2015 Sid Maurer Award for Leadership

Posted November 16, 2015

Business Leaders Meet in Meridian~Kessler

The 16th annual Meridian~Kessler Neighborhood Association Business Breakfast took place this year on November 16 hosted by The Riviera Club. Filling up the Ball Room, the large number of family, community and corporate businesses represented a balance of the diversity in our thriving area.

Sid Maurer Award for Outstanding Business Leadership

Caroline Farrar, Executive Director of Meridian~Kessler Neighborhood Association presented the “Sid Maurer Award for Outstanding Business Leadership.” This award is named in honor of Sid Maurer, who with his wife Eleanor, owned and operated the Atlas Supermarket for 55 year at the corner of 54th Street and College Avenue. Sid and Eleanor were beloved by their customers and the community mostly for the personal relationship they built with their customers.

Sid defied the logic of the grocery business— one of the most competitive industries in America with super low profit margins— by never expanding beyond his single location and he managed to keep the business running financially through good times and bad. Sid would often find and order items simply at a customer’s request. And if a customer was a bit short on cash, he might let them slide, extending old school style credit for them to pay for their groceries when they received their next paycheck.

The MKNA Sid Maurer award now has roots in strong tradition, and this year honored local business owner Pat Sullivan of Sullivan Hardware and Garden.

Pat’s store has been a strong anchor to our neighborhood retail node at the corner of 49^th Street and Pennsylvania Street for over 15 years. His investment in Meridian~Kessler came at a much needed time, turning an abandoned gas station into a thriving business serving the needs of local residents. Much like Sid Maurer, Pat survives in a tough competitive business by offering a higher level of customer service built on personal relationships. (And, let’s not forget the free popcorn!)

Furthermore, Pat has always been a great supporter of the Meridian~Kessler Neighborhood Association. Each spring, Pat proudly promotes the Meridian~Kessler Home Tour on his weekly radio show on WIBC.

Congratulations to Pat! We are proud to support our local Meridian~Kessler businesses and wish you many, many successful years as our neighbor.

Pat Sullivan

In 1954 Sullivan Hardware, now Sullivan Hardware & Garden, was founded by Robert Sullivan after he returned home from serving in World War II and the Korean War. His wife, Rita, ran the first store located on East Washington Street in Indianapolis, while he ran his previously established contracting business.

In 1963, the store was moved to 71st and Keystone where it remains today. After 35 years in the hardware business, Robert retired in 1989, and his son, Pat Sullivan, took over the store. Since then, Pat has opened two additional Sullivan Hardware stores at 49th and Penn and the other in Cicero, Indiana.

Sullivan Hardware & Garden is a member of the Do it Best Corp., which is currently the fastest growing co-op in the industry and Indiana’s largest privately-owned business. Do it Best Corp. is also the only full-service, member-owned hardware and building materials distributor in the industry and serves a worldwide network of 4,100 individually owned hardware stores in all 50 states and 47 countries. Through affiliation with the Do it Best network small home improvement stores like Sullivan Hardware & Garden can offer lower prices, making it easier for them to compete with the “big box” stores. Pat Sullivan is Past Chairman of the Board of Directors for Do it Best Corp.

When he is not at one of his stores, Pat Sullivan is busy co-hosting a Saturday morning radio show on WIBC 93.1FM where he and fellow co-host, Dick Crum, answer caller’s home and garden questions. Pat began his radio career at WIBC in 1995 and he says it was the first job for which he’d ever filled out an application! Tune in to 93.1 FM on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm to get all your home improvement questions answered on Home & Garden with Dick and Pat.