Neill F. Stroth is a native Californian, raised in San Francisco and resides in the City by the Bay. After graduation from the University of San Francisco, he worked with the exporting arm of an auto parts firm. This led him into the freight forwarding industry first with Airborne Freight Corp and later with the Fritz Companies. It was with Fritz that Neill gained his knowledge of the drawback field acting as manger and national director. He received his broker license in 1980.

Neill has been involved as a Customs Broker primarily in the duty drawback arena for more than twenty years. In 1994 he opened N.F. Stroth & Associates, LLC with the idea of working with fellow Custom brokers in a very specialized area of drawback. This year N.F. Stroth & Associates celebrated its tenth anniversary.

Neill and his wife Mary,have raised three sons and a daughter in San Francisco. In Neill's own words what he likes most about drawback: It is a great feeling to have drawback refunds come for our clients. Together we have completed the filing process and the result is very positive - the drawback dollars. Also, I sincerely appreciate having this excellent team working to work with. They always make us look good.

Chicago Office

Renee Predki

Renee Predki was born in Krakow, Poland and moved to the U.S. back in 1976. She attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and graduated with a degree in Economics. Renee's first job was with Fritz Companies as a drawback account executive. After two years with Fritz, she decided to expand her drawback horizons and joined Phoenix International, a mid-west based broker forwarder. She then moved on and became the Drawback Manager for Schenker International during her time there she also received her Customs Brokers License.

In May of 1994 Renee got married and spent the next six years developing Schenkers account base. In June of 2000, Renee accepted a position as the drawback manager at Fritz, in December of that year Renee welcomed the birth of her first son, Jason. She joined N.F. Stroth & Associates in March of 2001. Renee works part-time for N.F. Stroth & Associates since the firm took over the Fritz-UPS drawback program. Her second son Ryan was born in January of 2004.

In Renee's own words what she likes about drawback: "I have always enjoyed puzzles and I think of drawback as a puzzle. All the pieces need to be put together "just right" in order to see the final picture (in drawback case the recovery). It's a challenge but what a great feeling to get the first refund check!!"

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San Fransisco Office

Joe Lawhun

Joe Lawhun attended the University of California at Berkeley and graduated with a B.A. degree in Mathematics. Joe started his career in the transportation industry in 1979 with the Fritz Companies. Joe was instrumental in establishing the Atlanta drawback office for Fritz and was responsible for revenue in excess of 1.5 million dollars related to an account base of over 100 companies. Joe spearheaded the development of “QUIKDRAW” which was a new drawback system for Fritz to fully automate the claim process.

In 1996, Joe joined N.F. Stroth & Associates as a Senior Drawback Specialist. In addition, Joe handles all of our informational system needs and provides operational support throughout the company.

In Joe's own words, he describes what he likes most about drawback: "I'm intrigued by the various companies and their product lines. Even the intricacies of Customs bureaucracy and the different regional personalities interests me. I delight in the fundamentals of international trade and the academics of the US Customs laws and regulations."

Villfredy Alvarenga

Villfredy Alvarenga is originally from El Savdor, he moved to the United States in 1990. Villfredy has a Associated Degree in Computer Business Administration from Healds Business College of San Francisco. Before joining our firm worked as a sales representative for Export Technologies in San Francisco. Now a senior entry specialist with N.F. Stroth & Associates; he started with the firm five years ago and specializes in Central and South American operations. He is our resident expert in Destruction Drawback entries. Villfredy is responsible for the initial training of all individuals in the data entry department.

In Villfredy's own words what he likes most about drawback: "is the paperwork and the securing of proper documents. "

Christina Becher

Christina grew up in Monterey, California where she worked in the shipping and receiving department of a high end manufacturing facility before moving to the San Francisco bay area to join N.F. Stroth and Associates in early 2002.

Christina's favorite part of drawback is seeing the "behind-the-scenes" in the various industries of our clients.

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Los Angeles Office

Sarah Stroth

Sarah Stroth, originally from San Francisco, now resides in Hermosa Beach, California. Sarah graduated from Dominican University in 1990, and spent over 9 years in the fashion industry. She joined her father at N.F. Stroth & Associates in 1998 as a data entry assistant. Sarah is now a Customs House Broker and runs N.F. StrothÕs Los Angeles office. She is also an active member of the Women in International Trade Los Angeles Chapter and the Southern California Freight Forwarders and Brokers Association. She has learned so much about the different facets of the Port of Los Angeles through working with other members of the Trade industry as well as several members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"Working with our clients has always been my favorite part. Drawback touches so many different industries that I am always learning something new everyday.Ó

Meredith Lundberg

Meredith Lundberg is originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and moved to Los Angeles in July 2004. She graduated from University of Winnipeg in 1991 and was first involved in jobs within the fashion and food service industries before embarking on the Mortgage and Investment world. The position she now has with N.F. Stroth & Associates is her first job in the USA.

Meredith joined N.F. Stroth & Associates in May 2005 and is finding being the new Drawback Account Coordinator to be an interesting and challenging position. Her extensive knowledge of the Canadian provinces as well as having domestic and overseas shipping experience has proven to be quite helpful.

In Meredith's own words what she enjoys most about brawback: "I'm learning so many facets of this business and I am very excited to continue to grow with this wonderful and successful company. There is always something new to learn and I enjoy exploring all the intricate processes that are involved. I also enjoy the varied client contacts we regularly encounter and love meeting new faces and learning about their business. Knowing that we are helping these companies in such a lucrative way is very rewarding to me."

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