Sales representatives Elizabeth Monaghan and Barbara Roach will be retiring from Simon & Schuster after 20 years with the company. Both joined S&S in 1999 and worked in the customer service department, before joining the newly created telesales team in 2001. Since then, they've spent nearly two decades calling on independent bookstores around the country.
Monaghan, who has been shortlisted for PW's Sales Rep of the Year award three times, said she felt lucky to have worked with her daughter Brandy and to have been surrounded by books. She reflected on the relationships she formed with her buyers over the years, and said that being a sales rep was more than just a job. She looks forward to spending more time with her family, including three great nieces, two great nephews, a new granddaughter and a grandbaby on the way.
In 2003, Roach received the S&S Sales Achievement Award, and she recalled fond memories of attending sales conferences and selling books like The Good Earth, The Secret, All the Light We Cannot See and Fear. She said the job's real joys, though, were the business relationships and friendships she built along the way. Roach is excited to spend more time with her family, especially her grandchildren, and to travel with her husband and friends as well volunteer in her community.