Principal / Key Accounts Manager

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Vanessa has been in Sales since graduating from Texas A&M in 1995. Her first role out of college was in Pharmaceutical Sales with Johnson and Johnson, and she continued to work in that field for the next 15 years. She enjoyed those years in the pharmaceutical industry, but when she was laid off on a conference call with 400 other people, she realized it was time for a career change.She and her husband Brad co-owned two restaurants in the subsequent five years. While the restaurant industry is fun and rewarding, it can also be quite challenging. Between the long hours of a restaurant and Brad’s extensive travel as Principal of a Sales Agency, the Downeys were missing out on important milestones and treasured moments. They needed to “reimagine” their way of life.So they joined forces in the outdoor industry when Vanessa became the Soft Goods Sales Manager for Frontier Sales & Marketing Group, the Agency that Brad and his business partner Dennis founded in 1999. Their first brand on the Soft Goods side of Frontier was Woolrich, and the portfolio that Vanessa managed flourished in the ensuing years.By 2018, Vanessa was ready to forge a new path by creating her own Agency, Apex Outdoor Sales. Apex is comprised of people that are passionate about the outdoors, and about providing a Standard of Excellence to their customers. Vanessa’s ultimate goal of working for herself has come to fruition, and she is thoroughly enjoying this chapter as the Principal of an Independent Sales Agency.​

Sales & Operations

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Meg Locke grew up in Virginia where she played soccer, volleyball and ran cross country.  She always traveled to visit family, spending time in New York and out west in Montana and Washington.  She attended Christopher Newport University where she got her degrees in Psychology & Communication Studies.  During her time in college, she was able to study abroad in Europe and began her goal of visiting all 50 states in her lifetime.  

Upon graduating from college, Meg moved to Texas to attend graduate school and got her degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport & Exercise Psychology.  She was already managing a winery at the time, and really found a passion for delivering exceptional customer service and managing day to day business. 

After a couple of years in the DFW area, she moved to Tyler with her husband where they own a Barbershop and she has become an avid traveler and runner, thoroughly enjoying the outdoors in her everyday life.  Shortly after the move, Meg landed her job with Apex, working as the Executive Assistant, and helps us manage our day-to-day business while being able to explore more in the outdoors.

Adminstration