'The Hub' with Michael Allen sponsored by Manpower Richmond
Welcome to "The Hub with Michael Allen," the podcast that dives deep into the stories of community leaders and business owners who are making a difference. Join your host, Michael Allen, as he uncovers the untold narratives, challenges, and triumphs of those shaping their communities.
In each episode, Michael sits down with remarkable individuals who have dedicated their lives to improving their neighborhoods, towns, and cities. These community leaders are passionate, driven, and committed to creating positive change. Whether they are activists, educators, philanthropists, or civic officials, they all share a common goal: to build stronger, more vibrant communities.
"The Hub" also showcases the journeys of business owners who have turned their dreams into reality. From small-scale startups to well-established enterprises, these entrepreneurs share their insights, experiences, and lessons learned along the way. Michael delves into the unique challenges they face, the strategies they employ, and the impact their businesses have on the local economy and society at large.
With engaging conversations and thought-provoking discussions, "The Hub with Michael Allen" provides listeners with valuable takeaways, inspiration, and actionable ideas. Each episode offers a glimpse into the minds and hearts of those who are actively shaping the fabric of their communities, providing a roadmap for listeners who want to make a difference in their own lives and surroundings.
Tune in to "The Hub with Michael Allen" and join the conversation as we explore the stories of community leaders and business owners who are leaving an indelible mark on the world around them. Get ready to be inspired, motivated, and empowered to take action. Together, we can create a better tomorrow for everyone.
Sponsored by Manpower Richmond.
'The Hub' with Michael Allen sponsored by Manpower Richmond
Ep. 15 | Dr. Casey Pitcher: Rising from Connersville to HR Leadership at Osborn | Insights with Michael Allen
What does it take to rise from humble beginnings to a prominent role in a major organization? Dr. Casey Pitcher, North American Director of Human Resources at Osborn, shares her extraordinary journey from babysitting and retail jobs in Connersville to overseeing HR operations for a leading company. Tune in to hear Casey's inspiring story of perseverance and dedication, and how her experiences have shaped her approach to employee growth and development at Osborn.
Get ready to uncover the often-overlooked challenges and rewards of working in HR. Casey gives us an inside look at her career, from handling misconceptions about HR roles to facilitating career advancements for employees. She shares heartfelt stories of supporting workers through personal and professional hurdles, emphasizing the critical role of communication and flexibility in creating a supportive workplace culture. These insights offer a new perspective on the human side of HR and its impact on company culture.
Finally, join us as we celebrate Osborn's 20th anniversary in Richmond, highlighted by employee engagement initiatives and community involvement. Casey discusses the company's efforts to balance professionalism with enjoyment, from participating in local events to planning an exciting week-long celebration. Additionally, she opens up about her own academic achievements, navigating the demanding journey from a master's degree to a doctorate. This episode is a rich tapestry of personal and organizational achievements, dedicated to the people who make Osborn a pillar of the community.
Michael Allen from Manpower. We are a national brand, yet locally owned franchise. We are familiar with the challenges businesses face. It's tough recruiting and retaining qualified employees. That's why working with Manpower is a smart, cost-effective solution. Our entire focus is talent acquisition. We'll manage your hiring and training and provide ongoing, customized support. Since 1966, we have been your community-invested partner, uniquely positioned to help eliminate the hassles and save you time and money. Let us help contact Manpower today. Hello and welcome to the Hub powered by Manpower of Richmond. I am your host, michael Allen, and here on the Hub we interview local businesses, community partners and various special guests, and our mission is to share and spotlight unique and untold stories of companies, organizations and people who are making the difference in our community. Today's guest is Dr Casey Pitcher. Casey is the North American Director of Human Resources for Osborne Casey, welcome to the Hub, thank you. So good to have you with us today.
Speaker 1:Casey, welcome to the Hub, thank you so good to have you with us today. We've had the pleasure of working together for a few years at Osborne, and it was during a visit earlier this year that we planned to do this podcast, and part of it our timing was that we wanted to celebrate Osborne's 20th year in Richmond, and the date for that is coming up it's August 14th. So here we are and I really want to chronicle the 20 years Osborne's been here in Richmond, as well as your personal story. But before we go into that, I want to go into our hub tradition where we ask you about, uh, your very first job that you had.
Speaker 2:That you can remember oh my goodness, my first job um like most teenage girls in the 90s, it was babysitting um and then my first I guess regular pay was probably fast food. I worked at Burger King. I went off to college and then that summer I worked at the nursing home. I would do the laundry, because what fun is that? So and then um from there I went into retail and then um ended up in osborne so you worked at uh burger chef? Yes, what uh back to the baby, said back to babysitting.
Speaker 1:Do you know what that going rate per hour was back then?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it was funny. So I babysat outside of you know, because I was the oldest, so I had my sisters, the oldest in the family. I grew up in church so I was always the go-to. But my first like regular babysitting job was I made $90 a week and I had three kids, so it was Monday through Friday. The lady worked at Ford's. She worked second shift, so I'd have to be there, usually around two or whatever, to watch her youngest and then get her oldest off the bus and then put them to bed, and then she would get home around 11, 30, midnight and so I'd go home wow, so you're.
Speaker 2:That's almost like nanny territory there yeah, yeah it was, it was, um. I mean, it's pretty cool because the youngest was like three, so it gave me and I was able to, like take them to church and stuff.
Speaker 1:So it was kind of introduction into what it would be like to have kids full-time, I guess a little training ground there so that was good share with our follower followers a little bit about yourself, kind of where you grew up, your family, so I am connor tuckian um.
Speaker 2:I was born and raised in Connersville and then hit 18, had graduated and stuff and went off to college in Michigan and did my thing, was up there about 10 years and decided to come back to Richmond and finished my schooling. So I got my bachelor's degree and then, once I finished my bachelor's, I was introduced to Osborne because they were looking for a buyer and I told my career advisor at the time I have no idea what a buyer does. They're like oh, you'll be fine. So fast forward into interviews, got into Osborne as the buyer, worked there for a few years, decided to get my master's in human resources, so then a position became in human resources, so I switched over 2014 to human resources and I've just continued growing from there.
Speaker 1:So tell me a little bit about growing up in Connersville. What was that like?
Speaker 2:So yeah, so growing up in Connersville 80s and 90s, ford was the big thing, so at the time Connersville wasn't necessarily what it is today, but you know very local. Everybody knew you, which was good and bad, because as a teenager trying to express yourself, you couldn't do anything without running into some family's parents. I was going to tell your mom yes, it's like you really couldn't go or do anything, cause somebody always knew somebody that you know there's no.
Speaker 1:didn't have a lot of uh no secrets in a small no.
Speaker 2:And surprisingly, there were. You know, know you couldn't get away with a whole lot, even pre-cell phones, like we didn't have cell phones.
Speaker 1:So it's not like there was text and stuff.
Speaker 2:But it's like I saw, you know casey, in the parking lot of her king at midnight with a bunch of people and it's like you know, by the time you get home your mom's upstairs, it's like where have you been?
Speaker 1:you're supposed to be sleeping it's pretty innocent activities in today's no absolutely, absolutely like.
Speaker 2:The worst thing I was doing was staying up just hanging out, hanging out in the parking lot, you know, and cruising friday nights driving you know, fifth street, third street, central, that whole circle, so you know. Sneaking wine coolers, you know, because you thought you were cool what did uh?
Speaker 1:were you involved in any certain things in school, that kind of you know? I mean, I think you're really, from what I know about you, I think you're a pretty good student, but is there other things that you'd like to do outside of academic?
Speaker 2:no, so I was a cheerleader okay, either or not, um, but uh, that was like my, my big thing I was. I was a cheerleader and um, my, uh, I spent a lot of my my older teen years so like 16, 17, um, in, uh, outside of trying to do school. I was involved a lot with my family because we had a medical emergency. My cousin at six was diagnosed with brain cancer so I spent a lot of two years up at the hospital helping my aunt with their other kids and stuff. So my few years there I wasn't able to do much because I was taking care of them.
Speaker 1:So you end up going to college in Michigan. How did that happen?
Speaker 2:I wanted a way.
Speaker 1:Just a little bit of distance from.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I went up to Michigan and got my real first taste of freedom and did some stupid crap, and so then decided to come back and focus back on that Was it Michigan University. No, it was a private school.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So very, very strict, so very, very strict. So because I originally wanted to be a, I thought I wanted to be a teacher. So I went and I was studying teaching and then when I started doing my like student teaching and stuff, I was like oh no, I don't want to be part of this.
Speaker 2:So I switched to business, which was probably a very good thing for me, and so I transferred to Indiana University and that's how I came back to be with family and go to school, and that's where I got my bachelor's and just continued going from there.
Speaker 1:We have some similarities. I'll have to talk to you about some other time the private school. Yeah, I went to a private school for like one semester and it didn't.
Speaker 2:Uh, it was in chattanooga, tennessee temple university very strict yeah like kind of baptist college so mine was midwestern baptist in michigan pontiac, michigan, pontiac.
Speaker 1:Yes, I know that school no kidding. We can edit those words out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I went, so I lasted two semesters and then my third semester. I was like I cannot do this.
Speaker 1:That is so crazy.
Speaker 2:That is because Tennessee Templeessee temple in knoxville was uh, chattanooga yep was my uh second choice, second choice, wow, wow yeah so where did you get your masters? So I got my masters from walsh college in um troy, michigan okay, yeah, I gotta get back on track.
Speaker 1:Oh, there is one thing that so so do you have any children? You have?
Speaker 2:so I've got three bonus children okay so no biological children on my own and then you're a little.
Speaker 1:Uh, you do have an affection for pets.
Speaker 2:Oh my God. Yes, I always tease like if I ever won like the big lotto or whatever it's like I would have that hundred of acres with just like all the rescue animals running around. Like it kills me when I see like the shelters and stuff, but oh, because I would take them all and my husband would leave me I'm sure are you predominantly a dog person, or I never thought I would be.
Speaker 2:I never thought I would be um, because I started with cats and um, so I rescued two. Well, I had a cat and then I met my husband and he was horribly, horribly allergic, and so it was kind of like the cat or the husband which was harder than you would think.
Speaker 1:He's going to love watching this.
Speaker 2:But I, yeah. So I did get rid of the cat and I gave her to a really good friend. I knew she'd be taken care of and after a few years of marriage he surprised me by allowing me to get. He said that I could rescue another cat, so went to the shelter. I had to be careful because, um, my original cat, shelby, was mankoon, so she was long hair those are pig cats too, yeah and um.
Speaker 2:So I think that's what the problem was. Um, so I went with um to the shelter and they had because they were overran, surprisingly even back then. Um, so it was buy one, get one. So I took two, um, I got a tabby and a calico and so then I was like, okay, so I'm a cat person now right. So, um, and they were my babies, and then, unfortunately, I lost one. She passed away when um, and then.
Speaker 2:So I rescued another one and then I wanted a dog and so I got a Boston and brought her home and this thing I don't even know if she knows she's a dog, so to the point where it's not even just me, like because I take her everywhere. I'm. I'm that person, you know people that you complain about, but I am that person. I take her everywhere and, um, my parents love her. My grandma will say pearl is coming, I miss her when she's not around. So I go to my parents house and they've got like a cabinet's, got like treats and toys grandma, grandpa's house so she loves going to nana grandpa's house, absolutely, absolutely that's awesome to your.
Speaker 1:Uh, getting back to the the work part of it what made you decide to go into hr, the human resources as a profession? Is there something that kind of just kind of clicked with you that wanted you to do that? Because you were doing teaching, right? Yeah?
Speaker 2:so I wanted teaching and I was like, nope, I can't. God bless you teachers out there. I don't know how you do it, but I was like I'm going to go into business because I kind of always liked the business aspect of things, like the behind the scenes, how things work, the numbers. And then I was a manager at a retail store so I was responsible for doing the hiring and the training and stuff and I like I liked, I like feeling like the people side of things, and so I was like I like a human resources. Little did I know what human resources actually involved, but um, and so I decided to go back and get my master's in business and I needed a concentration. So I was like I'm going to give human resources a try. And so it just kind of went from there.
Speaker 2:And when I was at Osborne I went to the VP of HR at the time and I said, hey, I'm working on my master's. I said I would love to do kind of any kind of an intern follow you around, shadow you or whatever. So I said, if you ever have anything, I'd love to pick your brain on it. And it just happened an HR position became available and he's like, are you interested? And I was like, yes, and it was my official title was HR generalist, but it was my official title was HR Generalist, but it was kind of the catch-all for everything.
Speaker 2:Somebody needed lunch, somebody needed a hotel, you know you were that I was the go-to admin for kind of everybody, did the orientations and all that stuff. Didn't do a lot of hiring or anything at the time, worked with temp agencies so and that was kind of my introduction and then, um, I just kind of kept growing from there, trying to take on more responsibility and anything that came up. Um, I wanted to do the good, the bad, the ugly, like I wanted to do it all. Because I wanted to do the good, the bad, the ugly, like I wanted to do it all because I wanted to really immerse myself in which worked, because then I wanted to be where everybody knew my name and it isn't always a good thing, but they knew my name.
Speaker 1:What do you find to be like the most rewarding? What's the most rewarding part of HR for you?
Speaker 2:shook the table. What's the most rewarding part of hr for you, um? So for me, when I see when you truly can help somebody. So, like um, one of my best stories is I had somebody that was a machine operator, um, and so I talked to them because part of my job is developing people right.
Speaker 2:So trying to find out what strengths people have and what your ambitions are. What do you want to do? So they had told me they wanted to be more, but they had no idea how to do it. So I was like I can help you. So I actually helped do their FAFSA, help you. So I actually helped do their FAFSA. I helped them enroll in school because Osborne reimburses. You know, we do $5,000 a year. You go to school, we're going to pay you, and so I helped this individual until they were able to leave Osborne as a machine operator and go into more of a position they want. They left us, but they were doing what they wanted to do, so really showing people their potential right. So I would have loved for this person to stay with me, but you know, I don't always have the opportunities for the growth on something like that. I don't always have the opportunities for the growth on stuff like that.
Speaker 1:So but what do you think is kind of the most challenging part of HR?
Speaker 2:HR gets blamed for everything. When something is wrong, if there's a culture issue or there's a leadership problem, you know it's HR, hr, hr, right. And you see the jokes. You know it's HR, hr, hr, right. And you see the jokes, you know it's like oh, you know, people want flexibility, or people want this or that, and it's like, oh well, hr throws pizza at you. It's not. You know, it's not my fault, right, it's not always, you know.
Speaker 2:So I think the most challenging part in HR is like, we are all responsible for our work environment, right, we're all responsible for making, um, you know, osborne a destination place, right? So you know I bring someone in, but it's it's the people, right, they're going to work with you, you know. So if you know you have this outlook on what you think your job is and you tell others and you're negative, that person's not going to want to stay, right. So you know, challenging is keeping the talent Right, developing, giving them, you know, having them. Give me a chance to make this place. You know what you need it to be. I would think sometimes.
Speaker 1:You know, most companies have rules about how much you can miss work, or and you know, and you may have two different people who may be accumulate the same amount of points or, however, warnings or whatever, but how they got there is totally different. But they both have to be let go and you can't, it's you have to be consistent with the rules.
Speaker 1:I would think yeah and that part would be frustrating, knowing that you've got to let go of this person who's just had some really horrible things and circumstances got them where they were and the other person just did it to themselves.
Speaker 2:So yeah, so we have a point system right, so we have attendance and we do our best to keep it black and white right. So it's like if you miss, you're going to get a point. But if you talk to me like if you have family issues, if you have a sick child or you know um.
Speaker 2:We offer flex time. We offer um unpaid leave right, so you know you have your federal fmla, right so? But you have to work for a company for 12 months. You have to have a minimum number of hours to get FMLA, right. We at Osborne cover short-term disability, though from the beginning, like we give it to you for free, so all you have to do is talk to us. Right, we have options that might work for you, right? So we've had individuals that's like. You know, I just can't do it. I gotta take care of my spouse, or I'll take care of my kid, or whatever. And it's like, well, instead of pointing out, take the next two weeks or whatever, do what you got to do and then come back to us. Right, so it. So it's like we just need people to communicate on those.
Speaker 2:We can't help somebody if they don't tell us what's going on. Right, um, we offer flex hours, you know, and everybody wants the option, you know, work from home. You hear that, um, and I always tell my people, especially on the floor. It's like you tell me how you can run your machine from home. Yeah, you make stuff right, it's like my machines, and you know, if I can get to the point where I don't need you physically at your machine to make the parts, I'm not gonna really need you anymore. So you know, um, so that you know that's a hard, because if you've got your office staff right and they have the flexibility, they can work from home. Right, you know. You've got your customer service, your marketing, your accounting, you know, generally speaking. You've got your laptop, you can work from home. You're running a machine. Show me how you can do that from home.
Speaker 1:It's just the nature of the job, right? Yeah Well, let's talk a from home.
Speaker 2:It's just the nature of the job. Right yeah, so.
Speaker 1:Well, let's talk a little bit. Let's talk about Osborne and what you make.
Speaker 2:Yeah so Osborne.
Speaker 1:People run those machines.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, multiple different types of machines. So Osborne as a whole has been around since 1887. And they started off in Cleveland and then we moved that operation to Richmond in 2004. So we started off with our wire brushes, which is our one of our largest divisions right now. So we make wire brushes. So you need something. The birds, you need something welded, you need something. You know. We make wire brushes of all different sizes for basically any kind of application you could think of. We also have a load runner, so load runner makes like cam followers and stuff. So I think roller coaster wheels, um, if you go to like the colt stadium, you know how it has like the retractable roof, those cam, those rollers are osborne, right, that? Um falcon stadium, we, the bearings and stuff are osborne. So, um, we have custom rails and stuff. And then we have our Sealy Z division, which is like weather strips, so think like garage doors, so like at the bottom to keep the debris and stuff out.
Speaker 2:You go to grocery stores, you open the doors at the bottom and stuff. So we make any kind of weather stripping brush and stuff for that. And then we have our polishing department make polishing buffs, all different sizes and the compounds and stuff to go with that sizes and the compounds and stuff to go with that, do you?
Speaker 1:most of your products are more of a commercial use or not, is you? I mean, could you go buy a wire brush that? Yes, at menards and you're making that right.
Speaker 2:You can go to amazon and find an osborne brush. You can go msc. You can go to an Osborne brush.
Speaker 1:You can go MSC. You can go to McMaster and find what's kind of like your largest client base stuff that you make in Richmond, or is there such a thing, or is it just really spread out?
Speaker 2:it's really spread out. So, um you know, we have a lot of distribution centers um like msc and stuff, so they buy a lot of our stuff um amazon's a customer.
Speaker 1:So I one of the guys I've seen when I was in it before, is you make the, you know, like floor scrubbers and don't you make the pads that go underneath those?
Speaker 1:are part of our, our buff, yeah, yeah, so I mean, those are those kind of a everyday thing that people wouldn't realize. They see people operating that equipment and stores whatever, and those are being made. Yep, here you opened in Richmond in 2004. Yeah, and there's been a few. I don't know if changes, maybe it's add-ons. We talked about it once. So in 2004, it opened, but then in 2012, there was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so in 2004, we opened our doors and it was just the power brush department from Cleveland. And then in 2012, we moved our load runner division from Cleveland. So we moved that to Richmond, which is why I was actually hired.
Speaker 2:I was hired as a buyer for the loaddarner division because the woman that was doing it in cleveland did not want to relocate so that was actually my introduction to osborne, um, and then we moved our headquarters so from cleveland in 2014 to richmond and so we actually had to build on to our facility to what it is now, because we brought multiple positions our customer service, our sales, our marketing. We moved everything from Cleveland, then we moved it to the Richmond facility, to the Richmond facility and then in 2017, 18, we moved our Richmond Virginia facility of Sealeasy. So we moved that operation into Richmond. So that was a big deal. That brought, probably at the time, 40, 50 physicians to Richmond.
Speaker 2:So shout out to Shannon, she helped me a lot during that. But, yeah, that was a good time, sad because we had to close the Richmond Virginia facility. So all those people that had been part of the Sealy Z but we did move them we brought all those jobs to Richmond and we actually have one person from Sealy Z to Richmond Virginia relocate his family to Richmond, indiana, and he's still part of it. So he's got almost 30 years with the company as a whole.
Speaker 1:So so, in addition to like the manufacturing position, so you have several management and upper management jobs that exist, yeah, because we yeah so we are now, uh, north america headquarters, america headquarters.
Speaker 2:So our CEO, our CFO, the VPs, all sit in. Richmond. So, um, yeah, it's, it's a good it's. It's. It's kind of cool to watch because, like when I started in 2012, it was just this small facility. There's like I think four or five of us in the front office now. Now there's like the CEOs there and the VPs are there and you know we've got all these customer service and marketing and the accounting team and stuff is all there. So it's been quite the experience for me to watch it grow to what it?
Speaker 2:is now.
Speaker 1:And we spoke the other day. So and uh, we spoke the other day. We talked about like in around, like 2021. Osborne became a bit more intentional and support in community in the community overall not that you weren't supportive before, but there was more of a intentional move yeah, so in so as my um career throughout Osborne has grown um.
Speaker 2:In 2018, I got the opportunity to become the HR manager for one of our sister companies at the time, so I relocated to North Carolina for a sister facility and then, as we grew, developed reorg. I went from North Carolina to Michigan and then back to Osborne and Richmond, and so I came back at the end of 2021 and me and the HR that was there we put in a. We decided that we wanted to make Osborne a destination place and we made a commitment to be more involved in the community, because we found a lot of people didn't know who we were. So we started meeting with all these different groups, the nonprofits and stuff, and we really strived to put our name out in the community. We wanted people to know we were dedicated to this area and we did so.
Speaker 2:We have done multiple fundraisers since being back. So basically, for 2022 and to where we are now, we have donated over $11,000 to local charities. We participate in the suicide prevention walk. We participate in the suicide prevention walk. We did our first year in 2022, and we were the largest group there and we donated the most money.
Speaker 2:So it was really a testament, and so we went back again last year and again everybody was looking for us because we came with, we met, he made him like everyone that volunteered to participate in a walk got a shirt I was born and stuff, and it had um, a saying. And the first year was tie-dye. So if you saw one of us you knew what we were, who we were, and we had a tent. So we were giving away stuff because we wanted everybody to know who Osborne was. And so then the next year I was looking to see what we were going to do.
Speaker 2:So, um, again, our team, um, our employees really step up Cause. Again, this is a volunteer. They don't get paid to do this, it's on a Saturday. They're donating their time to bring awareness to um, a great organization. So you know we'll do it again this October and then we do Wayne County Special Olympics. We always have a team, so we have three teams, I believe went the first year and we donated. One of our teams won and we donated that back to Special Olympics, so they were very happy to see us come back.
Speaker 1:That's wonderful, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know we've donated to Girls Inc, centerville Schools. So just each Christmas, you know, we take up a big donation. So our team really steps up when it's necessary and donates and gives their time. You know we have volunteer day at the Townsend Center, you know, and our team again volunteers on their Saturday to, you know, go contribute to the time.
Speaker 1:I can tell just you talking about that that's something that you really enjoy oh, absolutely really, really into doing that. What, what would be, and maybe you just shared it, but kind of a uh and maybe an unknown part of osborne, they would be surprised to hear about um, in terms of just about the company, and that they'd be pleasant, pleasantly surprised to hear about the company.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I'm saying so our, our big focus is, on top of the community involvement and stuff, is our employee engagement, which is always a struggle and, depending on who you ask, you know we fail or we do really well, right, um, but we try really hard to listen to what the employees want. Right, and you've always, you're always going to have, you know, that group that, no matter what you do, it's never going to be good enough. Right, and you're going to have those that they just want to come in, put in their eight hours and go home and that's fine. Right, we still need those employees, but I don't want to use like, I'm not going to sit here and say, oh, we're a family, come, you know, because at the end of the day're still a business, right, but while you're with us, we can do what we can to make it as enjoyable as we can, right. So, um, it's got to be those kind of like those outside things that make us different. Right, because everybody can be like oh well, we get, you know, 10 help paid holidays. We get two weeks vacation. We pay for short term, right, a lot of companies do that, but it's like what makes us stand out, and so our focus has been we make a difference in the community, right, we're going to go out there.
Speaker 2:So, if there's a job fair, we're going to be there. If there's a job fair, we're going to be there. If there's a community day, we want to be there, you know. If there's a, you know the 5K, we want to be there. Read, right, we want to be there. Suicide Prevention Walk we're going to be there. Right, we want to put Osborne out there. So, and it's surprising each time and you know, sarah and I will talk because it's hard it's hard being HRA you get blamed for everything, you still deal with your turnover and stuff, but then you'll have that one person that will come to you, like after an event, and they'll say, well, you know, we've never had an employee do this and it's like, okay, so that one person, when you touch that one person, made a difference right, right, and makes them proud to be part of osborne, and that's what we need to keep going right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great. 20th year is coming up the 14th uh, what do you have going on at the plant to commemorate it?
Speaker 2:So we are going to, based on feedback we got from the employees, we are going to celebrate the entire week. So we are going to. We made special T-shirts that everyone's going to get. We're going to bring in cupcakes. We're going to bring in a dinner, um, one day we're going to bring in local community members, um, and kind of celebrate. We went and we've done all kinds of um research and stuff on the history, so we've got really cool displays and stuff to put up in, like the timeline, and we found old advertising for brooms from Osborne and stuff. So we really want Osborne to be something that our employees can be proud of. That they've worked. You know, we've continued to grow. We've had our ups and downs, like downs, like a lot of companies and stuff but at the end of the day, we really want to show that we care for what we can control.
Speaker 1:Right. So, Do you feel like your product line is still very relevant in today's world? Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2:We have customers that have been with us since the beginning. We've have customers that have been with us since the beginning. We've got suppliers that have been with us since the beginning. We've got business partners that's been with us since the beginning. You know, and that's one of the things that they focus on, we want our quality to be there, because if the quality lacks, then you're going to lose those right. So the fact that we still have customers that continuously buy from us, I mean it really shows, you know, the commitment that Osborne has to putting the name behind the product.
Speaker 1:I mean, the technology may have changed. That helps you create your products, but the product that you provide is very relevant in the world as far as the applications and the uses of all the different things that your company makes Absolutely. Well, I appreciate you spending time with us today.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank you, it's been great to learn more about yourself. And then just the great work that's happening at Osborne and hopefully there'll be another 20 years yourself, and and then just a great work that's happening, uh, at osborne and uh, hopefully, uh, we'll, there'll be another 20 years that we can celebrate oh, we sure hope so, so we sure hope it's uh it's uh, business is hard it is, and you got to work at it and uh, but uh, I I think you're doing a great job and and I love to hear the things that you're doing with the community and employee engagement.
Speaker 1:One thing I was going to ask you I kind of almost forgot about it was when you were in North Carolina. That's when you kind of decided to become doctor.
Speaker 2:So yeah.
Speaker 1:Tell us about how that came about, yeah.
Speaker 2:So when I was in Richmond, I had four facilities right. So we had Janesville, richmond, I had Sealy Z in Virginia, and then I had our Hamilton and Richmond facilities. And I was really trying to make a name for myself. I wanted people to know who I was. So if something needed to be done, I was like I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do it Right.
Speaker 2:So I was always busy and I was working on my master's. So every moment of my day was like I had a schedule right, like I got home late and making dinner, I had the girls, I had my homework, and so it was just crazy, crazy. So then they're like, hey, we have this opportunity, we need an HR manager at our North Carolina facility. And I was like, yeah, I'm in the mountains, I'm, I'm there, right, um, so, uh, you know, as a family discussed it, we went, and so I went from every moment of my day. I had something to do to go into North Carolina and I had one facility. They had about 65, 70 people and I had already graduated my master's.
Speaker 2:So I got bored. I didn't know what to do. So I was like I'll go back to school, I'm going to go get my doctorate. So I did, I enrolled, and so I started my doctorate, and then 2020 happened, and everybody knows what happened in 2020. And so I was like, oh, I can finish, can finish this. Well then I took the opportunity to move from North Carolina to Michigan, to the headquarters of my last company. So then I went from board board 2020, you know, 2020, michigan headquarters for automotive, and it was nuts like I was working six, seven days, 12 hours a day trying to do my dissertation. Um, so then I was like you know, rethinking my entire life decisions, but it's like, so I stuck through it. So, um, you know, when I came back, I was like, all right, I'm a doctorate now, so we need to, we, we need to talk about what I'm doing when the work that went into getting your doctorate is that.
Speaker 1:I know it's. It's a different level, maybe, of learning and you have to do a dissertation. Is it kind of like doing a master's all over again? It's not like you don't, oh no, no, no. I mean, just how is it different from getting your master's?
Speaker 2:So with your doctorate and I can't speak for all of them, but for the doctorate in business it was a lot of writing. So it wasn't like here is two chapters and I'm going to ask you questions or whatever right it's. You have to research and they want you to be a strategic thinker and they want you to be a problem solver right. You to be a problem solver right. Um, so I would have done two more years of classes over my dissertation any day of the week. Um, I, because my classes.
Speaker 2:I was like this is okay, right, because I'm a talker, obviously, right, I, I can, I, I can think. I'm like, oh yeah, this is what you should do, right, and especially because it was more business and HR related, which is what I'm passionate about, right. So then I got to answer based on my thoughts and what my research and stuff. And then I get to the dissertation part and you've got like this 100-page research that you've got to, you know do surveys and questions and you know have to find a population, and I was just like holy crap, like I mean it was intense, it was. It was intense up until the dissertation. I thought I would do five doctorates over because my master's was. That was hard, um, but that dissertation I was just like this is gonna break me. Yeah, this was going to absolutely break me, but, um, it didn't. I got through it, and so now I make everybody call me doctor yeah, well, congratulations on that.
Speaker 1:It's a great accomplishment and uh, so again, thank you for coming. Oh, absolutely, thanks for making a house call.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes.
Speaker 1:So, dr Casey Pitcher, thank you so much for coming today.
Speaker 2:It's good to see you, thank you.
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