life-long resident of west Michigan. He is a graduate of Davenport College in Grand Rapids. Jon started his career with Ritchie Marketing working part time in the warehouse while in high school. During college he worked full time for his father, Tom Ritchie, as the warehouse manager and a sales rep. After college he continued his sales career and got into sales management, ultimately buying out the other partners of Ritchie Marketing in 2006.
Jon is married to Karla for well over 30 years and they have three adult daughters, two that are married. He also has two grandsons. Family time is a big deal to Jon & Karla and they love to spend time together with their kids and grandkids. He enjoys playing golf, hunting and University of Texas college football."
Rob Kowalewski
President
Cell: 616-204-2042
"Rob has recently joined Ritchie Marketing as our new President. He grew up in the restaurant business with his father. Rob went to Purdue University for his undergraduate degree in Management & Finance. He earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame.
He has worked in the foodservice industry in restaurants, as a sales rep, food broker, and foodservice distributor business developer. He has also owned and operated multiple restaurants and a microbrewery.
Rob and his wife Julie have 3 children: one playing football at Indiana University and the other 2 in high school. When not at work, Rob enjoys spending time with his family and friends at their cottage, playing golf and traveling to his kids’ sporting events."
Dale Ritchie
Vice President
Cell: 616-446-6521
"Dale has been with Ritchie Marketing for the past 40+ years. Dale started working for his brother Tom Ritchie back in the 1980’s and enjoys working Tom’s son Jon Ritchie as we move forward into the future.
Dale is married to Colleen and they have two grown children that live in the Cleveland area and the Chicago area. He enjoys working with his church and spending time with our family. I also spend time working on a couple of Classic cars in my garage and working in my yard."
Ron Brenner
Account Executive
Cell: 616-443-8112
"Ron grew up in Comstock Park, Michigan and graduated from Cornerstone University where he also played on the baseball team. He began his foodservice experience in 1980 working at a local Grand Rapids restaurant chain, then after graduating moved on to work for a food manufacture then to Ritchie Marketing in 1994.
Ron is married, has 3 children and 1 grandchild, and resides in Rockford, MI. He is an avid sports fan with the University of Michigan football being his favorite (Go Blue!!!). Ron also enjoys a good cup of coffee, working in his yard and loves to read about history, especially US history and fiction books."
Tom Moore
Account Executive
Cell: 616-916-5321
Email: TMoore@ritchiemarketing.com
"Tom has a degree in Hospitality Management from Grand Valley State University and has worked in the foodservice industry for 7 years, including restaurant-resort management and sales. He spent 10 years as a National Sales Manager in the golf & sports turf industry prior to his return to foodservice.
He enjoys coaching youth sports, is an avid sports fan, and particularly enjoy the game of golf. He currently resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his wife, 3 boys and man’s best friend."
Roger Ditmar
Account Executive
Cell: 616-745-1179
Email: RDitmar@ritchiemarketing.com
"Roger joined the Ritchie Marketing team in July of 2015. He has been in the food service industry for 40 years. The past fifteen years he has been in food service sales.
He is married to Lois and have 3 grown children and 6 grandchildren.
They live in Kentwood MI. and enjoy traveling, kayaking, gardening, and cooking."
Emily Brenner
Non-Commercial Specialist
Cell: 616-446-9546
"Emily is one of Ron’s daughters who raised her to be
another HUGE University of Michigan sports fan. She has two
cat babies at home, Drama and Kimchi, and is a loving aunt
to her nephew Quincy. In her spare time, she enjoys
watching sports, baking, and spending time with
her family."
Bridget Lamoreaux
Business Development Specialist
Cell: 231-303-0098
"Bridget is a Michigan native and graduated from Grand Rapids West Catholic. She then went on to aquire her bachelors degree for Northwood University with Business Administration and All American and MVP of Womens Basketball at Aquinas College."
Bridget started in her fathers, Don Lamoreaux’s, All Sports Complex in Byron Center “Dome World” at the age of 12. Before owning her own places, Wright Tavern and Government Lake Lodge, she helped her sibling with their restaurants. She has always loved working with food and finding solutions at a young age.
Dan Zevalkink
Account Executive
Cell: 616-308-9872
"Dan has spent the last 30 years working in kitchens, primarily in West Michigan. Since 2000, he has been a Chef. He currently lives in Grand Rapids his wife Ashley, and their three boys. They also have 3 fur children Basil our Dog, and Drake & Ren our cats. They are an active family, Dan coach Boys Soccer and helps with Karate.
In his free time, he enjoys camping and road trip vacations with his family and friends. His hobbies include snowboarding, fly fishing, shooting skeet & trap league, hunting with Basil, and of course cooking.
Karla Ritchie
Customer Service
Office: 800-968-3636
"Karla has been with Ritchie Marketing since 2014 working on our customer service team. She is married to Jon and has three grown daughters, and two wonderful grandsons. She enjoys spending time with her grandsons, going to Texas football games, and spending quality time with family and friends."
Michael Stickler
Business Development Specialist
Cell: 989-321-1337
"Mike's greatest joy is spending time with his beloved wife Penny, his three adult children Victoria, Michael, and Camden, along with their four delightful grandchildren.
His hobbies paint a picture of a man who loves the great outdoors and the thrill of competition. Mike is an avid golfer. And a love of fishing. As a die-hard fan of the best college football team on the planet, he proudly shouts, “GO Green! ”whenever possible
Professionally, Mike has dedicated over 30 years to the hospitality business. His journey has managed every facet of a restaurant. As a certified chef at Aramark higher education campuses, a business/culinary solutions specialist at Gordon Food Service, and a general manager of several restaurants. Mike has had the opportunity to shape businesses, guiding them toward success and profitability in Northern Michigan, no and many more years to come.
Jennifer Hawkins
Customer Service
Office: 800-968-3636
"Jennifer has a Business degree from the University of South Florida and has worked at Ritchie Marketing for 15 years.
She is an avid golfer and enjoys hiking, kayaking and leading woman’s bible study groups. She and her husband Jack like spending time with family and friends around the grill or fire pit. "
Haley Fitzpatrick
Customer Service
Office: 800-968-3636
"Haley is the oldest daughter of Jon and Karla. She graduated from Spring Arbor University in 2015 with her degree in Psychology and English Literature and is currently pursuing her masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling a Western Michigan University.
She and Andrew married in 2016 and have two little boys: Aiden is 4 years old and has Down Syndrome and Owen is 10 months old. Haley joined the Ritchie Marketing team in 2017. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, and going for walks with her family and Australian shepherd, Jax. She is an avid Texas Longhorns fan and enjoys watching the games in the fall with her family."
Bernie Schoemer
Customer Service
Office: 800-968-3636
"Bernie has been part of the Ritchie Marketing team since 1996. She has 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild. She enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, crafting, gardening, and enjoying the countryside from her backyard."
Kelly Dykman
Customer Service
Office: 800-968-3636
Email: kdykman@ritchiemarketing.com
"Kelly has been with Ritchie Marketing team since 2019. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, gaming, and enjoying walking trails."
Our Eastern Michigan Team
John Basye
Sales Manager, Eastern Michigan
Cell: 586-909-3300
Email: JBasye@ritchiemarketing.com
"John has been in the food service industry for 20+ years. John started his culinary career while he was attending Albion College getting his bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine. With his background as a chef and in distributer sales John has an inside perspective of the distributer and restaurant dynamic which helps him relate to his customers. Being a resource for his customers is John’s goal.
John lives in Northern Oakland County with his wife Kelly and their two children and two dogs. He spends his off time up in Traverse City (hunting, fishing, or just relaxing) or driving his children to their different activities. Lifelong Michigan State fan, he also enjoys watching the Red Wings, Lions, and Tigers."
Dan Halling Jr.
Account Executive
Cell: 810-333-2821
"Dan Halling Jr, known in many circles as ‘Junior’ has been in the food service business since he was 16, starting in country clubs and hotels before finally settling into the food service sales aspect in 1987. Dan is married with two children and one grandchild. He spends his free time with his family attending sporting events, concerts and comedy acts.
Dan is a graduate of Michigan State, but is a die-hard Michigan fan. His goal is to bring a positive presence to every situation he's in."
Chuck Bowe
Business Development Specialist
Cell: 586-216-1020
Email: CBowe@ritchiemarketing.com
"Chuck joined the Ritchie Marketing team in 2010. He lives in Shelby Township, Michigan and has two grown children, Taylor his daughter and his son Jordon. In his free time he volunteers at church, rides his bike, fishes, tries to golf, as well as being an avid fan of the Michigan Wolverines and Detroit Tigers.
He attended Macomb Community College where he studied Hospitality management. Chuck has worked in the food service industry as a restaurant manager, and a distributor sales representative before becoming a broker."
Branden Connolly
Business Development Specialist
Cell: 248-470-0140
"Branden has been in the food service industry for over 20 years. He has worked his way up through restaurants from dishwasher to Manager, and as a food broker. He always enjoyed cooking and the back of the house where he could use his talent in creating new recipes or specials for the week. He attended Michigan State University where he studied Business Management.
Branden lives in Farmington, Michigan. When he's not working, he enjoys playing golf and softball. He is an avid fan of all sports, so he spends most of his free time going to or watching sporting events."
Tom Hrynik Jr
Business Development Specialist
Cell: 248-892-4994
Email: THrynik@ritchiemarketing.com
"Tom has been in the food service industry for nearly 40 years, doing everything from washing dishes to working on the line to management to broker. Tom has been a broker for the last 19 years having a variety of responsibilities. A Northern Michigan University graduate with a degree in Marketing. He is an avid fan of the Detroit Tigers, Lions, and the University of Michigan
Tom lives in Royal Oak with his wife, Bonnie, and son. He has two older children who have given him and his wife 10 grandchildren. In his spare time Tom plays as much softball as he can, playing with his grandkids, and going for walks with his better half."
Steve Siekierzynski
Business Development Specialist
Cell: 313-719-7332
"Steve comes to Ritchie Marketing Inc. with over 30 years of experience as a chef at some of metro Detroit’s most well-known restaurants. He is a graduate of Dearborn Divine Child H.S. and Schoolcraft College’s prestigious Culinary Arts program. Steve has a passion for food and a vast amount of experience that has afforded him the opportunity to do teaching and consulting in addition to appearing many times on local tv showcasing his culinary expertise. He is an avid fan of college football, especially the Michigan Wolverines. Go Blue!!
Steve is happily married and has 2 big fur babies."
Jeff Bogos
Account Executive
Cell: 810-360-3334
Email: jbogos@ritchiemarketing.com
"Jeff Was the 6th born of 7 children. Jeff was always playing sports with his three older brothers, from boxing, baseball, basketball, and football, He continued to play baseball at Washtenaw community college.
After attending college Jeff decided to follow his passion for food. Working as a Chef, Restaurant manager and eventually owning multiple concept restaurants, from large seafood concepts to comedy and night clubs.
Jeff has two children. A son and daughter. After years of raising his daughter on his own he needed to have more family time without leaving an industry he loved. This led to a newfound passion, still being able to help restaurateurs build their businesses working as a food broker.
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