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By CHRISTINA COSDON
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 31, 2001
ProSource wholesale flooring in Pinellas County has new owners, who are moving the business to the booming Bryan Dairy Road commercial/industrial business neighborhood.
An 8,000-square-foot showroom with 25,000 samples is to open late next month in a 10,000-square-foot facility at the Interlaken Commerce Centre on Belcher Road.
ProSource sells only to trade professionals -- interior designers, builders, remodelers, contractors, installers, architects, fire and water restorers. Its customers pay a one-time $25 membership fee for services that include a Pro key, a plastic card that gives them 24-hour, seven-day-a-week access to the showroom.
The new owners, Rusty Carr of Orlando and Greg McClasky of Merritt Island, were Delta Sigma Pi fraternity buddies at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton back in the 1980s. They kept in touch over the years through Christmas cards and an occasionally met for dinner.
Then Carr, whose background is in sales and marketing, opened a ProSource franchise in Orlando in 1994. Last year, out of more than 135 ProSource showrooms around the country, Carr said his was ranked fourth in sales.
McClasky, a certified public accountant with a master's degree in business administration from Northwestern University, worked in finance, operations and administration for several Fortune 500 companies.
When Carr learned last summer that the 6-year-old ProSource business at 10321 75th St. near Seminole was for sale, he immediately called McClasky.
"I'd been looking for an opportunity that would give me my own business," McClasky said.
The men decided to buy the franchise, move it to a new location and become partners in a 51-49 split that gave Carr controlling interest. Carr is handling the sales and products side of the business and McClasky, the finances and operations. The men have invested $250,000 in the business, Carr said.
The business will open the week of Feb. 19 at 12397 Belcher Road, McClasky said, and a grand opening is planned for early March.
Carr said they are looking to hire someone with floor covering experience at the new location. They will retain two employees, a manager and salesperson with interior design experience, he said.
ProSource, which opened its first showroom in 1990 in St. Louis, is affiliated with Carpet One, which is part of Carpet Co-Op Association of America. ProSource and its affiliates buy more than $1-billion of flooring annually, according to company officials. ProSource has seven showrooms in Florida, one in Pinellas County and one in Tampa.
Linda J. Maconi has joined Seminole Title Co., 8640 Seminole Blvd., as marketing director. The St. Petersburg native is a graduate of Dixie Hollins High and St. Petersburg Junior College and has worked 15 years in marketing. She replaces Tammi Hagedorn, who took an early retirement and had been with the company for more than five years.
Mike Baldridge, Helen Steffenhagen and Ali Ghomshe are the newest sales associates at Ruth Cabella's Century 21 Real Estate Champions, 9021 Oakhurst Road and 4350 Duhme Road.
Baldridge has worked several years in real estate and specializes in residential sales on the beaches and the greater Seminole area. Steffenhagen has been a top-producing agent for 15 years and works with HUD and VA resales, as well as general real estate. Ghomshe has a background in interior design and owns and manages rental properties. He works in residential sales.
-- Know of a new or unique business in the greater Seminole area? If so, tell us about it. Send items to Seminole Business, Seminole Times, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756 or fax it to 445-4119. We also are interested in promotions, expansions and major new contracts. Photos can be sent, but not all will be used and they cannot be returned.