Linda McKenzie started her 38-year career working for the company on June 15, 1987, which was then named Rockingham Poultry Marketing Coop, Inc. She had started working in the Evis department and took a little hiatus to take a trip to Hawaii, worked at the sewing factory, then in 1987 returned and started working in the Cut-up department. She has worked in the Sawline department and served as a backup lead for a while, and now she is a scale operator in the Flex Line department.
I asked Linda how much has changed since she started working for the company, and she said there have been so many changes. There are more employees and more birds are processed. It used to be a smaller group and everyone knew everyone. Now there is more automation, where many jobs used to be performed by hand. The overall environment is different than it used to be.
Linda and I talked about the supervisors and managers she has worked for during her years with the company. She said she enjoyed working with Paul Ketterman, Doris George and a few others that made an impact on her.
When I asked Linda about the most memorable event she remembers since she started working, she said it has to be when the expansion was built in the early 1990’s. She said it was so much larger than before, there was a lot more room and equipment. It was quite a change!
When Linda isn’t working, she enjoys swimming, hiking, camping and being outdoors. She has a son and there is a little one who she enjoys spending time with.
What does the future hold for Linda? She will continue working at Pilgrim’s but she said she has no clue right now. She is just taking life one day at a time since her life has changed after her husband’s passing. She has been thinking about retiring but would have to get a part-time job to keep busy.
Thank you, Linda, 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.
