Operations & Field Support

We recognize the importance of having qualified support staff in the field to work with our insurer clients as well as our own network of contractors. Many have previously worked at or owned Paul Davis Restoration franchises, providing a wealth of knowledge and expertise for our valued customers. Listed are the names, responsibilities, and biographies of the Paul Davis Restoration, Inc. (PDRI) Operations staff, many of whom work in the field.

Robert Robbins Director of Operations / Regional Manager, Northeast & Central Robert (Bob) Robbins has been associated with Paul Davis Restoration for over seventeen years. Prior to purchasing his PDR franchise in 1991, he owned several other businesses ranging from a Hang Glide school/store to a Snap-On Tool franchise. In 2005 Bob's wife, Donna, took over the day-to-day operations of their franchise and Bob came to work for PDRI as the Regional Manager for the Northeast and Central region. In 2007, Bob took on the additional duties of being the Director of the Operations dept. As a long time member of the IICRC, Bob has attained all three master ratings Fire, Water and Cleaning (MTC, MSR, & MWR). For hobbies, Bob makes his own wine, grows Christmas trees, flies planes that he built, motorcycles with his wife, and goes camping with his grandchildren. Bob is involved in several area clubs: The Connecticut Christmas Tree Growers Assn, The Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Mensa, the Silver Wings Ultralight Flyers club, and the Riverside Aviation flyers club. Bob currently resides in Enfield, CT with his wife Donna and dog Sonny.

Denna Wright Regional Manager, South Central Denna Wright began her career with an MBA in Early Childhood Education and enjoyed teaching Kindergarten through 2nd grade for fourteen years. Changing careers when she became a Paul Davis franchisee, Denna has over 20 years combined experience in the related restoration, franchising, and insurance industries. Denna's franchise experience includes serving as a Franchise Field Trainer, then Franchise School Job Cost facilitator, for over 16 consecutive years. She is currently the South Central Regional Manager for PDRI and her duties include representing the Franchisor and supporting offices in the South Central region. Denna also facilitates advanced owners classes and assists with curriculum development. Her insurance industry experience includes a State of Indiana Agent's license, and currently, a FL all lines independent adjusting license. Denna resides in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband, their five sons and two grandsons. She enjoys boating and water related activities.

Tony Merrick Regional Manager, Western & Pacific Tony Merrick has been with the PDR organization since 1996, when he purchased a franchise in Texas. After selling his interest in the franchise in 1999, he joined PDRI and became the Regional Manager for the Western & Pacific Region. In addition to his duties representing the franchisor and supporting offices in the Western half of the U.S., he facilitates advanced owners classes and assists with curriculum development. Tony has a B.S. degree from the University of Missouri and an MBA from the University of Texas. Prior to joining PDR he spent 20 years in business-to-business sales and management with large agricultural companies. Transplanted Missourians, both he and his wife enjoy travel, top-down drives in Texas Hill Country, kayaking, and year-round fishing in lakes near their home outside Austin.

Ray Berger Field Support Representative, South Central Region Ray Berger joined PDRI on April 30, 2000 as the Quality Service Rep (QSR), then re-acronymed to FSR, and now Sr. FSR. Ray works closely with the Regional Managers to support the offices in the Central region, especially on an operational level. He also works with new offices to help them with the many questions they have as they start up their operation. Ray is an OSHA approved instructor, and has IICRC Master Certifications in Water Restoration and Smoke and Fire Restoration. He has also worked as a Project Manager on special projects. Ray Berger has over twenty-five years experience as a construction manager, project manager and safety officer for industrial, commercial, environmental and residential construction. He has experience working with various governmental agencies, engineers, architects, and contractors. Ray and his wife, Sherry, raise Registered Texas Longhorn cattle at their ranch in Giddings, Texas. Ray is on the Board of Directors for the South Texas Longhorn Association. Ranching, longhorn shows, hunting, fishing, and spending time with 3 grandchildren occupies all of his and his wife's free time.

Bonnie Chazotte Field Support Representative, Northeast Bonnie Chazotte began her association with Paul Davis Restoration in January 2002 as the Mitigation Director for a PDR franchise in the Northeast. After building a successful mitigation department, she later became the General Manager for a small start-up PDR office. Bonnie came to PDRI in July of 2006, taking the position of FSR for the Northeast and North Central Region. With a background heavy in mitigation and business, she assists the Regional Manager in operational support of PDR offices, conducting internal reviews, office training, and regular communications. She also assists offices with the setup and operation of their mitigation departments, as well as assisting with Associate training. Bonnie holds 14 IICRC certifications and designations including Master Fire/Smoke Restorer, and Master Water Restorer. She resides in North Carolina with her husband and two children. She enjoys music, theatre, sports, and being active in the community.

Darin Davies Field Support Representative, Western & Pacific Darin joined PDRI after working as a successful associate in one of our franchises. His background includes five years in executive sales and high-tech marketing in the Silicon Valley. As an FSR for the Western and Pacific U.S., he coaches and assists offices with best practices, operations support and field training. Darin holds a B.S. in Marketing from the University of Nevada-Reno, earned IICRC certifications in Fire, Smoke, Water and Mold and is ASD certified. Darin currently resides in Nevada.

Kali Freeland Operations Coordinator Kali Freeland is a native of Jacksonville, FL. Prior to joining PDRI, Kali worked in many hospitality roles for over seven years. Kali is currently a student at the University of North Florida in pursuit of a Bachelors degree in Psychology. Kali started her career with PDRI in 2007, taking on the role of Operations Coordinator. Her biggest responsibilities include oversight of reinspections, monitoring of program claim activity, training registration, remodeling and training event coordination, as well as providing support to the Operations and Training departments. Kali is a member of the Georgia Bulldog Club of Jacksonville. She also belongs to Big Brother Big Sisters of Northeast Florida and enjoys working in the community.

Tom Seibert Director of Strategic Sourcing After spending five years as a consultant in vendor relations and strategic sourcing projects for the PDR network, Tom Seibert joined PDRI in January 2005. He worked for eighteen years for a company specializing in remodeling and installing building materials for home builders; he was president for six years. Tom's responsibilities as Director of Strategic Sourcing at PDRI include negotiating national contracts with suppliers on behalf of franchisees, organizing the annual trade show for the PDR National Convention, and remodeling field support. Tom was involved with the inception of the remodeling initiative with PDRI. He is CAPS (Certified Age in Place Specialist) certified by the National Association of Homebuilders. Tom earned a B.A. in Business from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Tom resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife of 30 years, Kathy, and their three children, Matt, Bethany, and Michael. Tom enjoys music, traveling, and participating in numerous outside activities. He also enjoys spending time with his family and trying to keep up with his three children who are in their 20's.

Christopher P. Davis Director of Training Chris Davis graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.S. in Business (Finance & Real Estate). Chris has a broad variety of business experience in real estate appraising and achieved both residential and commercial certifications from the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers - RM and MAI respectively. He has also been a real estate developer, sales broker-Realtor and entrepreneur. In 1990 Chris purchased a Paul Davis Restoration franchise in Colorado where he owned and operated three franchise service areas over ten years. As an employee with the franchisor (PDRI), he has been a Field Trainer and now oversees the PDR National Training Center in Jacksonville, FL, where he schedules and coordinates all training events. Chris is IICRC certified in Water & Fire Restoration, Applied Structural Drying, and Mold Remediation. Additionally, Chris is an Affiliate Xactimate Instructor. Duties also include being the primary instructor for teaching new franchise owners and associates estimating and project management, general franchise operations, and he also does much of the field training on new and resale franchises. Following the sale of their franchise, Chris and his wife spent two years with an international non-denominational children's ministry fulfilling a life goal, training and working with adults around the world. Chris has been the volunteer Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Region Habitat for Humanity, volunteer lay-counselor, and has served on numerous church boards and organizations. Chris currently resides in Notheast FL.

Heath Whittle Training Consultant Dr. Heath Whittle has been with PDRI since 1992, and holds the position of Training Consultant. Prior to being the PDR Training Consultant, Heath served as the Director of Human Resources, and also the Director of Training for over ten years. Prior to joining PDRI, he taught at the university level for twelve years and served as the Vice President at St. Vincent’s Medical Center's Wellness Center for eight years. For over twelve years, Heath managed a business that involved marketing corporate health promotion and wellness programs. He served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, and holds a bachelors and masters degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a doctorate from Florida State University. Some of Heath's responsibilities as the Training Consultant includes writing and editing training manuals, assisting in the training curriculum design and instructional methods, and Interpreting Occupational Personality Questionnaires (OPQ's) for PDRI and the PDR network. Heath resides in Northeast Florida.

Bryan Brainerd Director of Emergency Services Bryan Brainerd has been involved in cleaning and restoration since 1994. Prior to joining PDRI, Bryan spent five years teaching in the Air Force and attending the Community College of the Air Force. Bryan conducts Emergency Services Business field training and facilitates the ESB school. Bryan has been approved by the IICRC to instruct the Water and Fire Restoration Training courses and assists with the Applied Structural Drying Course (ASD). He currently holds twelve IICRC certifications and has served as a company representative to the IICRC certification board. Bryan served as an OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer and served as an authorized instructor for Residential Roofing Assessment for HAAG Engineering. Bryan currently resides in Fishers, IN.

John "Sonny" Bass Technical Director of Emergency Services / IICRC Instructor John “Sonny” Bass joined PDRI as a quality service representative and field manager in 2001 after owning a million dollar janitorial company for nineteen years, and after owning and operating a PDR franchise in Southwest Georgia for seven years. Holding seventeen certifications with the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration (IICRC), including three master certifications with Master Water Restorer (MWR), Master Textile Cleaner (MTC) and Master Smoke Restorer (MSR), Sonny is an IICRC instructor and mitigation consultant to the PDR network. Former Executive Director of the IICRC, he presently serves on the IICRC Task Advisory Committee for Applied Structural Drying, as well as being a PDRI representative on the IICRC Certification Board. Sonny resides in Northeast Florida.

Barry Floyd Director of Franchisee Accounting Barry Floyd began his career with PDRI in 2000 as Financial Systems Manager, and was promoted to Director of Franchisee Accounting in 2002. His responsibilities include educating franchisees and their CPAs on our proprietary job costing software and construction accounting. Barry earned a B.B.A. in Accounting and a MBA from Stetson University, and is a CPA in the state of Florida. He resides in Northeast Florida.

Anita Marks Senior JCA Trainer/Business Support Advisor Anita Marks spent five years working in a PDR franchise in Wisconsin as a Job Cost Accountant (JCA) before joining PDRI in July of 1994. Over the past 14 years, Anita has been extremely active in training and supporting PDR franchisees' JCA's. In March of 2005, Anita was promoted to Senior JCA Trainer/Business Support Advisor. In her free time, Anita enjoys hiking in the mountains, camping and fishing, and she is an avid Green Bay Packer fan. Anita currently lives on Lake Flambeau in Northwestern Wisconsin.

John Cadwell Software Support Accountant John Cadwell has over fourteen years experience in the accounting field, and in successful employee management and technical computerized systems. He joined PDRI in June 2005. John holds a Bachelors degree in Accounting from Georgia Southern University, and currently resides in Northeast Florida. In his free time, John enjoys spending time with his children, watching the Red Sox, deer hunting, playing Texas Hold'em and reading.