One of eight recipients nationally recognized as a young leader in the flooring industry for 2019
Athens, Ga. — Luke Canup, Account Executive at DCO Commercial Floors., is one of eight winners nationally for the 2019 Emerging Leaders Award of Floor Focus magazine. The award honors professionals under the age of 40 who have proven themselves to be leaders within the flooring industry.
Floor Focus covers the residential and commercial flooring industries, offering an in-depth look at the latest trends and issues in the marketplace.
Judges for the 2018 competition were Ralph Boe, president of ArrowStar and past president of Beaulieu Group, and Paul Friederichsen, flooring industry marketing consultant, creative director and marketing strategist.
A passion for construction and floor covering, a whole-hearted desire for the betterment of his team, time spent volunteering with his Church, and incredible sales success makes Luke Canup a great candidate for Future Focus Young Leaders in Floor Covering.
Luke started working in the construction industry when he was 16 years old on his uncle’s framing crew. He was immediately hooked. He studied Architecture at Clemson from 1999 – 2001 before switching to Construction and currently holds a bachelor’s degree in Construction Science & Management from Southern Polytechnic State University.
After college, Luke started his own home building business, but the recession forced him out of that business in 2008. At the time, he was coaching soccer and one of the dads of a kid on the team was part-owner of an established local flooring company. Luke joined that company doing estimates then quickly moving into sales.
After a couple of years learning the ins and outs of the industry, he was eager to get more involved in the Atlanta market. Luke then joined a commercial flooring company in the Atlanta area where he created many vital connections and relationships. Just a few short years later, Luke looked to make another move to a larger organization with more growth potential, landing him with DCO Commercial Floors in 2012. Luke says that each organization he has worked with has been instrumental in his success within the industry by providing him with knowledge, opportunities, and insight.
At DCOCF, Luke is a Senior Account Executive. In this role, he responsible for sales and business development, including pricing and estimating projects. He is in charge of inputting new orders, handing those orders/projects over to the project management team through in-depth scope reviews, and assisting the project management team in the successful completion of the project. Another part of his job is making sure the other members of his team achieve their own individual goals.
Luke’s sales success is worthy of recognition. He has steadily increased his sales numbers each year by 10-25% – with every intention to continue doing so. Along with some help from other sales reps, Luke feels that he has been a vital key to breaking the Atlanta market open for DCOCF. A few years after he started with DCOCF, they were able to open a 10,000 square foot distribution center in north Atlanta. It only took a couple of years until the volume of business forced them to upgrade to a 30,000 square foot warehouse. During his time in this role, Luke has gained lengthy experience in the senior living facilities, higher education, private schools, and country club market segments.
Luke was one of the first, if not the very first, employee to begin working remotely with DCOCF. Because of this, many other employees have begun working from home. Due to this transition, DCOCF now utilizes video conferencing and other tools seamlessly in order to stay connected. This allows for a much happier employee by providing more flexible work hours. It also allows for more productivity by cutting out the commute time. Luke says he is glad he was able to be a part of starting this trend within the company.
Through his hard work, extensive experience, and perseverance to succeed, Luke has won several awards and recognitions, including Rookie Salesman of the Year in 2012 (in which he is particularly proud of) and the Presidents Club Award from 2013-2017, awarded for more than $1M in sales each year. He is also OSHA 30 certified and a Georgia Residential Licensed Contractor.
Luke is a member at Hills Crossing Baptist Church where he is very involved. Luke heads up a construction-oriented local mission team called Mighty Men and also runs a small local collection point for gathering used Christian literature for distribution to foreign nations through a ministry called Love Packages. In September 2018, he coordinated the collection of more than 10,000 pounds of materials in one day at his first annual Christian Literature Drive.
Luke has been married to LaDonna Canup since 2005 and together they have a son, Townsen, and a daughter, Etrulia, due in April 2019. When he isn’t at work, Luke enjoys hunting, running, traveling, and going to concerts. Originally from Toccoa, Luke and his family now reside in Turnerville, Ga., where they root on both the Clemson Tigers and UGA Bulldogs.
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DCO Commercial Floors
DCO Commercial Floors has established themselves as a dependable full-service floor covering and window treatment contractor that services the continental United States. They attribute their success to the attention they give to their customers, their willingness to do whatever it takes to deliver on their promises, and their continuous search for ways to improve. Their headquarters is based out of their Athens, Georgia, location with three additional Georgia offices located in Atlanta, Eastman, and Lawrenceville. Their newest location is in Austin, Texas.
www.dcocf.com
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