Prior to his untimely death in 2003, Terry Sherman, the vice president of sales for Milwaukee Valve and Hammond Valve, was known as the most enthusiastic promoter of Hammond and Milwaukee Valve products and initiatives in the company, and a positive force throughout the entire valve industry.

Upon his passing, and in recognition of his years of service and loyalty to Milwaukee and Hammond's sales representative agencies and enthusiasm for the PVF industry, the Terry Sherman Memorial Award was created. Nominations for the award are solicited from each Milwaukee Valve regional manager, with input from the Milwaukee Valve management team. A special plaque is given to the recipient, and a contribution is also made in the name of the recipient to the Youth Ministry at Our Savior's United Methodist Church, in Schaumburg, Illinois, an organization that was very important to Sherman.

The 2021 recipient of the Terry Sherman Memorial Award is Mark Letsos of Lambda Specialties of Houston, Texas. Lambda Specialties prioritizes providing the most thorough specifications and complete answers to customer inquiries and RFQs, knowing that customers will rely on Lambda and Milwaukee Valve because of their attention to detail and thoroughness of project evaluations.

Letsos founded Lambda Specialties in 2017 via partnership with Milwaukee Valve's North Texas and Central Texas rep agencies. The Lambda team initially focused on engineering specifications before expanding their attention to the contracting and distribution markets. Letsos's team balances their efforts amongst engineering, contracting, and distribution customers to ensure all project stakeholders are involved and kept engaged in the specification system.

"Mark has demonstrated the willingness to do the work required to promote the product line at the engineering and contractor communities" said Tom LaGuardia, vice president of sales and marketing for Milwaukee Valve. "These calls are vital in preserving the specifications and our position in that market but more important a necessary tool for everyone in the sales chain. A knowledgeable engineering, contractor and distributor base is vital to our industry as a whole."

After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005, and prior to founding Lambda Specialties, Letsos was a piping engineer at Fluor, the global engineering and construction firm and then a project manager at Letsos Company mechanical contractors. While at working as a project manager, Mark completed the professional MBA program at Rice University in 2009. His prior experience as a piping spec writer and mechanical project manager helps Letsos relate to these customers based on first-hand experience working in their shoes.