Jackie Tugmon, Co - Owner and President
Jackie Tugmon is the heartbeat of Demos Done Right. As co-owner and President, she is the ultimate decision maker in company operations. She founded the company in 1983, and at that time, there was no “demo industry.” You would occasionally see sampling in stores, but there were no standardized rules, no dress codes, no health standards, no table standards, and no safety standards.

Jim Tugmon was a food broker at that time with Hunt Taylor & Associates, and he decided to use some of his promotional budget on “person-to-person” marketing. He hired Jackie to go to various Houston grocery stores and sample and the products his company represented. Jackie was given no guidelines, and didn’t even know to bring a demo table to her first demo – she stacked milk crates and covered them with a cloth. She quickly realized that in-store samplers desperately needed a list of things to bring from home, and the manufacturers who were paying for these demos didn’t usually offer any in-store sampling instructions.

Within the first year of doing demos, she modified her table and her dress attire. She noticed how professionally she was treated when she wore solid black slacks and a white tuxedo shirt. Jackie bought a folding card table, raised the height of the table with PVC leg extenders (thanks to the idea from Evelyn Horrocks), and used bold, primary color, striped plastic tablecloths for her display (now the look of TGIF.) Jackie learned how to approach customers, convey the product message, and get the sale. A Quaker representative saw her one afternoon, and asked if Jackie could staff an upcoming Quaker Cereal promotion, and could she provide people to cover the entire city. Jackie took the challenge, and enlisted friends, neighbors and family to staff the stores. She wrote up instructions for everyone, helped to get their tables and dress attire together, and performed the huge task. The following month, it was reported that Jackie’s group in Houston had the #1 best sales figures in the nation for this product launch, and a demo company was born.

For over two decades, Demos Done Right has earned uncountable awards and recognition for sales, displays, execution, and overall performance results, due to Jackie’s attention to detail. Jackie is thorough, she states things clearly, she is specific, she follows a series of checks and balances, and she has a great memory. Jackie is the person responsible for booking all the Houston and surrounding areas, and has held that role for nearly all of the years Demos Done Right has been in business. Jackie has booked over a half million jobs so far, and completed them with a mind-boggling 99.98% success rate. She continues to hand select each person for each job, based upon different criteria: skill, sales ability, enthusiasm, performance history, and geography. “It is our job as an agency to inform and motivate the demonstrators, so they want to give 100% on every job,” she states.

The greatest thing about Jackie is that people really like her. She cares about people, and recognizes each person as a unique individual. Jackie loves animals too, and the Demos Done Right inner-office environment is pet-friendly: if you ever visit, you will see our corporate Chihuahuas, named Lily, Patron, and Raku, and our corporate Italian Greyhounds, named Brutus and Sophia.

Jim Tugmon, Co - Owner and CEO
Jim Tugmon is a co-owner and CEO of Demos Done Right, so he oversees the inner-workings of the office. He organizes and leads New Applicant Orientation Meetings, and screens potential demonstrators to determine who has the necessary interpersonal skills to become a successful product demonstrator. Jim is also the Primary Account Executive for new and existing business. In regards to staffing, Jim books all events in Austin, and he audits sampling events on a regular basis to ensure ours and the Clients’ expectations are being met. He emails digital pictures to Clients following the program, and interacts with them regularly by email and by phone. Jim’s cellular phone number is readily available to all demonstrators and all clients, and he REALLY does answer his telephone – rarely will you reach his voicemail, and if you do, you will get a prompt return call.

Jim’s grocery/retail history includes serving as a District Sales Manager with Ralston Purina Company, Key Account Manager with Crown Zellerbach marketing consumer paper products, Sales and General Manager of Frozen and Refrigerated Foods with Hunt-Taylor and Associates, and Divisional Sales Manager with Mrs. Paul’s Seafood. In 1989, he was recruited by PIA Merchandising Company, where he served as the Vice President and Division Manager for the Houston operations, providing product marketing and merchandising support at retail grocery and mass merchandising store levels, representing Proctor and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Scott Paper, S.E. Johnson, Hormel, and Bristol Meyer product lines. He joined Demos Done Right, Inc. as a full-time employee in April of 1996.

Jim Tugmon’s many talents include his strong industry training background, his experience in new product launch and key account management, and his skills interrelating with individuals at all levels and within multi-cultural environments. His career reflects hard work, reliability and confidence, underscored by personal commitment and performance.

Jim’s greatest love is working in the kitchen, and the DDR staff enjoys a gourmet lunch prepared by him at least twice weekly. Jim loves preparing foods that are both in good taste and in good health, so if you plan to visit our office anytime soon, you may decide to plan that visit during the lunch hour.

Jim’s other hobbies include his re-discovery of the true lifestyle and methods of the 19^th century cowboy. He has a passion for horses, campfires, Dutch-oven cooking and chuck wagons, and is a regular personality at the annual Terlingua Chili Cook-off, in Terlingua, Texas, where he is better known as “Tugger” or “BobWire.” View Jim's Gallery

In 1995, Tabitha worked closely with Demo Specialists (Dallas), and together created the initial “Exclusive In-House Demo Program” for the Randall’s/Tom Thumb store chain, which was ultimately accepted by the retailer and put in place in 1996. Although the demo industry chain-of-command has changed since then, DDR remains the in-house exclusive agency for Randall’s. In 1992 she served as Vice President of the TADC (Texas Association of Demo Companies) and took a proposed bill in hand to our state capital, where she lobbied, with the help of Johnny B. Rodgers and other TADC officers (Texas agency owners), to clearly define the role of the “independent-contractor-status” product demonstrator in Texas.

From 1999-2000, Tabitha was on hiatus from DDR and worked in the Trade Show Industry as an Account Executive for OmniGroup, a Houston custom, high-end, exhibit manufacturer.

Fortunately, Tabitha’s educational background is in the Arts, so the DDR office is often a gallery for her abstract acrylic paintings. She is also a performing singer/songwriter (a.k.a. Tabitha Monet) who plays piano and guitar, and is working toward the completion of her first studio-produced audio CD with Magellan Records. Her many hobbies include spending quality time with her 3 dogs, long distance running (she’s completed 5 marathons), yoga, nutrition and general “well-being.” TabRocks.com

Todd Tugmon, Officer
Coming Soon....

Samantha Soto, Payroll Assistant and Girl Friday
Samantha Soto is DDR’s Payroll Assistant and Girl Friday. Whatever needs to be done, Samantha does it, and with a smile. Sam possesses strong neatness and organizational skills, which is obvious to everyone who passes by her desk. Another is her commitment to follow-through when faced with a task. Sam’s previous work experience includes working with children at a Daycare Center, and was shift leader at a Jack-In-The-Box restaurant. In her spare time, Sam loves to cook, loves going on picnics, enjoys time with her family, and she loves wearing sneakers and the color gray.

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