Executive Committee
Bret Tangley
President Terms Ends: 2030 Culligan Sterling Water, Inc., Eau Claire, WI Bret P. Tangley, Water Quality Association Master Water Specialist (MWS), is a 42+ year veteran of the water quality improvement industry and third-generation "Culligan Man," following in the dealer footsteps of his late grandfather, W. Sterling Tangley, and father, Peter Tangley. Bret serves as the President/CEO of Sterling Water, Inc., which owns and operates four award-winning Culligan dealership locations in Eau Claire (Company Headquarters), Waupaca and Rothschild (Wausau), Wisconsin and Sauk Centre, MN. A native of Eau Claire, Bret is a 1990 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Hamline University, St. Paul, MN, with a B.A. in business management and a minor in economics. Bret is a Past Board President (2015–2016) of the industry's premier trade association, the Water Quality Association (WQA), and currently serves as the dealer representative for the state of Wisconsin of the Culligan Dealer Advisory Council (DAC), where he has served as Chair on four separate occasions (2011, 2018, 2021, and 2024). Bret presently serves as a Board of Director for the Minnesota Water Quality Association. He is the President of the Water Quality Research Foundation, member of the Culligan Marketing Sub-Committee, and an original member of the active Culligan One 20 group. Bret is a Master Restricted Plumber in the State of Minnesota and serves as a Past President of the Board of Directors for the local Eau Claire Area YMCA and the Eau Claire Golf & Country Club while remaining active in Junior Achievement and youth sports coaching in his community. Bret has performed a variety of positions in the Culligan business, including residential, commercial and industrial sales, delivery, repair service, installation, office administration, human resources, and dealership management. With this diverse array of experience, he has served the water quality improvement industry with several group presentations surrounding operational process improvements, marketing, forecasting, leadership, communication, and financial benchmarking, to name a few. His commitment to the industry earned him with WQA Award of Merit in 2012 and induction into the Water Quality Association Hall of Fame in 2017 on the first ballot for his service to the industry and association. The Culligan dealer network bestowed upon him the prestigious Pinnacle Award in 2006 for leadership and vision in the Culligan system. The Sterling Water family of dealerships has won many honors for performance highlighted by the dealership in Eau Claire earning the area Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Awards in 2007, as well as the Emmett J. Culligan Award (Top 15 Dealerships in Culligan System Worldwide) in 2010 and 2012. The dealership in Rothschild, Wis., won the Mosinee Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award in 2010, the Emmett J. Culligan Award in 2011 and 2014, and is a repeated recipient of "Excellence in Manufacturing" for its bottling operation from the IBWA. The dealership in Waupaca was the recipient of the Small Business of the Year Award in 2021. Bret and his wife, Tonja, reside in Eau Claire and proudly have three children—daughter Olivia, daughter Isabella, and son Jackson. In his spare time, he enjoys time at their lake cottage, youth coaching, exercising, reading, movies, trivia, travel, and golf. |
RJ Easton
Vice-President Terms Ends: 2032 The U.S. Water Culligan Group, Wheeling, IL R.J. Easton is the Chief Operating Officer for The U.S. Water Culligan Group (USWCG), leading the day-to-day operations of the second-generation Culligan business with 20 Culligan franchises, across four states. R.J. joined USWCG in 2012 as the Director of Marketing, ultimately moving into roles that included responsibility over business development and strategy, before taking on his role as COO. Prior to joining USWCG, R.J. spent four years working for Transamerica, a multinational insurance and financial planning firm. Similar to his time at the USWCG, he held marketing and business development roles, assisting insurance and financial planning offices grow their businesses. R.J. helped those offices create plans and boost sales, enhance recruitment and retention, and navigate M&A opportunities. Spending the bulk of his career with USWCG, R.J. has become very involved in the water treatment industry. He is an active member of the Water Quality Association, serving as Chair of the Government Affairs Committee and previously as Chair of the RISE Advisory Council, amongst numerous other committees and advisory councils. Additionally, he serves as a member of Culligan Cares, Culligan International’s 501c3 organization. R.J. has been married to his wife, Emily, since 2014 and has two sons, Graham, and Harry. He loves spending time with his family, golfing, cooking and traveling. |
Chris Lane II
Treasurer Terms Ends: 2034 Low Country Water Conditioning, Hilton Head, SC Chris joined his family Culligan dealership in Hilton Head, S.C., after graduating from University of South Carolina-Beaufort in May of 2012. After working summers and afternoons in the dealership throughout school and college, he started as a full-time route driver and service technician before going into sales by 2013. In 2014, he took over as operations manager. In 2018, he was named general manager. He is a second-generation Culligan Man and serves on the Next Generation Committee. |
Cameron Karger
Past-President Terms Ends: 2028 Culligan Quality Water of North Central Ohio, Mansfield, OH Cameron is Past-President of Culligan Quality Water of North Central Ohio. The dealership is located in Mansfield and services five counties in the North Central Ohio area. In 1992, Cameron earned a B.S. in criminal justice from Tiffin University and graduated from the Tiffin University Police Academy. He is a second-generation Culligan Man and started working for his parent's dealership in 1993 as a manager of an office in Medina, Ohio. Soon after, he moved to Mansfield, Ohio, and became the office manager. Over time, he moved into the role of operations manager and controller, which included performing all the accounting duties of the company, which at the time also included the Wooster, Ohio, franchise. In 2000, he served as President of the Culligan Tri-State Dealers Association. In January 2016 he and his wife purchased the Mansfield Franchise from his parents Donald & Roberta Karger. His wife and business partner, Traci, with marketing plans for the business. Cameron and Traci live in Mansfield, Ohio, with their two sons, Addison (16) and Aidan (11). Cameron is an avid home brewer and belongs to the Mansfield Home Brew Club. He also loves hunting and camping. |
Directors
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Steve Langendoen
Terms Ends: 2030 Culligan, Niagara |
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Kourtney Tarvin-Erbes
Terms Ends: 2028 Culligan, Bloomington, IL Kourtney is the Vice President and General Manger of the Culligan Water Dealership in Bloomington, Ill. Kourtney holds a B.S. from Illinois State University. Kourtney is a third-generation Culligan Woman following in John and Richards footsteps. She joined the business in 2003, and after graduation from ISU, and worked at State Farm for 3.5 years before returning to Culligan in 2012 in a management role. Since returning to the business, Kourtney sits as a member of the Marketing Subcommittee, BOB Advisory Board, CDANA Convention Committee, and serves as the Chair of the CDANA Next Generation Committee. Kourtney enjoys spending time with her daughter, Malin. |
