Crest Ink - Volume 27 - Number 02

The Crest Ink is a quarterly newsletter that celebrates the success of Crest Foods and our employees.

Crest Ink

Consumer Products Research Growth by Gaven Meiners Volume 27 • Number 02 April, May & June 2015 Ashton, IL 61006

Mark Dempsey, Pam Furman, Holly Gleissner, Joyce Meiners, Mandi Kersten, Tom Windelborn

I am happy to announce that our Consumer Products research and development team has officially found a new home on Main Street here in Ashton. After outgrowing our previous lab, we moved into a new facility across the street this January. The facility is at least twice the size of our previous lab, and has become a lab that most compa- nies would only dream of. Before I talk about what the building has become, I want to briefly touch on what the building was. Locals might remember the building most as a barber shop, florist, or a laundry mat. While it is hard to believe, it was actually one of the first buildings Crest Foods ever owned. It became very clear to me when walking through the demolition with my grandmother, Delores Meiners, that this building is more than just a structure. It is literally where we got

In This Issue Retirements page 11

Culture Club Meeting page 5

Safety Contest page 16

our start. As she described the wallpaper she helped Jay Meiners hang in his office, it was humbling to say the least. If walls could talk! The lab planning and construction took us over a year. We wanted to make sure that we were getting the most out of the space. Not only is the lab more functional, but we have created an ambiance that allows plenty of room for creativity. The entire lab staff was involved in picking out colors, countertops, and even paintings on the walls. They are still getting used to the new facility, but have hit the ground running. Imagine doubling the space in your kitchen, moving everything, and then trying to find the cheese grater! The extra space will eventually allow for our equipment and ingredient storage to be more efficient. Some of the other enhancements include: brand new scales, new ovens, new stove tops, a warming tray system, a wet processing room, an extended shelf life room, an aromatic ventilation system, and a new customer presentation and conference room. We are confident that this new facility will allow for us to react to just about anything our customers throw at us. As the Consumer Products division continues to grow, this new enhancement will allow for us to keep pushing even further.

Preparation/application lab

The front of the lab building on Main Street.

Office area

Storage area

Dry blending lab

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Getting to Know: Consumer Products R&D Lab Joyce Meiners Consumer Products R&D Manager Years at Crest : 20 Interests: Volleyball, golf, cooking, experiencing new food items or new cooking processes especially as it relates to specific types of dishes or countries, reading historical novels, and trail hiking. One thing most people wouldn’t know about me: I really enjoy traveling in the Northwest US. Mandi Kersten R&D Lab Technician Years at Crest: 3 Interests: My son and I really enjoy camping, fishing and hiking with our dog, Millie. Anything outside when the weather is nice! We like to take “weekend” vacations as my son would call them. One thing most people wouldn’t know about me: I would love to travel around the world some day and learn

about different cultures. Tom Windelborn R&D Consumer Products Technician Years at Crest: 1

Interests: Cooking, World of Warcraft, jokes, playing with my 2 year old daughter, walking/jogging uphill on my treadmill while Jillian Michaels yells at me through a speaker (it is only through suffering that you will change, Tom! Push yourself, NOW you can feel your fat-bellied body changing!!) One thing most people wouldn’t know about me: My 2 favorite pizza toppings are anchovies and mushrooms.

Mark Dempsey R&D Lab Technician Years at Crest: 1

Interests: I play in the Dixon & Sterling City Bands, the Rock River Jazz Band, the MA Brass Quintet and the Clin- ton Symphony Orchestra (so music, lol), reading, spending time with my family, World of Warcraft and frisbee golf. One thing most people wouldn’t know about me: I proposed to my wife at the Trevi Fountain (the Fontana de Trevi) in Rome. Pam Furman R&D Lab Technician Years at Crest: 20 Interests: Reading and spending time with my grandchildren. One thing most people wouldn’t know about me: I have four grandchildren ranging in age from freshman in college to 8 months old. Holly Gleissner R&D Consumer Products Technician Years at Crest: 3 Interests: Food! (Is that too obvious?) From new restaurants or retail items to trying different ingredients, recipes, or cuisines. Also hiking/trail running, knitting, horses, and health & wellness. One thing most people wouldn’t know about me: I used to be an assistant trainer at a Thoroughbred racehorse stable.

April, May & June 2015 Crest Ink 3

54 Years in the Making by Jackie Ayling (A-Shift Production)

Editors note: With Jackie’s approval, in order to explain why it took so long to spend a Christmas with her father, she has shared this information: When Jackie was an infant, just a few days old, her mother took her and ran off with another man, leaving Jackie’s fa- ther, Robert, who was in the British Air Force with no idea as to what happened to his wife and baby. Eighteen months later, authorities located them and to her father’s heartbreak, found his wife had made a new life and wanted nothing to do with him. Although it was difficult to accept this, Robert chose to honor the request and never knew anything further about his daughter. Jackie was unaware of this until she was 16 years old at which time she found out the man who had raised her was her step-father. When Jackie’s mother passed away 14 years ago, Jackie decided it was time to try to find her birthfather. It took her quite some time to locate him and when she did, she decided to write a letter. Jackie could not bring herself to mail the letter, however, worrying about intruding in his life. Finally after nearly 6 months, she mailed the letter. When her father received the letter, he later told her “he thought he had won the lotto” because he finally knew what happened to his daughter. This begins her story, at the age of 54, on the reason for her first Christmas with her father.

Jackie Ayling and her father, Robert

On March 16, 2014 at about 8:30 AM our time, my Dad who lives in Bradford, West Yorksire, England called me. Now, he calls me every Sunday at this time, so when I answered the phone I thought it was just another Sunday. This time he was all excited and told me that he wanted to fulfill his last wish – which was to have one Christmas with his daughter. He had the dates planned for December 17th and to stay until January 5, 2015. Dad said that he’d waited 54 years and said he wasn’t getting any younger, so now was the time. So as the months went by we got his room ready for his stay with new paint, flooring and bedroom furniture. I was still getting my Sunday morning phone calls from Dad, with him getting more excited as the date got closer. Now it is Dec. 16th, my last day at work as I had saved all my vacation time and personal time so that I could be off the same time he was going to be here. The house was decorated for Christmas and gift shopping was done. I had a banner made for him announcing his first Christmas with me hanging on the wall. Now it was Dec. 17th, the day to go and pick him up at Rockford Clock Tower Inn as he had taken the bus from the airport. We arrived at the Clock Tower at about 5:30 PM and walked down the hallway looking for him. In the lounge area we saw a man looking out of the window. I called out and he turned around and we gave each other a big hug. Now it was time to bring his wish to life. I would like to thank Erika Meiners for letting me bring my Father to the Christmas dinner. He enjoyed meeting my supervisors and my co-workers while enjoying the meal. We made plans for him to meet his extended family. We made reservations to have supper at the Asian buffet on Dec. 20th to meet with my sons, Robert and his friend Josh, and my older son John, his wife Lynne and their four daughters, my granddaughters. These of course, are his great-granddaughters. The oldest he met in 2004 when she was 3 years old, now thirteen, and the others he saw for the first time. There were 14 of us there that evening and it was a wonderful evening. We had two mornings of going out for breakfast, meeting my good friend Jan. My Dad asks about her when he calls on Sundays as I have breakfast with her on most Saturday mornings. On Dec. 22nd Dad wanted me to take him Christmas shopping as he wanted something under the tree for my husband and me. He enjoyed his day out and was amazed how quiet our roads are, since he lives in the city of Bradford, England. He also found our land very flat compared to his home area.

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On the 23rd my Dad, my husband Pete and myself went to Crest Foods to meet with a group of co-workers to go caroling for Fran (Warkins), who was staying at her daughter’s house. It was very humbling. Now it is Christmas Eve and I have everybody coming over Christmas Day. With 14 people, I did a lot of preparation as I was doing a buffet with salad, main meal and dessert. Dad helped with any of the food that could be done ahead of time. Christmas Day everybody came around noon. Good times and visiting with his family and great-granddaughters was so much more than I thought it could be. It was wonderful. He has some special gifts to take back to England with him. Time was flying by now and with two days left I thought he would like to say good-bye to everybody, so on Saturday the 3rd we took him to the Candlelight in Sterling and had the whole family and friends join us. It was a wonder- ful evening. One day left, having a quiet day as the next day would the flight back to England, hours flying and the time change. He flew out of Chicago at 6:10 PM on January 5 and arrived home at 11:00 AM on January 6, 2015. I believe his wish to have one Christmas with his daughter has been accomplished! Culture Club In early January a group of newer managers and level 6 leaders got together at the Salamandra Restaurant in Dixon (run by Kena & Karla Rivera’s family) to have a little revival meeting Crest Foods style. The preaching at this meet- ing was all about Crest Culture and how important it is to our way of work life. Over the years, we have spent much time with our leaders reviewing Crest Culture and reminding everyone how important their role is in making the words on paper come to life. Many of these people weren’t exposed to those original meetings, so we thought it would be a good thing just to spend some time reviewing the basics to a whole new group of people. Crest Culture – we teach it, we preach it and we practice it every day because it is the one thing that makes us different from ev- erybody else.

Brian Hamm, Gaven Meiners, Steve Starke, Brian Dvorak, Jeff Meiners, Garett Meiners, Darcy Zera, Susie Miller, Jeff Karas, Justin Guenther, Matt Richardson, Ben Kinn, Becky Henson, Jim Shuck, Brandon Meiners, Elton Turner, Holly Gleissner, Jamie Wilcox, Tom Windelborn, Matthias Kemmeren, Marc Smith, Brian Schafer, Jessica Fair, Gene Hodges, Rick Rice, Dan Brown April Fichter, Tom Saunders, Stina Ebersole, Joe Loquasto, Jamie Bock, Steve Meiners, Rob Osborne

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The Crest Family Mourns

Jim Blue

Fran Warkins

Andrew Ruiz

This winter brought sad news to Crest as we mourn the passing of three of our Crest family. Fran Warkins and Jim Blue had both made Crest Foods their work home for the past thirteen years, and Andrew Ruiz had worked with us for the past four years. All three embraced those that they worked with as more than just co-workers and their loss struck many in a very personal way. Fran fought a very long and courageous battle against a disease she couldn’t conquer, but she inspired and touched us all with her determination, grace and positive attitude in the face of such difficult circumstances. Jim left us very suddenly without warning, but was always a very friendly and positive person who got along with everyone he worked with. Andrew also left us suddenly without a chance to say goodbye. His infectious personality and sense of humor will be greatly missed by his friends and co-workers. Fran, Jim, and Andrew had built strong families around them that are an ongoing legacy to how they lived their lives. We will miss them all and we are a better place because they chose to be a part of our company for the past few years. Our thoughts go out to their families and we wish them nothing but pleasant memories of Fran, Jim, and Andrew as time helps to erase the pain of their loss. Remembering Andrew Ruiz With Andrew’s sudden passing this March, his co-workers wanted to share some of their favorite memories: Andrew loved sharing music. One night he was giving me a ride home and he drove slowly because playing tunes was more important than getting home quickly. We got to Stone Barn Road and he thought of a song I just had to hear - unfortunately it was in his HUGE CD case in the back seat. Undaunted, Andrew turned around and began to rummage through his CD’s. The car, meanwhile, was edging closer and closer to the ditch until I became alarmed. “Andrew...Andrew...ANDREW!!!” He turned around and twisted the wheel, narrrowly avoiding disaster. He grinned at me and said, “Dude, were you worried? I was totally in control the whole time!” So here’s to you, Andrew. Say hello to John Lennon for us, will ya? - Stephen Osborne I met Andrew when I had started working here at Crest Foods. Very quickly he became one of the closest friends that I had ever had. He was one of the nicest people I had ever met and never had anything bad to say about anyone. He wanted nothing more from life but to be a happy, good person. Andrew once said to me “You know what you need - to just enjoy your life. There is no time for any drama because all drama does is bring you down and hold you back from enjoying your life. No matter what happens today, tomorrow is an entirely different story.” - Adam Jenkins

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Welcome to Crest Foods We are very pleased to announce the addition of three new Managers to Crest Foods! Phil Blythe and Sarah Clemons joined our Ingredient Division Sales Team, and Rob Osborne joined us as our Machine Shop Project Manager. Phil and Sarah both come to us with extensive experience in providing stabilizer system solu- tions to the dairy industry. Phil was most recently VP of Sales and Marketing at Tate & Lyle. He resides in rural Port Byron, IL with his wife. He will be working nationally to support new business development plans. Sarah was most recently with International Food Products but had worked with Phil at Tate & Lyle for many years previous to her departure in 2013. She lives in the greater Atlanta area with her husband and their family. She will also be working new business development as well but will also assume some District Sales Manager duties as Terry Anderson works to- ward his announced retirement date in August of 2016. Rob started in January and works in the Machine Shop as a Project Manager. You will likely see him around the plant taking measurements, collecting information, and talking to people about possible solutions to issues. Rob has 36 years of experience as a Fabricator at General Mills. We intend to put his skills to good use. If you see Rob please give him a warm wel- come and let him know if there are any problems you think the Machine Shop could solve. Please welcome these three to the Crest Foods family! Nurse Joan Retires by Cheri Kemp The stethoscope has been passed – figuratively speaking that is. For about the last seven years, Joan Wubbena, R.N., or Nurse Joan to everyone, has been taking care of the health of Crest Foods employees. She has treated, nurtured, mentored and mothered many of us and for that we are most appreciative. Nurse Joan has now decided to take time in her life for herself where she can set her own schedule. In talking with her recently, it seems family and friends have been filling up that time and she said she wondered how she found time to work!

Phil Blythe

Sarah Clemons

Rob Osborne

When Nurse Joan first started working here the job was an entirely new position with only some general ideas of what we wanted of a nurse at Crest Foods. Over the course of time we have been able to refine, develop and expand this role through the capable hands and input of Joan. Joan, we all wish you the best as you explore your retirement and can’t thank you enough for your years of caring for the employees of Crest Foods.

Nurse Joan with a group of friends from the A-Shift

April, May & June 2015 Crest Ink 7

My Dad & His Journey to Health by Hannah Weiler (A-Shift Production)

“After” Ed & Hannah Weiler

“Before” Ed & his family

In January of 2014, my dad, Ed Weiler (A-shift Mix) did his routine stress tests. In that stress test the doctor saw something very small, but wasn’t too concerned and recommended that Ed have an Angiogram done to be on the safe side. So with that said, dad scheduled his first Angiogram. As the day got closer to his Angiogram, dad got more nervous about the procedure that was going to happen. Dad never had a sick day in his life, and the doctor said he was healthier than a horse. As a matter of fact, he had never been admitted to a hospital before! When the day arrived, my dad and mom went to Rockford. My dad isn’t a morning person by any means, and I’m positive that he probably didn’t get any sleep the night before. Mom assured me that dad would be ok and that it would be ok to go to work that day, and that she would keep me posted. By noon that day I hadn’t heard anything about dad, but figured that no news was good news. When I called mom after work she said that everything went ok but she wanted Gene and I to come to Rockford. When we got to the hospital mom met us at the door and said “I’ve got some good news and some bad news.” She said that dad needs to have a double bypass, but the doctor assured her that Ed was strong enough for the open heart surgery. As scary as those words were, I knew dad wasn’t taking all of this very well. When we made it to his room, the doctor was right behind us to tell us where the blockage was. He explained why they couldn’t use a stent to clear the blockage, and that Ed was a ticking time bomb and they needed to get this done as soon as possible. Mom and I both agreed that now would be better than later, but it was dad’s decision. Everyone was trying to help dad think positively while trying to help him relax and make the right decision. After Gene and I left the hospital, dad scheduled his surgery for January 30th. All of us pulled together and it was a very quick couple of days. Dad wanted to make sure everything was in line, but you could tell he was very nervous. As the 30th arrived, we were all at the hospital to show dad our support, and sat in the waiting room, which seemed like forever. The doctor came out and said that everything went ok, dad was doing fine, and that we could see him in about an hour. We waited two hours and then went in to see him. You could only imagine all the monitors, IV’s, and cords in the room. I started crying like a big baby seeing my dad like that. The nurse was telling us that he was doing excellent and that they were going to be removing the breathing tube soon. We all left the room trying to control ourselves. Mom told everyone that we wouldn’t go back into his room until he was more alert. Two hours later when we went back in dad was awake and talking. We all told him we were proud of him and then Andrea, Gene and I were getting ready to leave and go home, while mom was going to stay the night. The next day after work Gene and I headed back to the hospital. Dad was doing extremely well and had walked

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twice. I was very happy with the progress that he was making, and from that moment he said he was going to be eating healthier. He had been talking with the dietitian and agreed to make some changes in his diet and would exercise more. Just five days later dad was home and was doing what the doctor told him to do: writing everything down, checking his blood pressure, and going for walks, which he had fun doing. He would even get up and mov- ing by dragging a string on the floor so the cats (Clowey and Oscar) would chase him around the house. Six weeks later he started therapy and was still doing very well with his diet. Gladly, a year after his surgery he is still doing very well and has lost 85 pounds in the past year! He still watches what he eats and exercises regularly. At the age of 69 he says he feels better than ever and that he should have done this a long time ago. Mom, Andrea, Bryan, Bradley, Gene and I just wanted to say we are very proud of you dad! Construction Updates

New equipment storage area at the Main Plant

Dairy Ingredient Division Warehouse

New production area under line 35 in the Main Plant

• The consumer products research laboratory is complete! See article elsewhere in Crest Ink. • The office expansion at the West production facility is nearly complete. We have moved into the new produc- tion office, the new conference room is filled with tares while the QA room is being renovated and the new nurse’s office will be where the production office used to be. Look for everything to be complete early in April. • We are ahead of schedule on the dairy ingredient division warehouse. Despite several weeks of nasty winter weather, the winter has been reasonably mild and construction has continued throughout. We are hoping to be ready to move sometime in June. • The new equipment storage area for packaging is complete and we are nearly moved in – what an upgrade in space over where we were previously. • The area under line 35 is in the process of being converted to a production room – this is where we previously stored equipment. This will give us the ability to run several standard two level production lines in this area. High on our priority list will be to put in a cup style line which will be a new packaging format for Crest. Look for lines to be running in this room in April.

Cindy Reuter, Linda Young, Chuck Reynolds and Casey Ward of the North Plant Ingredient Division R&D Lab were feeling festive on St. Patrick’s Day!

April, May & June 2015 Crest Ink 9

Crest Happenings

With Sympathy To Randy (Production Manager, Ing. Div.) and Cindy (Ing. Div. Lab Tech) Reuter on the death of Randy’s brother Dennis. To Laura Mares (A Production) on the death of her father. To Nancy Gleissner (QA Wet Lab) on the death of her mother, Doris Beck To Stephanie Roe-Quinton (Ing. Div. Operations Man- ager) on the death of her mother, Marilyn Roe. To the families of Andrew Ruiz, Fran Warkins and Jim Blue from all at Crest Foods. New Arrivals Congratulations to Alyssa (B Production) and Aaron Holden on the birth of their son. Elias Harlen Gabriel Holden was born January 19, 2015 at 1:53 a.m. He weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 21.5 inches long. Congratulations to Jordon Smith (B Production) and Mandi Yocum on the birth of their daughter. Mallori Smith was born on February 6, 2015. She weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long. Congratulations Congratulations to Tyler Smith (daughter of Matt and Crystal Smith of Dixon and niece of Emily Smith, Ac- counting) for advancing to the Girls Three-Point Shoot- ing Competition at the State Finals! Your performance is a shining example of what true dedication and hard work delivers. Congratulations on being one of the top 15 shooters in 3A! Thank You Crest Foods Employees: You’re the best at making happi- ness grow! Thank you for the beautiful Norfolk Pine plant sent to me while recuperating from knee surgery. I ap- preciate your thoughtfulness. Sincerely, Chris Pfoutz (Sales Admin. Asst.)

Thank you for the lovely Christmas decorated plant you sent me. It was very beautiful. Sincerely, Kathy Lansford (B Production) Dear Crest Family: thank you for your thoughts and prayers and the beautiful plant sent to me while I was in the hospital. Tim Eshleman (Karlin Warehouse) To Crest Foods: thank you for the plant and thanks for caring about me in the loss of my husband. Paula Blue Thank you all for the warm thoughts and the plant I re- ceived. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! Rick Lucas (Ing. Div. Warehouse) To my Crest Family: Thank you so much for the beautiful plant. It really is lovely and it brightens up our home. I’ve been away and in a wheelchair a long time and I am more than ready to get back on my feet and back to work! After 29 years, Crest has become my family and I miss the hustle-bustle and friendship. See you soon. Stephanie Roe-Quinton (Ing. Div. Operations Mgr.) To Our Crest Foods Family: We really appreciate all of the love and support you have shown our Mom and family during her illness. To each of you who said prayers, shared smiles, sent cards, made visits, and helped with donations – you made my Mom’s life more sweet and full of love! She truly loved her job and I’m sure all of you had a great deal to do with that! It is not very often that a job and family become one, however, Crest Foods and the people there have made that happen. She was blessed to have you in her life! We were also just as blessed to have you. Thank you is just not enough to express the sincere grati- tude for all of the help we have received. We are so proud to share this community with such a great company. “Love is how you stay alive, even after you’re gone.” Mitch Albom Love, Bridgette, Chris, Mary and the Frances Warkins Family Crest Foods: Thank you to all for thinking about me and my family on the loss of my father. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts and for the card. It means a lot to know that here at Crest we have a lot of thoughtful, caring people. Laura Mares (A Production)

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Happy Retirement!

January brought four retirements of long time Crest Foods employees. Mike Ward and Jim Olson of B-Shift Production, Nancy Daugherty of B-Shift Sanitation, and Patti Forrester of the Ingredient Division, decided to make retirement a reality. We would like to thank all four of these people for their time at Crest Foods, and wish them all the best in retirement! Mike Ward and Jim Olson, also known as Statler and Waldorf, the old, disagreeable Muppet characters, have been long time pals at Crest Foods and are anything but disagreeable. A gathering was held so employees could wish them well in their retirement. Jim had been at Crest for 12 years and Mike for 20 years. Nancy Daugherty of Sanitation, also decided it was time to take it easy after 8 years at Crest. She had worked in both the Production and Sanitation departments during her time here. Her co-workers and friends had a little party for Nancy in order to wish her well. We hear she will keep busy in retirement with gardening and going to hockey games! Patti, Ingredient Division Administrative Assistant, has hung up her keyboard after 28 years. Initially Patti worked as a technician in our Ingredient Division R & D lab before becoming a clerical administrative assistance. During her years at Crest Foods, Patti worked closely with our various sales people and technical service people on their customer data bases and handling sample’s-in and sample’s-out paperwork. Patti will be kept busy at home with her husband, six year old daughter and her pugs. Patti will be missed and we wish her well in her retirement!

Jim Olson & Mike Ward

Nancy Daugherty is pictured 3rd from the left in the front row with some of the employees who came to wish her well.

The HUGE card from Jim & Mike’s co-workers

Patti Forrester

Jim Olson & Mike Ward

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Nurse Heidi on the Job Carrying the stethoscope on into her new position is Heidi McGlown, RN. Through the assistance of KSB Hospital and after a lengthy look for a new nurse, we were fortunate to be able to hire Heidi. Heidi began her work at Crest Foods in February and within the first month was already very busy seeing employees and stepping into the shoes of Nurse Joan. Below is a little information that Heidi would like to share with you:

Hi everyone. I am Heidi and will be the new KSB nurse that you will be seeing here at Crest Foods. Just to let you know a little bit about me: I am a Registered Nurse and I am from Dixon. I am mar-ried and have 7 kids that range in age 11 to 20. I also have a new 3 month old granddaughter! In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and watching my kids sporting events. I also enjoy reading, hiking, vacationing, walking, shopping and going kayaking with friends. My favorite place to be is near the ocean! My favorite foods are veggie pizza and tacos and my favorite color is green. I look forward to getting to know all of you, even though it may take me a while! Please feel free to stop in anytime if you need something, or just to say hello! Dr. Kurt Crowe, KSB Medical Group Rural Physician of Excellence If you look up the word ‘rural’ in the dictionary, it states “the country or of the country life.” If that does not describe Ashton, then nothing does. Dr. Crowe said that when he graduated from medical school, he always wanted to practice in a rural setting. Much to the delight of the community, he has found that right here in Ashton. “Statistics show that most physicians settle within 50 miles of the area where they completed their medical school so the rural areas don’t get served as well” said Crowe. The University Of Illinois- Rockford College of Medicine has a Rural Medical Education Program (RMED) and Dr. Crowe was in its first graduating class. Dr. Crowe continues to be involved with the U of I Rock- ford College of Medicine both in the RMED program and as a faculty member. Recently Dr. Crowe was awarded the Rural Physician of Excellence after being nominated by one of his former professors. This award comes through the Illinois Rural Health Association as a way to recognize those physicians dedicated to improving healthcare in rural communities. We are proud to have a physician of this caliber right here in our community. Dr. Crowe grew up in the St. Germaine, Wisconsin area. After a six year medical practice in Princeton, IL, he joined the KSB Medical Group (Dixon, IL) in 2006. “It is just a good fit for me” stated Crowe. Dr. Crowe splits his time between the Ashton Clinic and the clinic in Amboy, another rural community. He lives in Dixon with his wife and six children ages 11 to 21. Dr. Crowe practices Family Medicine and Family Medicine with Obstetrics and is currently accepting new patients. The Ashton Clinic is also able to do lab draws which is convenient for those who need regular blood work and do not want to drive to Dixon or elsewhere for those lab draws. Linda Estock, RN, Dr. Kurt Crowe, Lou Ann McMillion

Dr. Crowe’s office hours: (Please call for an appointment) Monday – Amboy Clinic; Tuesday – Ashton Clinic Mornings, Amboy Clinic Afternoons; Wednesday – Amboy Clinic; Thursday – Amboy Clinic Mornings; Ashton Clinic Afternoons; Friday – Amboy Clinic Mornings

KSB Ashton Clinic 815-453-1212 320 N. First St.

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2015 AFC High School Careers Class Work Program The AFC High School Careers Class is back at Crest! For the past few years the AFC High School Careers Class has gone through the entire hiring process with HR at Crest Foods, including an interview and orientation. After interviews and a new employee orientation, we start them up with their job assignment in the Sanitation depart- ment at Crest. For 1 hour a day, every other day, for 3 months, stu- dents treat their time at Crest as a regular job. They have to clock in on time, wear a uniform, and participate in the normal weekly tasks of their department, which could include anything ranging from mopping floors to washer/dryer duty.

Thank you to Kellie Engle, Daniel Ortiz, Jonathan Long, and Ali- syn Essex for their time and efforts in our Sanitation department. Also, thank you to our A-shift Sanitation department for taking the time to train students and ensure that they not only learn the tasks of the job, but also the importance of a good attitude, good atten- dance, and how to have a little fun at work.

Back: John Price, Ben Fichter, David Berkley, Carol Murphy and Glenn White of Sanitation. Front: Daniel Ortiz, Alisyn Essex, Kellie Engle and Jonathan Long

Walking Club is Back! by Jamie Wilcox & Erika Meiners Warmer weather means it’s time to get outside and do some walking and running! The Walk- ing Club will be back in action starting this May, and we are excited to get some exercise and raise money for local charities! Last year, this group raised $8,360.00 for the Home of Hope in Dixon – just by participating in local 5K events.

This year, we will be raising money for the Serenity Hospice and Home in Oregon, which provides dignity and care to the terminally ill and their families. While we hope to never have to endure the loss of someone we love, we are fortunate to have a wonderful organization in our area that can help families through such difficult times. We are happy to be giving back to an organization that has touched so many of the employees at Crest over the years. We will be participating in 7 events, starting with the Make-a-Wish 5K in Dixon on May 16th. Events will then take us to the towns of Oregon, Rock Falls, Byron, Ashton, and Amboy, and will support local groups like Make-a- Wish (Dixon), the Ashton Community Fund, Dixon Athletic Boosters, Dixon Main Street, Dixon Park District, YMCA Strong Kids (Dixon), the Amboy Education Foundation, the Whiteside County Food Bank, the Oregon High School Athletic Department, and Oregon Village of Progress. Schedules and Walking Club information will be available soon at Crest. If you haven’t participated before, Crest will pay all entry fees, and for every event that you participate in, Crest will put $20 into our fund for the Serenity Hospice and Home! Crest will also be paying a $1000.00 bonus to the fund if our runners win any of the Corpo- rate Challenges at the races this year (last year, they won 2 events)! Contact Erika Meiners (x201) or Jamie Wilcox (x270) if you need anything or have any questions, and we hope that everyone can join us this year!

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Proud Parents by Dan Brown A year ago, my son (Rahveon) and I went to Champaign to watch the IHSA State Wretling Fi- nals. He was in eighth grade at the time. We were amazed at the talent these athletes displayed. Having being an IKWF (Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation) State Champion a year before, this was not completely new to him but the show at State Farm Arena (formerly Assembly Hall) was even more spectacular. I remember him saying to me, “I can’t wait ‘til I get to be here next year.”

Rahveon

As a freshman, he worked very hard in dual meets and tournaments all year, compiling a regular season record of 35-4. Many teams were highly ranked, such as #1 Dakota, #2 Byron and others from Iowa. When it came time for postseason, he had wrestled several of the guys already throughout the year. Finishing as regional champ and sectional runner up, it was time for State. Being very nervous, or anxious, didn’t slow him down, winning his first match. His second match pit- ted him against 44-1 senior Corey Jurzak (eventual state champion), who beat him 6-3 in a very competitive contest. That put him in wrestlebacks (consulation bracket), whereas he won three matches enroute to the 3rd place match, facing #1 ranked Jarid Braunagel. The match was scoreless but came to an end at the conclusion of the second period. They had an incidental head-on collision and Rahveon was exhibiting concussion-like symptoms and could not go on. Fourth place at state is awesome, especially for a freshman. We are so proud of him on and off the mat, finishing with a lofty mark of 44-7. As we were watching Rahv, his younger brother (11 and having been wrestling for seven years) said to me with a sparkle in his eyes, “I’m going to be here when I’m in high school!” We may be visiting Champaign for several years to come. A previous family highlight came when son Andrew (formerly in the Ingredient Division) called us in January on his way home from monthly National Guard drill. He said he had a surprise for us. Our first thought (and fear) was that he was being deployed. When he arrived home, he was carrying a framed document and a small case. Upon opening the case, he showed us a medal and uniform ribbons. He was awarded the Army Achievement Medal by his commanding officer! This was for last summer’s 2-week training, stating, “For exceptionally meritorious service in support of annual training. Your extraordinary tenacity, intense devotion to duty and strong sense of personal excellence provided superior and professional diligence in the success of many missions. SPC Brown’s superb performance of duty reflects great credit upon himself, Detachment 1 Company B 33rd Special Troops Battalion, the Illinois National Guard and the United States Army.” You could have knocked us over with a feather. What a great surprise indeed! He also told us that he is soon going to be promoted to E-5 (sergeant to us civilians). Every time I hear the National Anthem, I’m even more proud of him and his service to our great country. Congratulations! In the past few months, we’ve had a number of employees interview for different job openings at Crest. Congratulations to the following people for obtaining new jobs at Crest!

Trish Carter QA Line Tech A-Shift

Joe Kump Maintenance Mechanic C-Shift

Amy Wilcox Level 6 West Facility A-Shift

Regina Bonnell Maintenance Mechanic C-Shift

Ty Lebrick Level 6 Main Plant B-Shift

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CIP 2015 2nd Quarter Winners The Continuous Improvement Program (CIP) is a program where employees may submit suggestions on ways that they think can improve Crest Foods. These suggestions may help improve overall efficiency, employee safety, sanitation, record keeping, maintenance and various other areas around Crest Foods. In exchange for their sugges- tions, each employee is rewarded with a $5.00 gift certificate to our Crest store. We received 31 suggestions from employees for the 2nd quarter. Thank you to everyone for participating! Marcia Breeden, A-Shift Parts Room 2nd Quarter 1st Place • $250

Marcia’s idea was to use a soft tipped type material such as a stylus on equipment key- pads. This should stop the buttons m being bro-ken by using hard objects like screw drivers. Some of the touch pads cannot be purchased anymore and would cost a lot to replace.

Ray Sixaysana, B-Shift Production 2nd Quarter Runner Up • $150

Ray’s suggestion is to use a wing-nut on the tape roll on tape machines where the case goes through. It can then be adjusted by hand rather than having to search for a tool to adjust the nut making the process quicker.

Benjamin Nelson, C-Shift Ingredient 2nd Quarter Runner Up • $150

Ben’s idea is to load pallets on the Ingredient Division trucks in a more organized man- ner. The stages for our various batches are put on the truck and sent upstairs in ran- dom order causing pallet “shuf-fling” in a small area. Loading them in a more orga- nized way would allow for easy placement when being sent up the elevator.

Larry Shipman, B-Shift Mix 2ndQuarter Runner Up • $150

Larry’s suggestion was to replace the stainless steel lines that connect the extruders to the hoses at the Mix Facility. This will stop us from damaging the lines and connec- tions. They occasionally get hit by handcarts resulting in bent lines and pipes.

On a very cold January day a hot air balloon was seen drifting over Crest Foods. If you look closely you can see the person manning the balloon. They say hot air rises so was it warmer up there than on the ground? Hmmm…

April, May & June 2015 Crest Ink 15

Live Long & Prosper by Karen Yardley, Safety & Sanitation Manager

A big part of Crest’s culture is to have some fun and we’re taking that seriously with our new safety contest! The WAVE Safety Team (Karen Yardley, Denton Yocum, Phyllis Ott, Kevin O’Dell) introduced the new contest, Live Long & Prosper, to our employees in February. Here’s how it works – each month we publish five safety related questions. One winner will be drawn from all employees who answer all five questions correctly. The monthly prize is a $25 gift certificate to the Crest Store which can be used for all kinds of merchandise like clothes, grill sets or thermoses. In August, when we celebrate the end of our fiscal year and have our annual celebration, we’ll take ev- ery set of correct answers and hold another drawing – this time for a $100 gift card to a local retailer like Walmart or Caseys! That means each employee that has submitted correct answers each of the six months has six chances to win a $100 gift card! Our goals for the contest are to get employees thinking and talking about safety every day, to become more familiar with the policies that make up our Safety Program and to engage the employees while having some fun. As you can see from the pictures, we are doing just that!

Rod Paul

Aaron Thiebaud

Kena Rivera

LouAnn Balch

Shane Stover

When’s the Last Time You Thought About Your Retirement Savings?

With the start of the New Year and tax season right around corner, now is the best time to review how much you are saving for retirement. To enjoy retirement, you need to save as much as you can while you are still working. A comfort- able retirement does not happen by itself! And remember every dollar you put in today is working for your retirement. If you are saving in the company 401(k) plan, congratulations! You are on the right path to retirement. Remember, the money that comes out of each paycheck, goes into your account tax-deferred. Tax-deferred simply means that you are setting money aside before you pay Uncle Sam his taxes. You will eventually pay taxes on the money you saved and the earnings when you go to withdraw your money at retirement. If you are comfortable doing so, try to save to the maximum amount. The maximum for 2015 is $18,000 if you are un- der age 50. If you are 50 or over, you can put in an additional $6,000 as catchup contributions. If you can’t max out, that doesn’t mean you should not save. Try bumping up your savings 1% or 2% from what you are putting in now. You will be surprised at how little of an impact 1% or 2% will have on your paycheck and how quickly it will add up in your retirement account. If you want to find out what the impact to your paycheck will be, log onto retiresmart.com and use our calculators. For more information about maximizing your savings, or if you have questions about your retirement plan account, call MassMutual at 1-800-743-5274 or visit their website at www.retiresmart.com

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Hiland Dairy Employee Appreciation In December Steve Starke, Technical Service, and John Mont, District Sales Manager, helped management at Hiland Dairy in Norman, Oklahoma, prepare an employee appreciation lunch. The menu consisted of catfish, hush pup- pies and French fries among other things. John and Steve, along with Claude Moreno (Plant Manager), Craig Sand- ers (District Sales Manager), Chris Shatley (Engineering/Maintenance) and Randy Richison (General Manager) of Hiland Dairy worked hard to prepare, cook and serve the meal to all the employees of Hiland Dairy. John and Steve enjoyed their time working alongside Hiland Dairy employees and sitting down to a great meal.

Randy Richison & Claude Moreno

Steve Starke & Chris Shatley

John Mont & Craig Sanders

2014 Sales Meeting by Al Duthie

The week of December 1st, 2014, Crest Foods held its annual sales meeting in Greenville, South Carolina. Our sales people from territories across the United States and the Technical Service group from all around the country joined Customer Service, Research & Development and Con- sumer Products personnel from Ashton, IL for the meeting. Following the Crest Foods Compa- ny Culture the gathering was more like a family reunion, and the timing, so close to the holidays, could not be more appropriate. Although everyone who attended had to break away from busy schedules it was definitely worth- while, given the importance of staying on track to deliver the best sales and service to our

current and future customers. There were many open discussions on ways to be more effective in our jobs. Some of the topics included good interaction and participation. It also topics on current formulas, current product blends, new proj- ects, the area of UHT, general innovation, and general prospecting. Everyone agreed that it was fun to come together as a group and the time spent was productive. The 2014 calendar year was a good, solid year for Crest Foods. And meetings such as this one that show all the opportunities that abound, point to an even better year in 2015.

From Junk to Cash...For Charity!

by Janet Sutton

Our 2nd annual garage sale for charity will be August 1st & August 2nd...we are in need of your donations to make this year a bigger success than last. We ask that all donated items be in working order. We will take anything except clothing. Some of the items that were donated in the past were: baked goods, video games, electronics, books, dishes, furniture, bikes, toys, golf clubs, golf balls, jewelry, holiday decorations, arts & crafts, picture frames. You name it we take it! I am more than happy to come to you to pick up your donations or if you want to bring them to work, I can get them from you at that time. You can reach me, Janet Sutton, at 815/520-5716 or x203. Our first garage sale we were able to raise over $3,000.00 for the American Cancer Society. This year, we will be donat- ing to Hospice of the Rock River Valley as they start to build their 14,000 sq. ft. Hospice Home that will be located on the northeast side of Avenue E across from Good Neighbor Care in Sterling, IL. The new hospice home will provide around the clock care to patients in a home-like setting.

April, May & June 2015 Crest Ink 17

Employment Anniversaries

April Day Years TODD DISCH 4 4 TYLER EWENS 4 4 RICHARD DREW 7 1 MARIA GARCIA 7 18 LISA WHITE 7 18 ROBERT ABELL 8 13 CHARLES REYNOLDS 10 26 SCOTT MOORE 11 10 BLASA BRISENO 13 10 REBECCA DODD 13 6 CODY MATHENY 13 6 WALTER WILLSTEAD 13 6 LAWRENCE EVANS 14 1 RAYMOND O’DELL 14 26 M. KATHLEEN PELAYO 14 8 PAUL HARVEY 15 19 FIDEL RAMOS 16 14 REGINALDO ROSAS 16 8 EMILY SMITH 19 16 NATHAN TIPPIE 20 7 HEATHER THOMASSON21 7 DAVID BUSHMAN 24 26 GERALD WATERS 24 43 JERRY SIKKEMA 25 21 KENNETH DREW 27 45 GUY COVELL 28 12 CALEB HESS 30 3 May Day Years KERRY TUMLESON 1 14 HANNAH WEILER 1 7 JAMES LYLES 2 21 LARRY SHIPMAN 2 10 ALAN GILSZMER 5 7 JUSTIN KAECKER 5 1 CHARLOTTE YATES 5 1 ELIZABETH RAPP 6 12 HERBERT WYCKOFF 6 13 APRIL COVER 7 13 ARTHUR RUIZ 7 8 KIM GALLAGHER 8 37 MICHAEL PIPER 10 3

RICHARD RICE STEVEN SIMS DANNY FULLER MARIA GUERRERO 12 18 MARDELLE KENNAY 12 1 JACOB WISE 12 1 JORDAN HAMILTON 13 2 DONNA SMITH 13 11 MARISOL LARA 14 8 CINDIE RUCH 14 31 LEROY STAMBAUGH 14 8 JULIE TOMBLIN 14 8 KENNETH BLOMBERG 15 1 AARON SHINABARGER 15 6 SCOTT WEBB 15 26 YASMIN FULGENCIO 17 11 GLENN WHITE 17 5 JEANNE JAMASON 18 6 EDWARD LIBBERTON 20 19 JONATHAN BAKENER 21 3 REGINA SMITH 21 31 WYATT BEROGAN 22 15 ANDRA MEINERS 23 4 ZACHARY SPINDEN 23 4 JONATHAN LARSON 24 11 LORI SHINABARGER 25 17 JOHN LOOMIS 26 6 GAVEN MEINERS 27 7 MATTHEW DREW 28 18 PEGGY MESSER 28 13 LOLA PAUL 28 19 BERNARD IWEMA 29 8 BENTON FICHTER 30 30 JUSTIN GUENTHER 30 3 MARK MC WETHY 30 20 JOYCE MEINERS 30 20 RAY SIXAYSANA 30 30 LILJANA REFATLLARI 31 9 June Day Years BARTLOMIEJ BARDZINSKI 1 3 JEFFREY MEINERS 1 35 CHRISTINE PFOUTZ 1 44 11 4 11 4 12 1

THOMAS SAUNDERS

1 26

SARA SNOW

1 2

6

JARED PETTENGER 1 JEFFERY BRECUNIER 3 19 EDUARDO ESCATEL 3 2 JOSHUA KAECKER 3 2 JESSE MORRIS 3 2 BRIAN SCHAFER 3 19 MIKAYLA COX 4 3 JONATHON HAAS 4 8 MARK JOHNSON 4 20 ABBY LAHMAN 4 3 AUDRA REINDEL 5 2 F. MORINE SNODGRASS 5 42 PEGGY BENFORD 6 15 CYTLALIK CADENAS 6 4 JENNIFER DREW 6 10 TROY TRAVERS 6 10 TARA LIFKA 7 16 KEITH SMITH JR. 8 9 ZACHARY DEWEY 9 1 ASPEN WIEGAND 9 1 GARY EVANS 10 6 MARIA GUIJOSA 10 1 KEENAN JONES 10 1 BIANAYLA QUINONEZ 10 1 NED TIPPIE 10 26 MATTHEW RICHARDSON 11 14 JENNIFER RYAN 11 1 MICHAEL FINN 12 1 MATTHEW GENDUSA 12 1 LEVI HENSLEY 12 1 TY LEBRICK 12 1 APRIL FICHTER 13 21 LOIS PILLER 14 9 YOLANDA CADENAS 15 6 FRANCISCO GARCIA GARCIA 15 6 LUCAS BURNETTE 16 1 TREVOR FERRY 16 1 STEPHANIE JETER 16 1 TINA JOHNSON 16 1 PETER KRULL JR. 16 1 MAX BALLARD 17 30

18 Crest Ink April, May & June 2015

Employment Anniversaries

June Day Years BRANDON DODRILL 17 2 TYLER HALFACRE 17 2 CARMEN REUTER 17 2 NIKKI TINTORI 17 2 RICO VAN OOSTEN 17 2 ANA HUERAMO 18 3 DOMENICO MOSCATO 18 3

DANIEL ESTRELLA SANDRA BENNETT CRYSTAL KESSEL

19 9 20 4 20 21 21 5 21 16

MICHAEL MOLS 23 5 OLGERT REFATLLARI 23 4 ANNA BARNHART 24 1 AMANDA OLALDE 24 1 VILMA BANDA 27 4 LLOYD DROEGE 27 21 TAMMY CROOK 29 9

RICHARD COX JOHN DERR

ERIN FOX 21 5 JOSE HERNANDEZ PEREZ 21 5 REGINA BONNELL 23 1

Reflections on the 2014 Holidays by Al Duthie This past holiday season I found myself observing and thinking more than past holidays. It must be due to an age thing. I’m not really sure. The question that kept popping into my mind was why can’t we all be consistently nicer towards fellow human beings, like we are during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays? Most of us, including me, tend to be friendlier, more patient, more forgiving, and simply more willing to help out. And the random acts of kindness seem to be contagious! Examples I can personally cite from this year include both large and small acts. There are more smiles and polite conversation. There are more please and thank-you remarks and displays of respect. There are more manners shown, such as opening and holding doors for strangers. There are more donations of items for the needy, such as clothing, food, toys, etc. There is more volunteering of time. There are more monetary donations to charitable causes. We are doing the right things without having to be encouraged to do so. A good goal is to continue this “holiday state of mind” (holiday spirit) throughout the calendar year. I’m going to try harder to keep the momentum going for myself. How about you? SQF & Gluten-Free Annual Audits by Jeff Friday Crest Foods’ annual SQF Audit was conducted March 9th through 12th with Crest Foods assisting with the SQF Audit at the Karlin Foods Distribution Center on March 13th. Our auditor spent four days inspecting our equip- ment and facilities, while assessing food safety and prerequisite programs. Programs include document control, record keeping, product specifications, verification, validation of our system, product identification, traceability, allergen management, and our training program. Other prerequisite programs include personnel practices, process- ing practices, equipment calibration, pest control, facility and equipment maintenance, master sanitation, water qual- ity, methods for controlling contaminants, supplier approval, warehouse receiving and shuttling, and waste manage- ment. Lots of material to cover in four days, along with half a million square feet and many pieces of equipment. Concurrent with Crest Foods’ annual SQF Audit on March 12th, our SQF certifying body (SGS) sent an auditor capable of performing a gluten-free audit. This audit was overseen by the Allergen Control Group, Inc. from Mil- ton, Ontario, Canada. Crest Foods received gluten-free certification for the first time last year and recertifies annu- ally. In the end, our efforts paid off with each audit resulting in another year of recertification for Karlin Foods Distri- bution Center, Crest’s Ingredient Division and the Packaging Division (both SQF and Gluten-Free Audits). Thanks to all who helped make this possible!

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