In Appreciation for Our Employees
Some of them wake at dark and first check the markets, then the weather.
Some of them feed many mouths before they show up to work. Maybe chickens or children, cattle or cats, even ill neighbors…all get fed.
Some of them leave the house in steel toe shoes and fire-resistant clothing, knowing that coming home exactly as they left is the greatest priority.
Some of them use their drive time to listen to podcasts to learn about current events, or they call their mom, or they call the customer who is struggling right now. Some of them just drive in silence. Some pray.
Some of them drive to work cussing the weather.
Some of them look forward to today’s fuel route because it takes them past the house they dreamt about living in when they were age eight. Some of them never would have torn down that bank barn.
Some of them use their sick leave to have babies or care for aging parents or to have replaced the knees that have climbed in and out of a truck for years.
Some of them have eaten out of the same lunch box for ten years. Some are trying the Keto diet and they’re grumpy.
Some of them spend their days talking about proper nutrition and feed rations for hogs, then go home and devour a $3.00 frozen pizza with their family.
Some of them have little experience in energy or agriculture. But they sure know how to lead and motivate a team.
Some of them see the same faces at work that they do at Christmas. It’s a family affair.
Some of them came to work for the co-op right out of high school and never left. Some of them are celebrating 45 years with the co-op this summer.
Some of them stand in lines at visitations in the funeral home because they knew growers, soil type, and aspirations more than they knew last wishes.
Some of them keep impeccable records, a tidy desk and a color-coded calendar. Others can’t find their keys.
Some of them smile (way too big) when they see a Tyson porkchop on the menu because they know what went into producing that piece of protein.
Some of them go home at night, take off their boots (finally), and know that the work that wore them out mattered.
