Felipe Zavla, Vantage Northwest (Fruitland, Idaho)

I have been the manager of Vantage Northwest for a little over a year. I have worked with Felipe Zavala for 3 years, since he started with Vantage Northwest. Felipe was dedicated to this department and to precision agriculture from the day he applied. It took him 2 years and lots of interviews before he was ever hired — he has no quit in him. Felipe cares deeply for customer service. He may be the best provider of customer service that works for Vantage Northwest. It does not matter the time of day or the day of the week, Felipe will take the customer's call and if he can't fix the issue over the phone, if the problem can't wait until the next day, Felipe is on the road to get them going. Felipe has recently been promoted to a technology sales position within Vantage Northwest.

I have never seen anybody in the precision ag industry like Felipe. He is never happy with his knowledge of the industry and is always trying to further his understanding. When he is away from work he spends his time researching products and trying to find ways to help him better serve his customers and help provide solutions to the issue they face on their individual farms.

Vantage Northwest is the technology division of Agri-Service, a large AGCO dealership scattered throughout Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Felipe has 2 stores in the area that he covers. I am constantly getting calls from store managers, equipment salesmen, and store employees letting me know how dedicated Felipe is to them, to our products and how much they appreciate his willingness to help. One of the salesmen from these stores is who brought this spotlight to my attention and asked that I nominate Felipe Zavala. I have worked in several different industries and in different sides of those industries in my life, and I can honestly say that I have never seen a person more dedicated to his customer, to his team and to the products we offer than Felipe.

—James Merrill (Kimberly, Idaho)


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