From Bob’s Desk: Some things are just worth repeating

By Bob Bacon

Have you ever been in a position where the person you are listening to is telling you the same, advice story or presentation AGAIN? You have heard it so many times you could repeat it yourself! When it happens to me it makes me crazy. I have been writing this column for quite a while and I have really tried to avoid repeating myself and boring you. But, sometimes things bear repeating. Like, “Safety to the Next Level!”

This is worth repeating:

Did you know that Elm really appreciates you? You are a member of a fantastic team of apprentices, technicians, electricians, engineers and administrative staff. You are hardworking, responsible and dedicated to our customers. The technical quality of your work is excellent and your willingness to learn new skills is unending. As for the service you provide to our customers and your coworkers, it is incredible. You always seem to get it done and get it done right. Thank you for working here at Elm.

I hope you feel like you are appreciated, too. Did you know we offer educational benefits that will help with the cost of taking college courses and that we have helped your coworkers who have wanted to change jobs or move up in the organization? If you need help with a personal or family problem, often we can help. Talk to your supervisor or Keith, Mike or myself. Sometimes we can adjust your work schedule or some other aspect of your work. You are important to us and over the years we have been able to help in many situations. If we can help with something let us know!

I wrote this in the newsletter in 2013, but it is certainly worth repeating. Your company — Elm — really appreciates you! You do it right, safely. Thank you for all you do. I appreciate it.

If we can help please let Deana at (413) 485-4101, or any of us, know.

I put out the goal of getting individual feedback to you by mid-September, but the execution of getting that done is harder than I anticipated. We really want it to be a positive experience and the tools in our Birddog system need some massaging to get that to work. Brian Donnelly has been a big help getting this worked out for me, and he and I decided to get it out to our newer co-workers first and get the kinks sorted through there. I will be sending out an email to the first group right after Labor Day.

Finally, I wasn’t able to attend the Elm Family Picnic at Sonny’s Place, but I heard it was great!

Here is Deana’s recap:

This year’s employee picnic was another great success! We moved the location to Sonny’s Place in Somers to be more convenient for our growing number of Connecticut-based employees and to offer more activities for Elm families. We were happy to see many of our Middletown crew and several Westfield families make the short trip to the new venue. There was perfect weather for the 135 attendees, as employees brought little ones, grown children, spouses, even grandchildren. Sonny’s gave us a beautiful private (air-conditioned) pavilion with a delicious barbecue buffet and families had a chance to catch up and make new friends before heading out into the park for hours of fun activities. Erica Menard-Johnston, a newer Elm employee, commented that the picnic gave her a chance to meet and talk with people she hadn’t met before and she was really struck by the positive company vibe at the event.

The day offered “a little something for everyone at every age,” Steve Plasse, who attended with his children, remarked. There was a competitive round of mini golf for the Dionnes; the Samsons and Bernashes tried zip-lining, and the Dawsons were rumored to have conquered the climbing wall. Things got heated on the go-kart track as the driving skills of Carter Puza were put to the test and the Palazzis ventured out to find something called Monkey Motion. As the day wound down, the Alicea family met back in the pavilion to visit with the Chartiers and Parents, and Falcon Drive personnel were rumored to be running QA tests on the end result of the Sip of Sunshine palletizer Elm designed in 2022.