Edith Smolka
Co-Founder
Edith Smolka is one of the Co-Founders of Everest Snow Management, which was established in 1995. She is the backbone of the company and offers clarity through her impressive leadership. Starting from humble beginnings, Edith now heads a thriving full service snow and ice management company and through her vision, we continue to grow exponentially in our market. As an active participant in the snow industry, she has been certified by the National Women Business Owners Corporation.
Peter Smolka
Co-Founder
Peter Smolka is one of the two Founders of Everest Snow Management. He is a true entrepreneur and a visionary that offers clear insight for the direction of the company. Peter takes a hands-on approach to his business, always challenging the company to ask, “What worked, what didn’t work and what would we change, if we could do it again”. In 1995 Peter started with investing $500 in a mower, a weed waker, a broom and two thousand marketing flyers. He was off on a journey with his wife growing Everest Snow Management to a constantly evolving, regional snow plowing and ice control company. One of the pivotal moments in the company was when Peter decided to invest in developing a proprietary software, which enabled Everest to grow exponentially over the last 16 years. When the ASCA was created, Peter was appointed as one of the first members of the Board of Advisers. He helped create industry standards and the ISO9001SN Certification. Peter was also a major contributor in supporting the efforts in creating Illinois Senate Bill 2138, which was a pivotal win for the snow and ice industry in 2016. Today Peter stays focused and dedicated to constantly improving the lives of his Clients, Team and Partners.
Shelley Lankus
Client Care Representative
Shelley Lankus started with Everest Snow Management in October 2014 and comes to our company with 27 years of client care experience. Throughout the year, Shelley is constantly working on improving relationships with current clients, as well as networking in several industry associations and through those she expands her personable approach and easily builds friendships within real estate industry. She is a task oriented individual that focuses on sales efforts during the summer months and client support in the winter. Shelley also provides key operational support to the operations team, helping them stay on track, with the reporting of ongoing storm information in the winter months. She is active in BOMA Suburban Chicago and helps in the coordination of numerous events throughout the year. In 2019 Shelley expanded her knowledge into a secondary role as dispatcher. She optimized the flow of operation's team during snow events. She helps manage the routes, pay and compliance of our field members making sure the crews are dispatched and ready to go during serviceable events. She keeps our current fleet happy with her professional attitude and understanding. She plays a valuable role with some of our big portfolio customers. Our clients appreciate her staying in constant communication with them, delivering live data reports, up to the minute progress reports and the plan of execution for the remainder of the storms.
Andy Malik
Logistics Specialist
Andy joined the Everest Snow Management team in 2008 as an Estimator, responsible for site measuring and the pricing of these locations. Later that same year he was promoted to a Dispatcher, who was responsible for running operations and logistics during the winter season. In 2009, Andy became an Operations Manager with the increased responsibilities of hiring and training of Dispatchers, Area Managers and Operators. Due to our continued growth in the industry, Andy became our first Logistics Manager in the fall 2015, and is responsible for ensuring our fleet of equipment is operational, to monitor our inventory systems and the overall ordering of material that is needed throughout the year.
Kristen Jednachowski
Project Manager
Kristen Jednachowski started with Everest in 2018 from a long background in customer care and relationships requiring strong organizational skills and attention to detail. Kristen works closely with the team to bring in new business but also service existing customers, ensuring their needs are being met. She makes sure all documentation is in order so we can smoothly service and crews have the client's expectations and details are all imported into the system. During the winter she assists the operations department with weather statements, changes in routes and service as storms move in. Kristen sets up operational events and manages the flow of customer service as each storm comes to an end. She then along with the team assesses the quality of customer service and makes necessary improvements going forward.
Mark Eggemann
Account Manager
Mark Eggemann started with Everest Snow Management in 2018 and currently holds a position of a Senior Account Manager. Before joining Everest, Mark spent nearly three decades working in strategic sales, developing relationships with decision makers in the commercial real estate space, including Property Managers, Property Owners, Real Estate Brokers and Property Developers. Mark’s extensive experience in all aspects of commercial real estate management has provided him the ability to help clients achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction while still meeting their budgetary requirements. Mark holds a B.A. from Loyola University in Chicago, and is a member of BOMA Suburban Chicago and coaches youth football for the Park Ridge Falcons in his free time.
Patryk Skinderowicz
Account Manager
Patryk Skinderowicz joined Everest Snow Management in 2016 as a sidewalk van driver, responsible for clearing snow of off sidewalks and salting. While employed at Everest he found his love for snow and quickly moved through the ranks by providing an exceptional service to our clients. In 2017 he was promoted to an area manager. He was in charge of four large sites, managing crews and making sure the work was completed in a timely fashion. Work was done safely and Everest retained happy clients year after year. In 2018 he became an operations manager and was given the responsibility of hiring new crew members, routing and managing area managers as well as overseeing his properties for safety and quality work. With many years of experience under his belt, Patryk provides the key operational support to our team and makes sure that our clients and crews are taken care of.
Marcin Brzakala
Account Manager
Marcin Brzakala joined Everest Snow Management team in 2015 as a heavy machinery operator, responsible for loading up salt trucks during storms. Because of his hard work and dedication he was promoted quickly and offered a position of an area manager at which he excelled. He was able to showcase his leadership skills while running a busy north-east region. Marcin was further promoted to his current position as an operations manager in mid 2019. At Everest he has found his home and fulfillment of his passions, and it is where his uplifting demeanor and joyful mood are appreciated. His responsibilities include but are not limited to hiring, training area managers, dispatchers and operators. He is a person who is not afraid of hard work and that’s what was immediately noticed by the team and what has brought him his well deserved advancement into a management position within the Company.
Bridget McPartlin
Staff Accountant
Bridget McPartlin joined the Everest Team in the summer of 2019 as our Staff Accountant. Bridget is responsible for Accounts Payable and Receivable as well as all of our other accounting duties. She will occasionally help man the phones on snow days and assist on special projects as needed. Bridget uses her unique experience as a commercial property manager and prior customer of Everest Snow to her advantage in creating processes and systems that make life easier for our customers. Bridget’s love for detail and numbers provides a special advantage when it comes to accurate billing and keeping track of nuanced financial details.
Colleen Wood
Customer Care Representative
Colleen Wood came to Everest October 2019 with 18 years of customer service experience. While working and raising three children full time she attended Colorado Tech University receiving her B.A. in Criminal Justice/Human services May 2019. Colleen brings a proven track record of successful customer relationships. She strives to continually build and enhance the customer service experience among our clients and prospects. High quality performance and loyalty are the staples of her work. Colleen focus is in sales: finding new business, creating proposals, billing, researching - resolving customer disputes and customer support throughout the year.
Julia Dzhala
Customer Care Representative
Julia Dzhala journey with Everest Snow Management began in August 2019. She comes to our company with 8 years of customer service experience. Her main focus is assisting customers with great customer service and supporting operations with new hire procedures. She is always willing to help on any task that she’s assigned to, no matter which department needs a hand. She also is a big help in accounting with special (weather data) billing and payroll. Julia always has a smile on her face and willing to go above and beyond to help the team!