Many years ago it became a Crest practice to have a fund that would help support employees in times of need. That fund was supported largely through a payment of a percentage of the proceeds from all vending machine sales…it was known as the pop fund. The pop fund has evolved into the benevolence fund today. That benevolence fund still helps out employees in times of need when circumstances beyond their control put them in a difficult financial position. That help is always done in a private way through an outright gifting of cash or an interest free loan depending on circum- stances. This fund, in a very quiet and discreet manner, has helped many people through trying times and will con- tinue to do so for the foreseeable future. The benevolence fund of today is very active at Crest – over 25 employees benefited from the proceeds of this fund last year. The really great thing is that much of this money is raised by the employees of Crest. A percentage of all vending machine sales are still allocated to this fund…so every Snickers bar helps. Proceeds from our Christmas raffle/auction are also donated and matched by Crest and this proves to be our biggest money generator each year. Some employees have even generously elected to donate directly to this fund as well. This Christmas we will once again be doing a raffle at our Christmas parties to raise cash…the raffle is quickly becoming a favorite versus the auction because everybody has a chance to win. Last year’s items included two cars, $1000 cash and a trip to Las Vegas. We raised over $11,000 which was turned into $22,000 with the match. Infor- mation will be posted as we get closer to December and don’t hesitate to buy lots of tickets. We are also going to try something new this year. Our very first auction was the result of an initiative started by the second shift and it featured mostly hand-made items by Crest employees. We would like to get back to that concept by having a Christmas store of hand-made items from Crest employees that would be available for purchase by any one at Crest. We’re thinking things like baked goods, sewn items, crafts or woodwork. We’re really open to almost anything. The person who makes the item will set the price – Marianne at the switchboard will run the store – a list of available items will be posted on a regular basis – purchases can be made through payroll deduct – the store will be open for business for a period of time in November and December – all proceeds will be donated to the benev- olence fund and Crest will match them 100%. Think about if you might be interested in participating and what items you might be able to donate. A posting will go up on further details soon. Generating Money for the Benevolence Fund by Jeff Meiners Deb Worley (QA Lab A) and Brian Dvorak (Karlin Warehouse) were on vacation in Wisconsin and visited the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame in Hayward. While looking at the many exhibits they saw this photo of Gary Roach. That name and picture rang a bell for the two of them. You see, for the past 26 years, Crest Foods has packaged a fish fry batter mix developed by Gary Roach. There are now two varieties, Original and Southern Style, so if you like fish, look for these in your local supermarkets! Gary became a member of the National Fishing Hall of Fame in 1988; the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame in 1990; and in 1991 was the Professional Walleye Trail Angler of the Year as well as many other PWT/Cabela’s Events. He is one of the leading all-time money winners in profes- sional fishing and is still involved in many events today. The information under the picture says “Gary is an out standing writer, promoter and lecturer in the sportfishing industry. Gary has made his mark by becoming a Walleye expert, who is known affectionately as ‘Mr. Walleye’ . Gary has always emphasized the teaching of proper fishing technique to thousands of enthusiasts.” Brian and Deb said they enjoyed touring this exhibit and were excited to see the information about Mr. Walleye!
18 Crest Ink October, November & December 2016
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