The Crest Ink is a quarterly newsletter that celebrates the success of Crest Foods and our employees.
Crest Ink
Volume 29 • Number 02 April, May & June 2017 Ashton, IL 61006 Bird’s Eye View of Crest Foods West by Jeff Meiners
A view of the Ingredient Division Warehouse, West Warehouse, Mix Facility, West Production Facility & Karlin Warehouse with Ashton in the top right corner.
“You can store your product in a corn field for all we care.” Those are the words that led to the start of our West Facilities. We were storing product in a leased warehouse in Ashton when in 1990 it became time to write a new lease. Tempers flared at the suggestion of a reduced rate and those words above were uttered. At the time it seemed like a catastrophe…in hindsight, it was one of the best things that could have happened to us. We indeed did find a 120 acre corn field and that site holds far more of Crest Foods than we ever could have imagined twenty- seven years ago. Our piece of Illinois farm land is now home to 520,000 square feet of Crest warehouse space, 60,000 square feet of packaging mix facility, 35,000 square feet of packaging production space and 350,000 square feet of Karlin Warehouse space. This view gives us a perspective that we seldom get to see…any thoughts what this view might look like in another 10 years?
In This Issue Redzone page 6
Employee Assistance Program page 4
New Forklift & Electric Handlift Trainers page 16
Getting to Know the Accounting Department
Val Smith, Darcy Zera, Christin Lindenmeyer, Deb Harmon, Shirley Reif, Emily Smith & Carol Milens
Seven dedicated individuals call our accounting department home at Crest Foods. While most of us do anything we can to avoid paying the bills at home, these people do it every day for a living. Imagine having well over 650 vendors that could receive a payment from Crest with over 100 different checks going out in any given week. Many of these checks represent some pretty substantial payments…for example our typical electric bill is around $80,000 a month. The many holders of Crest credit cards generate over 8,000 individual charges annually. We also collect payments from over 9,000 invoices that are sent to our customers over the course of the year. All of this activity and more is documented in what is called the general ledger which is the happy home to all finan- cial transactions across Crest Foods – payroll, inventory, manufacturing, purchasing, invoicing, etc. Each year over 500,000 summary data records get entered into our general ledger with hundreds of thousands of more detail records needed to support those entries. If it goes into the computer system, it eventually ends up in accounting where it is summarized, analyzed, scrutinized, validated, graphed, allocated and eventually spit back out on a timely basis in the form of 250 different financial statements. If the information on those statements is positive, account- ing gets a pat on the back and an occasional good job comment. If the information is negative, they get a general scowl and many requests to document exactly what went wrong. Accounting also wears a number of other hats at Crest just to make sure they don’t get bored with just working on the general ledger. They also set budgets, handle the procurement of all of our various forms of insurance, complete government census reports, manage corporate taxes, have involvement with managing customer contracts and file tax returns. Because they are involved with so many aspects of our operation, they also are utilized in large company wide initiatives that require skills in the Excel programming area that are beyond the rest of us. Oh yeah, they have led the push to being paperless and smash the stereotype of accountants being “bean coun- ters” that are locked away and out of site in a back office somewhere. We are proud to have such a talented and dedicated group working in our accounting department.
2 Crest Ink April, May & June 2017
Christin Lindenmeyer (Accounting Clerk) Years at Crest: 4 Interests: Sports, my kids, my kids’ sports Most people wouldn’t know: I played rugby in college. Carol Milens (Accountant) Years at Crest: 40 Interests: Reading, working in the yard, movies Most people wouldn’t know: I’m one of the ones that remembers Standard Brands, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Val Smith (Accounting Clerk/Mail Room) Years at Crest: 14 Interests: Spending time with family, camping & hiking Most people wouldn’t know: I am currently learn- ing guitar with my 8 year old daughter. Deb Harmon (Financial Accounting Manager) Years at Crest: 18 Interests: Grandkids, music, reading, traveling, cruise nights to anywhere in our ‘72 pickup truck Most people wouldn’t know: I like to scuba dive. Shirley Reif (Controller, Secretary Tresaurer) Years at Crest: 33 Interests: Family time, traveling, volunteering, and love to “up cycle” old objects into something new & useful Most people wouldn’t know: I grew up in Houston, MN and am #5 out of 6 kids in my family. Emily Smith (Staff Accountant) Years at Crest: 18 Interests: Family time, books (electronic/audio), bingo & movies Most people wouldn’t know: I know how to cro- chet and cross-stitch thanks to Grandma. Darcy Zera (Accounts Payable Manager) Years at Crest: 6 Interests: Playing with the grand kids and other exciting stuff like sewing, reading & gardening Most people wouldn’t know: I used to be a kick boxing instructor.
Can you spot the two imposter accounting babies?
April, May & June 2017 Crest Ink 3
More and more we are faced with the reality that “wellness” is not just about eating right, going to the doctor or working out at the gym. While physical wellness is a very important part of the puzzle, mental wellness is a new piece that Crest Foods is going to focus on for employees. The quest for a program that was confidential, convenient, and free for employees brought us to Sinnissippi Centers and KSB Hospital in Dixon. By partnering with these two companies, we can now provide a free counseling service with office hours right here in Ashton. New Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at Crest Foods by Erika Meiners
Madeline Schulze, EAP Counselor
Madeline is our EAP Counselor and will be available for 4 hours on Tuesdays for Crest employees. To help with confidentiality, we have set up an office for her at the Ashton Clinic (on Rte. 38) instead of having her on-site. Em- ployees can either call ahead and set up an appointment, or are welcome to stop by between 12:30pm and 4:30pm. While participation in the EAP is voluntary, we hope that many employees might benefit from having this new re- source available. Typically people access an EAP due to needing some help in these areas: -Feeling stressed -Marital concerns -Trying to cope with work or family life -Conflict resolution -Looking for some guidance in making a big decision -Substance use -Experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety -Support -Panic attacks We are fortunate to have some great resources in our area who could help this idea become a reality! Thank you to Sinnissippi Centers for finding us a wonderful EAP Counselor, and thank you to KSB for providing a space that can be utilized for this program. Sinnissippi Centers has been meeting the behavioral health care needs of the resi- dents of Carroll, Lee, Ogle, and Whiteside Counties since 1966. Here’s a little more about Madeline: What is your professional background? I received my Master’s in Clinical Social Work from Aurora University. I have been privileged to work in this field for over six years and have worked with all age groups. Thankfully, I have had experience in a few types of facilities, whether that be a private practice, a community mental health facility or a hospital. I have been a mental health counselor for three years. My general specialties are in grief/loss, anxiety, anger management, relationship therapy, and depression. I also enjoy working with people who are experiencing some life adjustments that could use some extra support in order to navigate some unfamiliar territory in their life. Additionally, I am currently working on becoming more specialized in trauma work. Where are you from? I grew up in Dixon, IL and attended Dixon High School. I even worked at Crest Foods briefly while in High School during the summers! I truly love the Sauk Valley Region for all the good people that live here and the sense of community that comes with growing up in this area. In the past I thought I wanted to live in Chicago, but after trying that out for a while, I realized that home is truly where the heart is. There can be some struggles with living in a more rural area, but I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons. How long have you been working at Sinnissippi Centers? I have only been with Sinnissippi as a counselor for six months, but I worked for them for three years in the past as a Care Coordinator. I am grateful that they chose me to be the EAP counselor for Crest Foods because I have been able to see the work that is done here and highly respect the staff.
4 Crest Ink April, May & June 2017
What do you enjoy about your job? I genuinely love my job because I want the best for people’s lives and believe that therapy can help in making that happen. I am honored when I get to hear a person’s story. I know that it takes a strong individual to not only seek out help, but to also be brave enough to tell someone else about who they are and what is going on in their life. The fact is that we all struggle. Sometimes we could benefit from processing what is going on in our lives and could use someone who is able to hear and understand our situation. What are some of your interests outside of work? I love nature. If I could have a full day to myself to do any- thing I wanted, I would probably pack a bag and go hiking, biking or kayaking. I also enjoy volleyball and look for- ward to sand volleyball leagues in the summer. Cooking is another love of mine and I am often trying to find new recipes to try out on the weekends. Being mentally fit is just as important as being physically fit. We all have many tools available to us to help maintain our physical well-being. On the other hand, there are few tools available to help us maintain our mental well-being and most don’t even consider addressing issues until we’ve reached a crisis point. Hopefully this program will fill a gap in our overall wellness program that we have missed in the past. If you feel like counseling might benefit you, please give Madeline a call: 815-732-3157. Hours: Tuesdays 12:30pm - 4:30pm at the Ashton Clinic.
Garnie has Gone Fishin’
by Denton Yocum The year was 1983. Gas cost $2.15 per gallon. We were first introduced to Motorola mobile phones, Microsoft Word, and Cabbage Patch Dolls. The final episode of M*A*S*H aired on TV while the first episode of Fraggle Rock premiered on HBO. That was the year Garnie Stevens decided to start working for an interesting company called Crest Foods. Gary Bolhouse told Garnie he should check out the company and be- fore he even finished filling out the job application Steve Meiners told him to start on Monday. Back then we had about 10 production lines and packaged products like Big League Chewing gum, apple snacks, and Wyler’s drink mix. Garnie started as a B-Shift line mechanic but when people found out he had welding experience from working at Etnyre and Woods his job changed a bit. He started welding mix stands and moved on to stairs, Ingredient Division building addition structural I-beam
Jim Shuck, Kim Gallagher, Bob Pittman, Denton Yocum, Garnie Stevens, Rod Bunger, Jared Stumpenhorst & Mikey Hoyle
framing, elevators, and many other projects as Crest Foods continued to grow. Soon we purchased a welder, mill, lathe, band saw, and other tools to start our own Machine Shop. The shop was originally located where the Parts Room is today. Can you imagine unloading heavy steel material off a truck and carrying it into the basement by hand? That’s what we did back then. Over the years Garnie has helped build a couple cartoners, many stands and tables, thousands of carrier buckets and other change parts, trailer hitches and trailers (ask Garnie about those), and many other interesting things. There are very few machines we run that don’t have at least one component that was made by Garnie. After 34 years Garnie decided to retire this March. We thank Garnie for his many years of service and all he has done to help Crest Foods grow and succeed. Now Garnie can enjoy fishing whenever he wants and tinkering in his very, VERY well equipped home shop (just ask Kelly).
April, May & June 2017 Crest Ink 5
Redzone is Coming!
by Jared Stumpenhorst
Have you ever thought, “I sure wish that I knew what was going on around here?” or “Was my boss even listening to what I said?” or how about “Is anyone working on that great idea that I had last month?” If the answer is YES to any of these questions then you are not alone. In fact, you could probably add a few more examples without trying too hard. The good news is that we think we have a way to better answer those questions and it is called Redzone. It is a new system that is going to help to capture real-time data about how the plant is running and make it visible to employees at all levels. It is also going to help make sure that employees are no longer left wondering what is going on in the plant by giving them access to peers across all shifts as well as managers at all levels. Redzone does this by making them participants in the process and giving them the knowledge and tools to help solve problems as part of a larger team. It also creates visibility to the same data that is used throughout all levels of the company. It will en- able us all to be on the same playing field when working together to make improvements. That introduction likely prompted more questions than anything so let us try to answer a few… What is Redzone? In general terms Redzone is a continuous improvement system. They have developed a tech- nology for collecting data in real-time from the production floor and presenting it to employees via an application on an iPad or iPhone. However, unlike most data collection systems, they take the next step and not only provide real-time data but also coach employees how to use that data via various structured forums and tools to help drive sustainable improvement on their lines and in their areas. Through these forums and tools, Redzone is able to create an environment where employees across multiple departments and shifts can interact and work together in a way that was never possible before. Why did we choose Redzone? A standard data collection system would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement and at the end of the day most of the time companies are left with more data than they know what to do with. Then to deal with all of that excess data companies end up adding employees to dissect the data in an office somewhere. The problem with that, in case it was not obvious, is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to ever know if you are headed in the right direction because you are constantly processing data instead of engaging with the people that can make a difference. Having a couple of people analyze data in an office does not exactly promote an environment where employees are working together to make improvements. Through the use of iPads on the production floor, Redzone has created a mobile environment that enables teams to be able to come together and solve problems where they need to be solved…on the production floor. Additionally, instead of just dumping a bunch of complex data onto people and then walking away, they have spent a lot of time simplifying how that data is processed. Through coaching and training, they partner with us to develop a structure where our teams of man- agers and employees on the floor can work together to drive improvements. How does Redzone work? Well, to be honest we only know the basics right now. We are certainly not experts since we are still on the path to going live with the system. However, the idea is that through simple input and out- put signals gathered from the equipment the software is able to monitor when a line is running or stopped. It then sends this information to iPads that will be located on every production line. When stopped, for any reason, the app on the iPad prompts operators to enter a reason for why the line is down. While those reasons can potentially get complex, the way that the Redzone app works makes it simple and very intuitive to use. It has been built in a way that feels very familiar by modeling it after a lot of apps that we use every day on our phones and tablets. The software then calculates the data that is entered and provides a variety of data points that employees can use to understand their lines better and help to make better decisions. This decision making process is really at the core of why Redzone is so successful. A coach from Redzone will work with our plant to show employees at all levels how to use the data being collected and structure a daily workflow that will encourage employee engagement and provide a framework to generate sustained results.
6 Crest Ink April, May & June 2017
So when is Redzone getting started? While there has been a lot of pre-work taking place behind the scenes, the official “go live” date for Redzone is April 10th at the West Production Facility and April 17th at the Main Plant. The coach for our facility will be on-site those two weeks to work with all employees across all shifts on the basics of Redzone. It will be all about what the software is and the basics of how to input data. After that he will leave us on our own for a couple of weeks before coming back at the beginning of May for what is referred to as “Win the Day” week. This week of on-site coaching and training will be all about how to use the data that we are collecting. Now that we have the information what do we do with it so that we can get better every day? This is the question that the coach will answer as we learn a new way to win every day! As stated earlier, when all is said and done the goal of Redzone is to provide timely and accurate data to employees at all levels so that we are able to make better decisions together. We want to make the shift from a company that is great at reacting to issues and become a company that is great at preventing them and perhaps even predict them. All of this will help to take some of the mystery out of what is happening on the production floor and answer some, if not all, of those questions that each us is asking ourselves every day. Redzone will be successful because of the culture that exists at Crest Foods today. It is a culture of innovation and valuing employees as our greatest asset. This new technology and way of running our plant will only help to enhance and strengthen that culture of employ- ee engagement and recognition going forward. We are eager to see the results of this new direction and look for- ward to sharing updates in the future! So stay tuned! Saving an Owl by Keith Larson
You just never know what you might find when you come to work. Rosa Her- nandez noticed an owl in her car grill when she got to work this March. Katie Kresanek and I pulled the little guy out of the bottom open piece of the grill. Katie did the hard part: she put on her gloves and very bravely wrapped the little guy up in a towel. We both slid him out without injuring him. The owl did not seem to want to fly or move so he might have already been injured. Jen Lebrick knew she could call the Dixon Park District and they said they could find help for the owl.
Our Crest Nurse, Heidi, took him with her when she left work and dropped him off at the Park Districk on her way home. We discovered this was an Eastern screech Owl and after doing some research he looked to be full grown since they only get to be about 6 - 9 inches tall. We are all hoping our little visitor will recover and be able to return to its natural habitat. Update: March 13th, The Dixon Park District gave us word that the owl is in good shape and was sent to Hoo Haven in Durand.
Due to increasingly stricter guidelines in the food industry, we’ve recently rolled out a new policy in the production areas of the Con- tract Packaging Division. Crest will provide the only type of gloves allowed in production areas, and employees can no longer bring gloves from home. Thanks to everyone who helped us pick out the best gloves to order for this program! Just another step to ensure that we are producing the best quality food product possible!
Updated Glove Policy
April, May & June 2017 Crest Ink 7
From Poland to Mix Maintenance Manager by Ron Amrein
The journey of Zymunt Cichosz from Contract Packaging Division line worker to Mixer Maintenance Manager is remarkable and inspiring. Enjoy his story!
Zygmunt Cichosz
Zigmunt Cichosz started his career as a coal miner in Sosnowiec, Poland in 1986 after graduating from high school. In 1987 he joined the Polish military and became a helicopter mechanic after completing Electric Helicopter Instal- lation School. Upon his discharge from the military, he went back to school and specialized in Agriculture and Food Engineering. Zygmunt worked for a dairy in Krasnystaw, Poland while he attended college in Lublin, Poland. His company, OSM Dairy, funded his education as he worked for them as a dairy technician from 1989 to 2003. During his time there he designed and built pasteurizers and homogenizers to process yogurt and kiefer products. In Janu- ary of 1990, Zygmunt married his wife Ela. Together they have 2 boys Dawid, 26 and Radoslaw, 25. In 2003 Zygmunt and his family came to America (Zygmunt and Ela became American citizens in 2014), and Zygmunt was offered a job as Dairy Plant Manager and technician at Ludwig Dairy in Dixon, Illinois. In 2007 Zygmunt heard of an opportunity to work for Crest Foods. So in 2007 Zygmunt made the move and came to work at Crest Foods. He started out in the Packaging Division as a line worker working on the line. After a few months in the packaging side, an opportunity to work in the Ingredient Division came up and Zygmunt moved to that area. Within a year of the move Zygmunt was promoted to a Lead Bagger position. He excelled in this area and became an integral part of the operation. He became the fill-in for Jorge Ramirez in his absence and excelled in all the aspects of that position as well. He also showed a great interest and ability to go beyond the confines of his own job to take on more responsibility doing assembly and set up work. He learned to do calibrations and pro- gramming on the touchscreens to make the products run better, and was asked on several occasions to assist in projects and installation of new equipment. Zigmunt quickly became a go to guy for the other line leads and line workers. With my (Ron Amrein) retirement near, we talked about finding my replacement, and we knew that we had a great candidate already working in our division. In the later part of 2016, Zygmunt was offered and promptly accepted the position of Mixer Maintenance Manager. He has been training since, and will be assum- ing full responsibility later this year, which will include (but is not limited to) all mixer and packaging maintenance in the Ingredient Division at the Main Plant, as well as all maintenance on mixers and mix support equipment at the Mix Facil- ity. Please be sure to congratulate Zygmunt on his new position at Crest! Pictured above are Zygmunt and his wife, Ela, on April 25, 2014, the day they were sworn in as citizens of the United States of America at the Court House in Rockford, Illinois. They were a group of 37 people from 18 countries.
8 Crest Ink April, May & June 2017
Silva & Feed My Starving Children by Ed Baylor Over the past 3 years at the annual Crest Foods Supplier Appreciation Day and Award Banquet, Crest has presented the winner of the Crest Culture award a check for $2500 to give to the charity of their choice. This year, Silva International was winner of the Crest Culture award, and decided to give their prize to Feed My Starving Children. In October 2016, we went with Rick Balchema from Silva to tour the FMSC facility in Schaumburg and to present them with a check. We were later told that $2500 will provide 11,364 meals and will care for 31 children for an entire year! FMSC is a Christian non-profit organization, and believes Jesus Christ has called us to feed the hungry and serve t- hose in need. Founded in 1987, Feed My Starving Children has given hope in Jesus’ name in the form of nutritious MannaPack meals to so many who are hungry around the world. FMSC organization has permanent work sites in Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, and Mobile Pac events throughout the USA. Each meal costs less than a quarter to make and more than 90% of total donations goes directly toward feeding kids. Volunteering to work a shift is as easy as click-click-click, entering your name and information, and showing up at your scheduled work time. Recently my wife and I volunteered to work a Friday evening shift from 6:00 to 7:30, there were close to 90 volunteers that night ranging from 5 years old to 75. There was a job for everyone, we didn’t know exactly what to expect, but found the orientation was very helpful it was an extremely fun and rewarding experience. Needless to say we will be going again. We packaged over a pallet of food in the time we worked, in a very clean almost dust free environment. The staff was extremely energetic and fun to be around, creating a great work atmosphere. FMSC exists because of volunteers who generously give their time and energy to feed starving children in desperate need around the world. FMSC doesn’t use machines to package their meals because they realize the personal, im- pactful experience created by packing the meals by hand. It transforms an experience from just “something good to do” into something deeply personal. FMSC volunteers experience a fun, one-of-a-kind team building experience with co-workers, family, friends and strangers alike. This experience often turns into a desire to do more and reach farther, until all are fed. We were happy that Silva International chose to donate their award to such a great organization, and we want to thank Rick for introducing them to us. Maybe we can get a group to Crest Foods and Silva together sometime to volunteer together!
Working away at Feed My Starving Children
Erika Meiners, Marilyn Maurella (FMSC), Ed Baylor and Rick Balkema (Silva)
A finished pallet of food that is prayed over at the end of the shift before it’s sent on it’s way.
April, May & June 2017 Crest Ink 9
Crest Happenings
Our Sympathy To Tom Clayton (Tech Service) on the passing of his mother in January To Randy Reuter (Mix Manager) and Cindy Reuter on the death of Randy’s step-mother in January To Travis Day (Warehouse B) on the death of his father in January Thank You Crest Foods: Thank you for the plant and all the well wishes during the weeks prior to welcoming our newest addition to our family. Jamie (CP Supply Manager) and Mike Cooper Thank you to Crest and Crest Foods employees for the flower I received. The plant, cards, calls, text messages and all thoughts were appreciated as I recovered from my surgery. Carol Milens (Accounting) Thank you to all the Crest Foods employees for the plant that I received while in the hospital getting my knees replaced. Troy Campbell (Parts Room B) My family and I would like to thank my co-workers and customers of Crest Foods for all the cards, calls, and email notes of sympathy and condolences on the oc casion of my mother’s death. Tom Clayton (Tech Ser- vice) Dear Employees at Crest Foods: If you all knew how much I love my gifts! You all keep my name for next year. If I live to be 92! Thank you again! Your friend, Eris Boltman (Franklin Grove Nursing home resident) Congratulations! Congratulations to Becca Dodd (Production C) and Justin Miller (Maintenance C) on the birth of their twin daughters on February 8, 2017. Elly Mae was born at 8:05 and weighed 5 lbs. and was 18 inches in length. Irie Lamara was born at 8:07 and weighed 5 lbs. 3 oz. and was 18 inches in length. The girls are welcomed home by big brother Blake.
Shannon Gunnon (Production B) and Rico VanOosten (Production B) welcomed a baby boy born on February 8th. Daniel Lee VanOosten was 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 ½ inches long. Congratulations! Congratulations to Denton (Mechanical Engineer) and Kim Yocum on the birth of their daughter, Juliet Mae. Juliet was born February 3, 2017 at 6:42 pm and weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21 inches long.
Congratulations to Danny Fuller (Warehouse B) and Joni Durham on the birth of their son, Isaac. Isaac was born on January 22, 2017 Kody Rude (Production C) and James Whalen were married on January 13, 2017.
Steve Starke (Tech Service) is proud to announce the birth of his grandson, Kalvin Ray Lancaster. Kalvin was born February 9th and weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 21 inches long. He lives in Ruskin, Florida with his mother, Alysha Starke, and his father Kyle Lancaster Congratulations to Jamie (CP Supply Manager) and Mike Cooper on the birth of their son, Jaxon. Jaxon was born December 18, 2016 and weighed 2 lbs. 6 oz. and was 14 inches in length. To Wade Lyles (son of Jim (Mix A) and Celeste Lyles) who competed in the State Swimming Competition. Wade swims for Byron High School and competed in the 200 Medley Relay and the 200 Free Style Relay. Dan Brown (Ingredient Division QC Manager) is burst- ing with pride over his son, Rahveon Valentine’s, win at the Illinois State 1A Finals Team Wrestling meet. Rah- veon wrestles for Lena-Winslow/Stockton Panther
Hawks. In 2012 the PantherHawks took second place but this year they claimed the ultimate prize – a First Place win! Indi- vidually, Rahveon placed third at 170 lbs.
10 Crest Ink April, May & June 2017
Congratulations! Congratulations to the following employees for obtaining new jobs at Crest over the past few months!
Jim Reindel Karlin Production Lead A-Shift
Jesse Densmore Karlin Forklift B-Shift
Jean Armstrong QA Line Tech B-Shift
Marisa Lopez QA Line Tech B-Shift
Justin Mackey Lead Bagger (Ing. Div) A-Shift
Baby Showers
Rico VanOosten, Shannon Gunnon, Jessie Rolen and Mi- kayla Cox were all treated to baby showers this February by their fellow B-Shift employees in the Main Plant. Lots of food, gifts, and cake were enjoyed. C-Shift Production at the West Facility also thew a baby shower for Rebecca Dodd and Justin Miller, and Aireal Cook and Jim Rhodes in January. We can’t wait to meet the new additions! Congratulations to all four couples!
Rico VanOosten & Shannon Gunnon
Jessie Rolen & Mikayla Cox
Live Long & Prosper Safety Contest Winners by WAVE Safety Team Congratulations to all contest winners and thank you to all of the employees who participated!
December Winner Mark Powers (Production B) Safety Team Members: Karen Yardley, Phyllis Ott, Kevin O’Dell
February Winner Alfonzo Alvarado (Maintenance A) Denton Yocum, Karen Yardley
April, May & June 2017 Crest Ink 11 Denton Yocum, Phyllis Ott, Kevin O’Dell, Karen Yardley BIG Winner - $100 Gift Card Kelly Stevens (QA A)
January Winner Steph Calsyn (Production B)
Active Shooter Drill Held at Crest Foods by Karen Yardley
Late last year, Crest Foods was contacted by local law enforcement to see if we would be interested in hosting an ac- tive shooter/mock crisis drill. This would mean allowing local police or sheriff ’s departments, fire departments and emergency medical services access to our facilities to practice what they would do in the case of such an event. Sgt. Matt McGrail of the Lee County Sheriff ’s Department was our contact. He visited Crest before the drill to find the best place suitable for such a drill that would be the least disruptive to Crest’s operations. The drill was scheduled for January 25th at the Ingredient Division Warehouse. Participants met at the old AFC Middle School in Franklin Grove, which was being used as a staging area. An Orientation and Safety Briefing was held before the drill began. Since the incident was in the Franklin Grove Fire Protection District, our old friend former employee and Fire Chief, Pat Hilliker, was Incident Command. Franklin Grove had four responders and one ambulance. The drill began with the intermittent release of police officers as if they were just receiving the communication over radio and actually responding. Officers entered the warehouse from multiple entrances and proceeded to search and secure the building. There were several ‘victims’ who were part of the drill. These victims were made up by a makeup artist to replicate injuries and were staged in multiple areas for the drill. Details about victims, their loca- tion and injury were communicated so that EMS would be prepared once they were able to respond. Once the building was cleared by police, EMS was allowed in. Ben Yates, A Shift Mix, who has been an EMT for a year, but has been with the Franklin Grove Fire Protection District for over 4 years, was able to participate in the drill and I followed up with him afterwards. When I asked him what he learned, he replied that this was the first time he had to deal with “triage” – or multiple injuries. He’s only ever responded to incidents with at the most two patients. In this case, the situation has to be assessed and a color coded system is used to determine priority. They were presented with several different injuries to respond to – eviscerations (or exposure of internal organs), gunshot wounds to the chest and leg, and “walking wounded”. Ben said he was surprised when during the drill at the Ingredient Division Warehouse, the call came over the radio that there was a second shooter at the Main Plant in Ashton. Resources had to transition to respond to that scene and he felt that went well. After the drill, there was a wrap up meeting back at “Command Center” in Franklin Grove, where the local departments could discuss the drill and what they learned.
For those of us here at Crest who witnessed any portion of the drill, it was quite an experi- ence to see the emergency responders all decked out in their gear and armed as if they were responding to an actual active shooter. While we hope to never have to use this information in the future, we feel that learned a lot and were provided with some excellent resources that might make us better prepared as a company. We will be working on formal training to use in our facilities that we will share with employees soon.
12 Crest Ink April, May & June 2017
CIP 2017 2nd Quarter Winners The Continuous Improvement Program (CIP) is a program where employees may submit suggestions on ways they think can improve Crest Foods. These suggestions may help improve overall efficiency, employee safety, sani- tation, record keeping, maintenance and various other areas around Crest Foods. We received17 suggestions from employees for the 2nd quarter. Thank you to everyone for participating! Mike Spencer, Mix A-Shift 2nd Quarter 1st Place • $250
When power is cut to the mixer (manually, or due to an outage) all batch options should be re-set to the “off ” position. The lead mixer then must manually turn all options back on. This will prevent smizing or shortening going into a batch that may not require either. This is a great idea that has been implemented already at the Mix Facility. Mike worked with Engineering to come up with a program to fix the default that was causing problems after an outage.
Mark Smith, Maintenance A-Shift 2nd Quarter Runner Up • $150
Mark’s idea was the help keep hardware on tote dumpers from falling out and potentially getting into the product. This has already been implemented and is a great idea to help with foreign objects! Daniel Estrella, Production B-Shift 2nd Quarter Runner Up • $150 Daniel’s idea was to use green plastic totes instead of cardboard boxes for repurposed food product on twin screw hoppers. Great idea! Green containers have been ordered, and we hope this helps with GMP’s .
2017 Walking Club
Walking Club 2017 is underway! Break out those sneakers and get ready for a great year. We are going to be including a couple of new events this year - Run to the Stronghold Castle in September and a Halloween event (complete with costume con- test) in October. I hope you are ready to get out and enjoy the mornings with us as we raise money for Kreider Services this year!
We have been so close to a donation of $10,000, and we are hoping this can be reached this year for Kreider Services. They are a great local (Dixon) foundation that provides direct care programs to persons with developmen- tal disabilities. Kreider Services serves over 600 individuals and is known for its programs in the areas of Autism, Community Living, Creative Employment, Day Services, Early Intervention, Individual Supports and Respite. We hope that the money raised throughout the upcoming Walking Club season will be able to help them during a time where funds from the state are not available. Our first event is going to be the Make-A-Wish 5k on May 20th in Dixon. Start looking for postings and informa- tion in the hallways soon. As always if you have any questions please give Erika (x201) or Jamie (x270) a call.
April, May & June 2017 Crest Ink 13
Jeff Roop, Referee by Chris Reynolds Some of you might think you have a thankless job, or at least that, at times, you might feel underappreciated for what you do. Well, for the past 17 years Jeff Roop has done a job that fits that description. Jeff travels around northern Illinois officiating girls high school basketball. He officiates around 35 games a year. Over those 17 years Jeff has proven himself to be among the best girls basket
(left) Mark Lei & Jeff Roop. (right) Jim Searingen, Jeff Roop & Leroy Schulter
ball officials in the state. His officiating is graded by the coaches after each game and sent to the Director of Offici- ating for the IHSA. His officiating has been graded high enough that he has been assigned several Sectional tourna- ment finals and three Super Sectional games. When asked his most memorable moment Jeff recalled the night, eight years ago, when he got a phone call from the State assigning him to his first sectional game. Jeff ’s work throughout the season and in those assigned games have graded high enough that this year he has been assigned to do the IHSA Girls State Tournament in Blooming ton. This is the highest level of completion and it requires the top level of officiating. Congratulations to Jeff for achieving this goal! Why would a person want to do this seemingly thankless job? Jeff said he enjoys having to stay in good physical condition and also mentioned that he values the relationship he has built with the partner he officiates with, Monte Messenger. When asked what the best compliment he received over the years Jeff recalled the Milledgeville coach commenting on what a good game Jeff had done, “I didn’t even notice you were on the floor”, said the coach. Who is the best coach he has worked with over the years? Jeff quickly mentioned Don Robinson of Prophetstown (who is Matt Drew’s Father-in law. Matt works first shift Mix). Why was Coach Robinson the best? Jeff said it was because his focus was to be positive to his players, and not finding fault with the officials. Jeff has been officiating at some level ever since he graduated from high school. He obviously has mastered his trade. Jeff said that had the AFC Lady Raiders reached the upper level of the state completion, he would have excused himself from refereeing that game to avoid any conflict of interest. Congratulations again to Jeff for being assigned to the State Tourna- ment. New Year & New Set of Two Hour Increments A new year means that the vacation day that you are allowed to split up in two hour increments has begun again as of January 1st. These increments must be pre-approved by your supervisor. Remember there is only one vacation day per calendar year that can be used this way. Contact Susan Larson or Lynn Burnette with any questions. Don’t Forget to Order Your Uniforms Each year employees are offered a uniform allotment based on the month of your date of hire. Be sure to order your uniforms during the month of your date of hire each year. Forms are available in the break room at the build- ing that you are in, please be sure to fill out the correct form based on the department that you work in. Orders can be turned into Peggy Messer in the Payroll Office. Reminders from the Payroll Office
14 Crest Ink April, May & June 2017
What a Season by Chris Reynolds
The AFC Lady Raiders (Ashton-Franklin Center) have just completed a remarkable basketball season. They finished the year with 27 wins and just 3 losses. Along the way in this fantastic season they accomplished many things. Among the many accomplishments were:
Jeff Jahn, Erin Sester, Jade Fair, Addison Wetzel, Jaynee Prestegaard, Madeline Pre- stagaard, Sammy Smith, Emily Shrimplin, Chris Jahn, Grace Friday, Laci Meurer, Lexi Meurer & Bryce Gittleson
• They were undefeated Conference Champions • They were ranked as high as #2 in the state • They won the Regional Championship • They won one game at the Sectional tournament
Four of these girls were selected to the All-Conference team: Emily Shrimplin, Lexi Meurer, Madeline Prestegaard, and Jaynee Prestegaard. Jaynee Prestegaard was also named to the Associated Press All-State team. Madeline Pres- tegaard scored the 1,000th point of her high school career, and she is just a high school junior! There are several Crest Foods connections on the Lady Raiders team: Grace Friday, the daughter of Craig Friday, (Warehouse Forklift A-Shift) and Jade Fair, the sister of Jessica Fair (QA Line Supervisor) were both members of the team. Grace and Jade both participated for the Lady Raiders in the 3-point shooting competition. Jade went on to compete in the 3-point shooting competition at the Sectional level. Jade missed being in the top 4 in the state by one shot! AFC Coach Chris Jahn, told his team, “Each time you took the court you did so with class, pride, and sportsman ship.” Knowing that was their philosophy, they were winners on much more than just the basketball court. Congrat- ulations to the Lady Raiders and their fans on a most memorable season. Just wait until next year! Hi everyone! As you have heard, the Crest Wellness program is underway. If you have already tested and feel you need to improve your cholesterol, glucose, or blood pressure, or if your testing is scheduled for later in the year and you would like to make some simple changes to help ensure better results, here are some changes you can make. 1. To improve total cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, cut back on animal product fats. This includes cutting back on red meats as well as eggs, full fat milks and cheeses, and butter. Switch to skim milk if possible. Also, cut back on processed and packaged foods that contain trans-fats and hydrogenated oils. 2. To raise HDL (good cholesterol) levels, eat more “good fats”. These are things like fish, nuts, and avacados. 3. To help with glucose and cholesterol levels, make sure you are eating whole grains instead of processed carbs. Switch to 100% whole wheat breads, whole wheat pasta and tortillas, and brown rice instead of white. Cut back on simple sugars such as pop and candy. 4. To help get better results on ALL of your tests including blood pressure, add more fruits and veggies to your diet and exercise regularly! 5. If you are already on medications for these things, make sure you are seeing your physician as scheduled and that you are taking your medications regularly as prescribed. Wellness Testing by Nurse Heidi McGlown, RN
April, May & June 2017 Crest Ink 15
Meet our Newest Forklift & Electric Handlift Trainers! by Karen Yardley As part of our Forklift and Electric Handlift Program here at Crest, we are required to have certified trainers work with new operators before issuing them a license. We recently held a session to train our newest batch of trainers. These employees gave up a beautiful Saturday (who would have ever thought it would be sunny and almost 70 de- grees in mid February?!) to become certified and to fill this very important position for us here at Crest. At the Main Plant on A Shift - Marisol Lara; A Shift Mix Facility - Brandon Tate; A Shift West Production - Stepha- nie Eich; B Shift Main Plant - Servando Cadenas; Kyle Arreguin, Art Stark and Roman Kozak; B Shift West Pro- duction - Heather Thomasson; C Shift West Facilities - Justin Smothers; and Main Plant Ingredient Division - Paul Simons. They join the employees who have been trainers since at least 2012 which are Chad Reed, Cody Matheny, Rebecca Dodd, Morgan Rains, Laurie Seaton, Adam Drew, Marc Smith, Rob Roath, Ben Kinn, Ray Van Drew, Ben Fichter, Shawn Mayers, Lori Shinabarger, Bernie Iwema and Jim Reindel. Thank you to all those who participated.
Justin Smothers (Sanitation C)
Paul Simons (Ingredient Production A)
Servando Cadenas (Production B), Kyle Arreguin (Sanita- tion B), Arthur Stark (Production B) & Roman Kozak (Sanitation B)
Marisol Lara (Production A)
Stephanie Eich (Production A)
Heather Thomasson (Production B)
Brandon Tate (Mix A)
16 Crest Ink April, May & June 2017
Employee Review Season is Here
by Susan Larson, Payroll Manager
Along with spring comes preparation for our annual employee performance appraisals. In April of each year our office prepares the basic information needed for supervisors to complete their respective employee’s reviews. Once we have distributed our information, your supervisor has until the first of July to complete the reviews and sit down with each employee to discuss the results. Our review period covers from April 1st of the prior calendar year thru March 31st of the current year. Examples of some areas touched upon for the review are Quality of Work, Job Knowledge, Communication and Initiative. Other factors considered outside of the job criteria scor- ing are employee awards (ex. Quality hero), attendance and discipline issues. The review format is based on a scoring system from 1 (unsatisfactory) thru 5 (top performer) and includes 10 areas to be rated. Total score is cal- culated, divided by 10 and then rounded down to the nearest whole or half (.5) score. Historically the across the board/incentive increases that employees receive at the beginning of the fiscal year are attached to the score that is received on the performance appraisal. Last year’s wage incentives ranged from 0 to 5% , but is determined each year at the July Board of Directors meeting. Temporary employees are not included in this annual review process but have historically received a pay increase at the beginning of the fiscal year. If you have questions regarding the review process please stop by the Payroll office or call me at ext. 235. West Production Facility Air Conditioning When the west facility production area was built ten years ago we had plenty of air conditioning power to keep things nice and cool. Last summer we updated a number of our production lines in this area and started produc- ing on three shifts. We failed to consider the impact that additional equipment and continuous production time would have on our ability to keep this area reasonably cool in the summer. Frankly, it was downright hot in this area. While we feel bad and apologize for the fact it happened, there’s nothing we can do to change the past…but we can certainly make sure we fix the problem going into the warmer months ahead. The current air conditioning system for this area has 60 tons of BTU’s. We are in the process of adding another 30 tons of BTU’s and an improved system for circulating cooled air. That is a whole bunch of air conditioning since a typical home might have 1-2 tons of BTU’s in their AC system. The new system is being installed as this is being written and we hope to be fully functional no later than mid-April. Soon after, we hope the only complaints we get on the air at the West facility is that it is too cold and from the accounting department when we start seeing the electric bill for running 90 tons of BTU’s of air conditioning.
April, May & June 2017 Crest Ink 17
Employment Anniversaries
18 Crest Ink April, May & June 2017 April Day Years TODD DISCH 4 6 TYLER EWENS 4 6 RICHARD DREW 7 3 MARIA GARCIA 7 20 LISA WHITE 7 20 ROBERT ABELL 8 15 WILLIAM KIRK 11 1 SCOTT MOORE 11 12 BLASA BRISENO 13 12 REBECCA DODD 13 8 CODY MATHENY 13 8 WALTER WILLSTEAD 13 8 LAWRENCE EVANS 14 3 RAYMOND O’DELL 14 28 M KATHLEEN PELAYO 14 10 FIDEL RAMOS 16 16 SUSAN COLLIER 18 1 KRISTEN FRIEBERG 18 1 JIM KITCHENS 18 1 SCOTT LUXTON 18 1 GARY MC CLUSKEY 18 1 EMILY SMITH 19 18 NATHAN TIPPIE 20 9 HEATHER THOMASSON21 9 DAVID BUSHMAN 24 28 GERALD WATERS 24 45 JERRY SIKKEMA 25 23 KENNETH DREW 27 47 GUY COVELL 28 14 May Day Years KERRY TUMLESON 1 16 JAMES LYLES 2 23 LARRY SHIPMAN 2 12 JUSTIN KAECKER 5 3 ELIZABETH RAPP 6 14 HERBERT WYCKOFF 6 15 APRIL COVER 7 15 ARTHUR RUIZ 7 10 KIM GALLAGHER 8 39 MICHAEL PIPER 10 5 RICHARD RICE 11 6
DANNY FULLER MARIA GUERRERO
12 3 12 20 12 3 13 4 14 10 14 10
RAY SIXAYSANA 30 32 LILJANA REFATLLARI 31 11 June Day Years BARTLOMIEJ BARDZINSKI 1 5 MACKENZIE DEWEY 1 2 JAIR GRANADOS-RAMIREZ 1 2 JEFFREY MEINERS 1 37 CHRISTINE PFOUTZ 1 46 THOMAS SAUNDERS 1 28 SARA SNOW 1 8 ASHLEY TALBERT 1 2 YARELI TENORIO 1 2 BENJAMIN WORTHINGTON 1 2 JEFFERY BRECUNIER 3 21 JESSE MORRIS 3 4 BRIAN SCHAFER 3 21 MIKAYLA COX 4 5 MARK JOHNSON 4 22 ABBY LAHMAN 4 5 AUDRA REINDEL 5 4 F MORINE SNODGRASS 5 44 MIGUEL ASTUDILLO 6 1 MIRRNA BARRIENTOS JIMENEZ 6 1 PEGGY BENFORD 6 17 CODY BRILL 6 1 JENNIFER DREW 6 12 SALVADOR IBARRA 6 1 ANNALEE JOOS 6 1 KELSY KUHNLE 6 1 KEVIN O’DOWD 6 1 EMILY PLAPP 6 1 TROY TRAVERS 6 12 TARA LIFKA 7 18 ROMAN KOZAK II 8 2 KEITH SMITH 8 11 JESSICA THOMAS 8 2 ZACHARY DEWEY 9 3 GARY EVANS 10 8 MARIA GUIJOSA 10 3 NED TIPPIE 10 28 JENNIFER LEBRICK 11 3 MATTHEW RICHARDSON 11 16
JACOB WISE
JORDAN HAMILTON
MARISOL LARA
LEROY STAMBAUGH JULIE TOMBLIN 14 10 KENNETH BLOMBERG 15 3 AARON SHINABARGER 15 8 SCOTT WEBB 15 28 MICHEAL BLACK 16 1 HARLEY BRANDEL 16 1 BRIAN BUCKERT 16 1 DEANA DUNCAN 16 1 JEREMY HITCHCOCK 16 1 JESSICA JENKINS 16 1 NICOLE KIMBRO 16 1 KYLE KUTZKE 16 1 DAVID LANDERS 16 1 AMY LLOYD 16 1 MARIO MENDEZ 16 1 VALERIE SERRANO 16 1 SHAWNA SNAPP 16 1 LOGAN SUTTON 16 1 YASMIN FULGENCIO 17 13 GLENN WHITE 17 7 JONATHAN BAKENER 21 5 REGINA SMITH 21 33 WYATT BEROGAN 22 17 DALLAS HODGES 23 1 ANDRA TREMBLE 23 6 JONATHAN LARSON 24 13 LORI SHINABARGER 25 19 JOHN LOOMIS 26 8 GAVEN MEINERS 27 9 MATTHEW DREW 28 20 PEGGY MESSER 28 15 LOLA PAUL 28 21 BERNARD IWEMA 29 10 BENTON FICHTER 30 32 JUSTIN GUENTHER 30 5 MARK MC WETHY 30 22 JOYCE MEINERS 30 22
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker