IN MEMORIAM

Pictured from L-R: Brian Cooper, Robert Wilburn, Doug Bolinger

Wire Wizard Announces Multiple Promotions - Brian Cooper to Serve as President

Effective January 1st, Brian Cooper has been promoted to President of Wire Wizard® Welding Products. Brian has been with the Wire Wizard® team since 2006 and has previously served as Executive Vice President after holding other positions in sales within the company. Brian is the son of Wire Wizard® founder, Edward Cooper, who continues to serve as CEO.

Wire Wizard announced the hiring of Robert Wilburn as Product Manager of the PowerBall® Torch and WizardGear® product lines. Rob has over 15 years of industry experience, with 12 years as part of the Wire Wizard® organization in various positions including Technical Sales Representative in the Great Lakes region.

The company also promoted Doug Bolinger to Product Manager of the Weld Central® Welding Optimization Technology product line. Doug previously served as a Welding Engineer and played a key role as part of the Weld Central® development team at Wire Wizard® since 2019.

RICK BLAIR

GAWDA extends its condolences to the friends and family of Rick Blair, who passed away on Christmas Day, 2021. Rick worked for Weldstar for 34 years. He was a fun, loyal, hardworking, passionate, co-worker and friend. Born Oct. 14,1960 in Cincinnati, Ohio, he was the son of Charlie and Anita Burnside-Blair.

Ricky was a 1978 graduate of Elder High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Following graduation, Ricky attended The Ohio State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in welding engineering and was a brother of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. Ricky attended Ohio State University from 1978-1987, where he worked to put himself through college and became a first-generation college graduate. Ricky was often referred to by his friends as “Boxhead” or “Box,” as he went on to be the 1978 Fight Night Champion for Delta Tau Delta.

Following college, Ricky worked for Weldstar in Aurora, Illinois, for a short time before ultimately planting roots with the company in Logansport, Indiana. Specializing in welding sales with Weldstar for 34 years, his coworkers and numerous customers were more like a second family to Ricky. He also taught welding at Ivy Tech of Lafayette for seven years.

He was known for his sense of humor, his grand love for life, his one-of-a-kind laugh and his striking smile and eyes. Ricky was an immensely proud father to his daughter, Hayley, and always made sure anyone and everyone knew it. Ricky was about love and fun; as he’d say, “Life is too short to not have fun.” Ricky left a lasting impact on countless lives that he encountered in his 61 years. He wouldn’t want those after him to be sad, because he’d tell you he had a great life and that “attitude is everything!”