Randy Hart started working for the company on June 3, 1991, which was then Wampler-Longacre Chicken, Inc. He began his 34-year career with the company at the Broadway, VA plant. He worked in the debone department, live hang, rehang and was in a management/supervisor trainee program both in Broadway and Moorefield. After the completion of his trainee program, he was offered a position in the broiler department in Moorefield as a Service Technician. Since he graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in Agriculture, this suited his career goals, so he accepted the offer. Randy has been working in Live Operations since then. He was a Broiler Tech for five years, Breeder Tech for five years and then went to Pullet Tech, where he is currently working.
I asked Randy how much has changed since he started working for the company, and he said what has changed the most is the management of the birds. There is a lot more emphasis on all the aspects of raising them; including weights, feed, feathers and many other management practices.
Randy and I talked about the supervisors and managers he has worked for during his years with the company. He said he liked working with Dave Coyle, who he worked with for a long time and with Mike Ellington.
When I asked Randy about the most memorable event he remembers since he started working, he said the flood in 1996 was definitely memorable! He helped in cleaning up after the waters receded. He also remembers the heavy snows that would collapse the roofs on chicken houses, also causing a lot of clean up.
When Randy isn’t working, he likes spending his time with his family. He has three sons, one at home attending college, one at Camp Dawson in the National Guard and one in North Carolina is a welding fabricator building poultry equipment. Randy and his wife love to go camping, travel, family time and he likes to fish!
What does the future hold for Randy? He still has a few years before retirement but when he does retire, he and his wife want to do more traveling. They want to travel out west and visit the National Parks, and spend more time camping and fishing.
Thank you, Randy, for your dedication, hard work and loyalty to our Company!
About Pilgrim’s
Pilgrim’s employs more than 56,000 people and operates protein processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 14 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K. and continental Europe. The Company’s primary distribution is through retailers and foodservice distributors. For more information, please visit www.pilgrims.com.
