Gap Kovach
Chief Executive Officer

Born In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Gap attended elementary and secondary schools in Miami and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois, with a BA in 1968. In 1970 he earned an MBA as a graduate of Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. Gap and his wife, Karen, have three sons: Matthew, Andrew, and Ted. 

Before coming to HESCO, Gap was Assistant to the Executive Vice President, Container Division, Union Camp Corporation, Wayne, New Jersey, from 1970-1972. He also was the former Manufacturing Manager, Union Camp Corporation, Lakeland, Florida, Corrugated Container Plant, from 1972-1976. 

As Chief Executive Officer of HESCO, he has been with the company since 1976. In addition, he serves as the Treasurer of the Cooperative Development Foundation, the Chair of the Mutual Service Cooperative Fund, and as a Trustee and Chairman on the Board of the Florida, Citrus, Business and Industry Self-Insured Workers' Compensation Fund.   He represents HESCO in the National Cooperative Business Association and on the Polk Economic Education Council.  He is a Director on the Board of Community Southern Bank in Lakeland and Bartow and is a past President of the Florida Citrus Showcase and the Boys' and Girls' Clubs of Lakeland.  Formerly he served as Chairman of the Board of MSI Insurance Companies.

Mary D. Fort
Corporate Secretary / Administrative Manager

A native of Chicago, Mary attended elementary and secondary schools in Chicago Heights, Illinois. In 1970 she attended Marian College in Indianapolis, Indiana, for two years, and in 2000 she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a major in economics from the University of South Florida. Married to Joey B. Fort, they make their home in Winter Haven, Florida. 

Mary came to Florida in September 1978 and began working at HESCO in December of the same year. Before relocating she was First Deputy Auditor in Boone County Indiana during the governmental transition to GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles). Her previous experience in inventory control for Sears Roebuck and Company was a welcome addition while HESCO made its move to the new warehousing facility in Waverly. She serves on United Way's Budget Review Committees and previously served on the Ridge Vo-Tech Educational Advisory Board for Business/Electronic courses.

Born in Batavia, New York, Tim attended elementary and secondary schools in Winter Haven, Florida. He graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, North Carolina, with a BA in both Accounting and Economics in 2003. He is on pace to graduate from the MBA program at Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Florida, in 2010. In 2009, he passed the Certified Public Accountant exam and is currently awaiting his license from the State of Florida. Tim and his wife, Jennifer, currently make their home in Winter Haven.

Prior to joining HESCO in November of 2007, Tim was first a Staff Accountant with Bunting, Tripp, & Ingley, CPA's located in Lake Wales, Florida, from 2003-2006. He then continued his career in public accounting as a Senior Accountant with Dearolf & Mereness, CPA's in Tampa, Florida, from 2006-2007.

Tim began his tenure with HESCO as the Senior Accountant & Human Resources Coordinator and was named Controller and Human Resources Manager as well as Corporate Treasurer in 2008. He currently represents HESCO on the Board of the Florida Council of Cooperatives.