One of the things that we have come to highly value in our copier world is the relationships we were able to forge with dealers. There was something special about sharing the experience of selling copiers. These friendships are indelible and never forgotten.
We first met Ben Ragusa at a Toshiba meeting in 1995. He was with his wife, Patti, and Carol was at the meeting as well. The four of us became lasting friends and shared much for the rest of both of our lives. How Ben came to the copier industry is a typical story.
When Ben started to look for a sales career, he took an interview with Lanier. The opportunity sounded right! Ben accepted the copier sales job with Lanier in late 1967. He quickly became the #2 sales rep for Lanier in the U.S. Ben ascended the ranks, winding up at the Lanier Atlanta HQ in the fall of 1977. He eventually left the company as executive VP of worldwide sales (#3 in the company).
In 1988, Ben and George DeBenedetto founded OMNI Business Products, a Toshiba copier dealer, in Atlanta. It became phenomenally successful, and Brian Merriman, president of Toshiba, acquired OMNI in 1994. It was Brian’s first acquisition.
Ben was asked to stay with the dealership and work for Toshiba, but their dream was to return to Baton Rouge, where Patti’s family was from. Patti and Ben started a new dealership in Baton Rouge called Applied Business Concepts, (ABC) and added a second location. The whole idea about starting a new dealership was to set up their son, Jeff, and build a life just like his mom and dad did.
The reality was Ben did not want to work anymore but be there for Jeff and help him get started. Ben had chosen a manufacturer for their new dealership in Louisiana but, unfortunately, things did not go well. We spoke frequently and he worried not about himself but about Jeff and what he was dealing with. It was clear that the OEM did not think much of Jeff’s efforts to build a dealership. He asked for my advice, and I told him that working with Sharp would be a better fit for their business. We reached out to Sharp and that is how that relationship began and is very solid today.
They experienced some tough times, but nothing compared to the devastation that came as a result of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. We started thinking about what was required to help rebuild the business after the loss of his main warehouse in New Orleans. It was an easy decision: He needed inventory.
Sharp was unbelievable and spread the word that Ben was hurting. Rick Bastinelli, of Centric Business in Maryland and a Sharp dealer, reached out to Ben and said a truck is on its way to help restore an inventory of machines, parts, and supplies.
Ben was beyond appreciative. Rick was not the only one who helped. Larry Weiss of Atlantic, Tomorrow’s Office did the same thing. They had met when Ben began ABC as a Toshiba dealer. These fellow dealers made it possible for Ben and Jeff to get the business going again.
One must marvel at how dealers will reach out when a fellow dealer is in need or really in trouble. Ben started his own independent dealer group known as ICDA (Independent Collaborative Dealer Alliance) and was the initial club president. When Ben retired, Jeff stepped in to take over the presidency of the dealership and ICDA. Today, Applied Business Concepts employs over 30 people and operates across South Louisiana with locations in Baton Rouge, Kenner, and Lafayette.
Ben supported many charitable organizations, including Cure SMA, Tunnel to Towers, Folds of Honor, Wounded Warrior Project, Samaritan’s Purse, St. Jude Hospital, and The Cannata Report’s Awards & Charities Gala, as well as several local charities, churches, and schools.
Ben is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 59 years, Patricia Thomas Ragusa. Read his obituary.
