Member Insurance Ltd. Appoints Rob Gardiner as Board Chair

CORNELIUS, N.C., June 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Member Insurance Ltd. announced the appointment of Rob Gardiner, owner of Damariscotta Hardware and Randolph Hardware, Maine, to serve as the company's Board Chair. Linda Johnson, owner of Village True Value Hardware, Western Springs, Illinois, previously served as Board Chair and will remain on as a director.

"Rob brings terrific knowledge of the hardware store industry," said Scott Reynolds, president of Member Insurance Ltd and CEO of American Hardware & Lumber Insurance (AHLI). "Rob understands the risks, challenges, and opportunities for retail storeowners, and he knows how we, as an insurance solutions provider, can best partner with storeowners. Rob has a terrific reputation in the industry and has recently taken on multiple leadership roles."

Scott continued, "Linda has been a fantastic board chair for Member Insurance Ltd. Our company has benefited from Linda's leadership on the board as well as her ongoing support of our mission to provide the best risk management solutions possible to hardware retailers." 

Rob was elected to the Member Insurance Ltd. Board in 2016. He began a three-year term on the Do it Best Corp. Board of Directors in 2020. He currently owns and operates Damariscotta Hardware and Randolph Hardware. Damariscotta Hardware was founded in 1955 by Rob's mother and father, Rob started working there in 1976, at the age of 12, gradually taking on more responsibility and then becoming President when his father semi-retired in 1996. After joining Do it Best in 2000, Rob moved the business further up Main Street, building a larger building in order to expand the business. He added additional lines and products, as well as a rental department. In 2015, he added a second location in Randolph. Randolph Hardware proved a good strategy for growth and earned Rob a Hardware All-Star Award and the cover of Hardware + Building Supply Dealer magazine in 2018. In 2022, Damariscotta Hardware was selected to Hardware All-Stars.

"It truly has been an honor to serve on the Member Insurance Ltd. Board for the past seven years and even more special to have been selected by that group to serve as their chairperson," said Rob. He continued, "AHLI has been key to meeting our insurance needs for over the last 20 years, they were instrumental to us adding a rental department to our new store in 2001."

Rob serves on the Member Insurance Ltd. Board with the following directors:

• Linda Johnson (Village True Value Hardware, Western Springs, IL)
• Steve Hawkinson (People's Do it Center, Galesburg, VA)
• Carolyn Epstein (Dr. Ike's Home Centers, San Antonio, TX)
• Earl Van Buskirk (Island Home Center & Lumber, Vashon, WA)
• Doug Roth (Director of Financial Reporting, Do it Best Corp.)
• Chris Kempa (Chief Executive Officer, True Value Company)

About Member Insurance Ltd.
Member Insurance Ltd. (MIL) is the parent company of American Hardware & Lumber Insurance (AHLI). MIL is a class 3, Bermuda insurance company. MIL is owned by the policyholders whose insurance is placed by AHLI and reinsured by MIL. AHLI is dedicated to meeting the insurance needs of independent hardware stores, lumber dealers, building material dealers, paint retailers, nursery and garden centers and rental centers, specializing in cooperatives and associations throughout the United States. Learn more at https://americanhli.com/.

Media Contact
Mary-Jo Salzburg
Phone: (847) 269-8617
[email protected]

SOURCE American Hardware & Lumber Insurance