Celebrating 44 Years of Service
Last week we said best wishes to Joanie Chorba after 44 years at Earnest Machine. For about 6 months of those 44 years, I sat across from Joanie, making it the person with the most tenure sitting with the person with the least.
Joanie started with Earnest when she turned 18. The Personnel Manager back then was looking for a Billing Clerk, but in her time here, she’s had at least 7 positions. She started in billing and moved on to inventory control. Then Earnest got its first computer (can you believe there was a time we had to get by without them??) and she worked in the Computer Department (we’ve since gotten more computers, too).
Later she was secretary to Neil Davis who, at the time was Manager of Sales, and when he made a move into the Purchasing Department, he brought Joanie with her. “I didn’t know if I could do it,” she said about the move. I asked her how long ago that was and she said “12 years.” And is retiring from Earnest with Purchasing as her last move.
Earnest has been around for 70 years, and Joanie’s had the privilege of seeing a lot of changes. Our main office had two previous locations before we came to Rocky River. We also had Distribution Centers in different locations. And while some people might disagree with company changes, Joanie was able to adapt, which is the trait of a true team player.
Along with the chance to relax, Joanie’s going to be continuing volunteer work. She’s worked as a tutor for students from 1stto 4thgrade and volunteers at the local hospital.
I know a lot of people might say 44 years at one company is unheard of anymore, but what I’m coming to understand is if you’re looking for new challenges, Earnest is willing to help. Joanie’s a great example of that. In my 6 months here I’ve seen a few others express an interest in different departments and our leadership team is working actively to ensure those professional goals are met.
Personally, I believe that when a company is willing to do that, you never should have a personnel issue. There tends to be a symbiotic relationship when companies are willing to allow their employees to move to other departments, like Joanie. The employee gets the benefit of a new challenge and builds their skillset. The company then has a wider net of employees who are cross-trained and able to help one another. Talking with Joanie on her time here and how she was able to move between departments shows me that Earnest really does do what they say, and because of that, it’s easy for people, like Joanie, to spend a large part of their careers here.