Hardwood Floors December 2018/January 2019

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Vera Shekhets Vice President RQ Floors SOUTH HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY rqfloors.com

Vera has been a part of the construction industry since age 11, working summers at the front desk of her family's flooring business, cold calling leads, and visiting construction sites. She officially joined RQ Floors in 2013, taking the lead on new product initiatives and client development. As Vera's footprint continued to grow, so did RQ Floors. In 2018, Vera spearheaded the launch of RQ's first-ever prefinished collection, which quickly grew into four new collections for the company. Vera most enjoys learning directly from her father, Leon Shekhets, who founded the company in 2010. As his right-hand person, Vera is able to draw on his wisdom and experience, uniquely positioning her to lead RQ Floors into the future. Vera is passionate about supporting the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, National MS Society, City Harvest, New York Cares, and the Irina Shekhets Memorial Scholarship Fund. In addition, Vera takes advantage of any opportunity to share her knowledge of the construction industry, especially anything related to wood flooring.

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Zac Shepherd Owner/President Heritage Oak LLC SARCOXIE, MISSOURI heritageoakllc.com

As a teenager, Zac started working in the family business, a producer of red oak and white oak strip flooring, well known for its premium heritage grade. After earning a B.S. in Wood Science and Product Manufacturing from Pittsburgh State University in 2006, he returned to the company. In 2010, the business fell on hard times and filed for bankruptcy, eventually closing its doors. But Zac was committed to reclaiming his family’s six-generation legacy. At age 31, Zac started rebuilding Heritage Oak with himself and two employees. Today, the company employs 115 people, making it the largest employer in Sarcoxie. In three years, Heritage Oak has grown into a nearly $20 million business. Although Zac is president, you’ll rarely find him behind a desk. He still enjoys working on machinery, driving a forklift, or unloading a truck. A valuable member of the community, Heritage Oak replaced the local elementary school’s gymnasium floor when it was damaged by flooding. Zac regularly contributes to youth sports programs and coaches several youth sports teams.

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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