The year of 1981 brought two strapping young men to Crest within days of each other who would find themselves still at it over four decades later in the same departments that they started in. To say that they have seen a lot of changes in their time would be an understatement since we have increased in sized nearly 10 fold and the Packaging Division has changed their product mix and style of operations numerous times along the way. Jon Harrison thought his first day at Crest might be his last. He wore the wrong shirt, parked in the wrong place, his lead took one look at him and shook his head and just walked away and all the batches produced that day were put on hold. Despite that rough start, he has spent all of the next forty years working in the Mix Department as a lead mixer, in the weigh-up area and as a shuttle driver. To this day he can still remember how the smell of sea- soned salt stayed with a person no matter how many times they tried to shower it off. He also recalls Watson Smoot dumping a jug of yellow dye from the top of his forklift that instantly turned him yellow from head-to-toe. Jon vividly remembers a heated confrontation on the floor between Jay Meiners and a representative from Pillsbury that left him with a strong desire not to get on the bad side of Jay going forward. Jon feels that this job simply fit him well from the day he started and that he has always felt at home at Crest. Jerry Lawrence says that he bugged Neil Henert long enough for a job that he eventually gave in and told him to show up for work the next day. He has worked as part of the warehouse team ever since starting at the main docks, being a truck driver and ultimately becoming the manager of the packaging division warehouse. He recalls unload- ing 100 pound sugar bags from rail cars by hand since they were all loaded on the floor. He also recalls that being a truck driver meant that they were their own mechanics and even were responsible for rebuilding the hardwood floors on trailers. His truck driving stories also included being talked into running the Crest trucks to Oregon to help Steve Meiners move and how our second-hand trucks really struggled with the job since it was the first time they had traveled more than a couple blocks in one trip. Of course there was the great warehouse flood and the tornado, but who wants to dwell on that other than we got through both with flying colors. More than anything, Jerry appreciates all of the good people he has worked with, is proud to have been an integral part of all of the growth we have seen at Crest and can’t believe how fast it has all flown by. Work is always so much better when it is being done with good people who you like and trust. Jon and Jerry are amongst our best and we are so proud of what they have meant to Crest and thankful for all they have done for us over the past 40 years. If you see them around, give them a pat on the back and a big thank you for paving the way for the rest of us. Congratulations to the following employees for obtaining new jobs at Crest Foods over the last few months!
Tim Wittenauer Jr. Weigher Ingredient Division
Linda Hollewell Stager Ingredient Division
Calvin Bennett Warehouse Sanitarian
Maurice Millan Purchasing Ingredient Planner
2 Crest Ink October, November & December 2021
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