Julie Pitchford (Micro Lab Technician) It’s hard to sum up 20 years into a paragraph, but here I go...I started out working as a line worker on the production floor. I soon realized that I’d like to be a line operator & run a packaging line. After many years of reaching the daily quota for the day, I wanted to try something new and found myself working in the QA De- partment for the Ingredient Division. I enjoy my career and the path I chose working in the QA Department and I feel it’s a very nice fit for me. Over the years I’ve met a lot of nice people working here, who I consider close friends and extended family. I’m glad to call Crest Foods my work home for the last 20 years Ben Kinn (Warehouse Floor Manager) I came to Crest Foods shortly after high school through the Junior College program. I was still working through the Junior College program taking classes but needed insurance so went to full time. I started off stacking on 2nd shift on an oatmeal line. During my stint there I worked 1st shift with Gina Smith and Jeff Roop for a while when they were floor supervisors. One person that I remember is Lou Stone who was a dumper way back when, and one of the first people who made me feel really welcome at Crest Foods. Over the years I have gone back and forth between shifts and departments and finally landed in the Warehouse as a floor manager. I have seen many things over the years at Denton Yocum (Mechanical Engineer) Twenty years really does fly by. I was 18 when I started at Crest and I didn’t know much about how getting a job worked. Jeff Meiners made it really easy for me. He asked if I wanted a job and I said yes. That was it! I grew up on a farm and always had many, many chores to do. It was different to work only Monday – Friday and have the weekend off. I got used to it and quickly learned about the production lines and how they worked while training with many line mechanics. I learned about parts for production ma- chines while shadowing Marcia Breeden and Roy Dickey in the Parts Room and how to make and fix parts from Lloyd Pretzsch and Garnie Stevens in the Machine Shop. Many of my years
Crest Foods but one vivid memory is the tornado of 2015 and what the warehouse went through.
were spent in the Machine Shop continually learning how to make parts better so they wouldn’t break and that led me to an engineering career. I am truly thankful to all of those that shared their knowledge with me and I try to incorporate that knowledge into the new equipment we buy, design and build. It has been a fun and challenging 20 years and I look forward to the next 20.
Kevin O’Dell (Ingredient Division Purchasing) Early on I worked part time at Crest Foods in high school, then again for a short time after high school before finding other employment. I then worked 18 years at my prior employer, but because my prior employer was restructuring I made a decision to come back to Crest Foods where I saw a future for career development. I took a position on 2nd shift as a Mix Manager in the hopes of getting back to 1st shift to spend more time with my family. Later I worked on 1st shift as a Mix Manager then on to 3rd shift as the Sanitation/Maintenance Set-up person for about 18 months. I had been patiently waiting for ‘the’ opportunity to come along. The “tap on the shoulder” came in 2005 when
Crest Foods asked me if I would be interested in a 1st shift position in Ingredient Division Purchasing. I had worked most all of my career managing and supervising but once I was in Purchasing, I knew that was my “call- ing”…what I enjoyed most. My decision to come back to Crest Foods has provided me a career path that I am very grateful and appreciative for. Working for Crest Foods…is like family!
6 Crest Ink January, February & March 2019
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker