News February 28, 2025
Crystal D Adds Ray Rodriguez as VP of Sales, Promotes Tawauna Garner
Industry vet Rodriguez joins Crystal D’s sales team full-time after six months of consulting for the supplier. Garner, a leader on the inside sales team, moves to a role as solutions manager.
Key Takeaways
• New Sales Leadership: Crystal D (asi/47759) hires Ray Rodriguez as vice president of sales, bringing nearly 40 years of promo industry experience.
• Internal Promotion: Tawauna Garner has been promoted to solutions manager, an upward move that recognizes her for her leadership and customer care, executives said.
Crystal D (asi/47759) is bringing promo industry vet Ray Rodriguez to its sales leadership team as vice president of sales.
The St. Paul, MN-based supplier of crystal awards and gifts also announced the promotion of its current Lead Solutions Specialist Tawauna Garner to solutions manager.
Rodriguez has nearly 40 years of experience in the promo industry, including time at Counselor Top 40 suppliers Tekweld (asi/90807) and Koozie Group (asi/40480), as well as former Top 40 firm Evans Manufacturing (asi/52840), which is now part of Top 40er HPG (asi/61966).
Ray Rodriguez, Crystal D (asi/47759)
Rodriguez’s new role at Crystal D will involve leading the sales team while coaching customers to successfully grow their awards sales business and recognition programs.
“Ray’s deep industry knowledge, along with his extensive experience with strategic planning and relationship building, have already made him a trusted advisor for Crystal D,” said Bridget Dahlgren, Crystal D’s executive vice president of marketing and sales. “Ray’s commitment to serving our customers and maintaining high standards align with Crystal D and our passion to be the very best.”
In 2023, Rodriguez established 5PPromo, a consultancy for suppliers in the promotional products industry, where he aimed to assist businesses with relationship building, strategy and growth.
It was his consulting work that led him to Crystal D, and he plans to continue his work with 5PPromo alongside his duties as vice president of sales.
“Selling awards is a high-purpose sale and the value of recognition, to the recipients as well as to the business, can easily be articulated,” Rodriguez said. “My team and I are excited to share our winning formula for success that will impact the bottom line for both our customers and theirs.”
Tawauna Garner, Crystal D
Meanwhile, moving up at Crystal D is Garner on the supplier’s inside sales team.
Garner joined Crystal D in 2016 and has since held several roles within the company’s customer service and sales divisions. In her new role as solutions manager, Garner will work to make the project idea, design and quoting process as easy as possible, while managing the rest of the solutions team.
“Tawauna has been our lead solutions specialist for the past year, and she has consistently gone above and beyond,” Dahlgren said. “She’s demonstrated outstanding leadership and care for her team, as well as her customers. We’re excited to see her step into this new role.”