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Plugged In at Midwest Vacuum Downtown Lee's Summit
September 18, 2010
Beware Lee’s Summit–you’re about to be “sucked in” by the energetic and
charismatic new owner of Midwest Vacuums, Sarah DeGondea.
By Mary Pechar
Photo:
Sarah DeGondea at Midwest Vacuums shown here with a customer’s vacuum on the workbench. Simple repairs may find Sarah herself making the fix and for the more complex tasks she has a team of three repairmen to take care of your every need.
Tribune Photo / Fred Poese
Sarah’s journey to Lee’s Summit began in southern Iowa, took a left turn through Sales Account Executive for The Packer magazine and established a significant connection to the world of vacuum cleaner sales in New York.
Sarah’s husband, Trail DeGondea, began selling Electrolux vacuums door to door while he was still in high school and it wasn’t long before he was selling two or three a night. After graduation, his career expanded and grew within the industry. Some years later Trail decided to try something new and relocated to Missouri where his path crossed with Sarah. Nine years ago they started Plugged In, LLC.
Initially Sarah continued her career with The Packer while at the same time learning everything about central vacuums from the business through installation and maintenance. With their second child on the way, Sarah longed to put an end to the constant travel her job required and Trail had another career plan for himself. He had been extremely impressed with a Canadian company, Cyclo Vac and approached them with a proposal to set up a dealer network in the States.
Equally impressed with Trail, Cyclo Vac wanted to move forward with one condition, that Trail divest himself of Plugged In. His response was no, Sarah would be taking it over. She was basically given a year to prove her self and in that time became Cyclo Vac’s leading dealer in the US.
Under Sarah’s guidance Plugged In has continued to grow and give back to the local community. And she had another plan in the back of her head, “I always knew that everyone needs a good vacuum but not everyone needs a central vacuum,” Sarah explained. So she developed a strong relationship with Duane at Midwest Vacuums. Duane didn’t do central vacuum systems and Sarah didn’t do hand held so they referred a lot of customers back and forth. When Duane decided to retire, the first person he called was Sarah. He wanted someone he knew and trusted to continue to care for his customers.
In the brief hour I was in the shop, a steady stream of customers came through the door. I learned the failings of bagless vacuums, how to control allergens within my home and how to eliminate fleas.
I also learned that the Midwest has a high percentage of allergens and of the 18 Asthma and Allergy Foundations in the US, two are located in Missouri. Sarah also explained that asthma and allergies are the leading cause for school absenteeism and hospitalizations in children. She serves as Co-Chair of the Auction Committee for the foundations annual fundraiser. This year’s “A Night in Monte Carlo” will be October 8th and all proceeds will go directly to support Kansas City sufferers of asthma and allergies.
For more information visit them at 312 SE Green St or call 816-524-5449. Plugged In’s website is www.pluggedinvacuums.com and more information on the foundation and fundraiser can be found at www.aafakc.org.
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Richard Burry (1931-2009) by Merle Bowers of Lee's Summit
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