AUBURN – Ron and Lisa Cote-Blake of Cote Bros. Sewing Machines won the “Rookie of the Year” award from Bernina of America.

They were awarded the honor at an annual convention in Monterey, Calif.

To qualify for the award, they had to be a Bernina sewing machine dealer for a full year, and attend an advanced course in embroidery software and become certified to teach it. Sales were also a factor.

In honor of “Rookie of the Year,” Ron and Lisa received two plaques and a lead crystal bowl presented by Martin Favre, president of Bernina of America, at the Grand Banquet at Bernina University, which 1,500 other dealers attended.

In addition to the “Rookie of the Year” award, Cote Bros. also exceeded a certain sales platform and received another award and by doing so became members of Bernina’s Century Club.

Cote Bros. also created the “Value Added Program,” helping to give their customers additional support with all new machines purchased.

This program is now used at Bernina in all of their training sessions.