A monthly Newsletter for Employees & Friends of Bellingham Cold Storage Company.
September
Employee of the Month By Jose Roques
Anniversaries
John Ohman
Ted Andricos
Gladys Cuellar
John Kevin Hogue
Santos Castro
Alan Lindquist
Gary Stromberg
Leland Patrick
Lusia Brown
Charles Craig Jr.
Colin Bobb
September 2015
35
18
10
8
6
6
5
4
2
2
1
The September birthstone is the
Sapphire. It is the second hardest
substance on earth after diamond. The sapphire has traditionally symbolized truth, sincerity
and loyalty. It is said that the sapphire brings peace, joy and wisdom to its wearer.
The first day of fall will arrive on
September 22nd but let’s not rush
it along, ok?
Happy Labor Day!
BCS will be closed on Monday,
Congratulations to Abraham Sierra Mora for being
September’s EOM. Abraham has always been an
outstanding employee. This year he was one of the
key players in receiving the berry trucks at Dock 1.
Berry customers have traditionally delivered to the
Orchard Plant. They are familiar with that plant, and
have enjoyed the great service that the Orchard
crew provides. Asking them to deliver to the waterfront was a change to what they are used to, and
there could have been some concerns about what
type of service they would get. With Abraham’s easy
going attitude, quiet demeanor and hard work, any
of those concerns rapidly went away. Along with
that, Abraham is one of the team leads for warehouses 10 and 11. I can honestly say that I have not
seen those warehouses look so organized in a long
time.
For all of his hard work, Abraham is a highly deserving recipient of the Employee of the Month award.
Thank you and Congratulations Abraham.
Abraham and Jose at Building M
Volunteer Opportunities By Ian Bakke
The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer somebody else up. ~ Mark Twain
The United Way of Whatcom County is always looking for committed and enthusiastic individuals to help out with various activities. There are several ways that people can help
achieve their mission, either at the United Way office or out in the community. There are a
variety of volunteer options at the United Way office. Long-term opportunities include being
a member of the Fund Distribution Committee, assisting with our fundraising drive as an
Employee Campaign Coordinator, or participating in one of our student intern positions.
Less intensive opportunities available are volunteering with special projects, such as event
coordination and bulk mailings. For more information about how you can volunteer for the
United Way, contact Tamara Tregoning, Director of Resource Development, 360.733.8670
x101.
Help the salmon of Terrell Creek with the third annual Run with the Chums 5k Fun Run/Walk
or the kids 1K Smolt Sprint.
More information & registration: www.chumsofterrellcreek.org or 360-526-2381 x103
September 7th for Labor Day.
When: Saturday September 19, 2015 10am – 1pm
Watch your mail for information
about the BCS Health Fair scheduled for September 15th and 16th
this year. There will be prizes for
participants!
Join the Chums of Terrell Creek for this fun event and learn how your watershed works. Run
or walk through this scenic part of the Terrell Creek watershed. Then stay for some fun activities and learn about where the water in your neighborhood goes.
Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success. ~
Napoleon Hill
Cogs Corner—Side Effects By Mike Coggins
Hello, everyone. I haven't taken the time to check in with anybody at the Icebreaker lately. I remember
fondly those of you that not only enjoyed my monthly articles but told me so. So here's another Cogs
Corner. And in honor of all the years Lotte dedicated to the publication, this ones for her.
Lotte Freeman has
left the building ladies and gentlemen.
In payroll, congratulate Natasha Noso
who has stepped up
to the challenge.
The vacancy created by Natasha Noso
allowed for our very
own Treena Kiefer
to accept a new
challenge of her
own, the open position in traffic.
Twenty years ago my parents came out from the heartland to visit my wife and I on the left coast. We
weren't estranged from them by any means but we didn't get to see each other much. There was a significant distance between our respective abodes. Consequently, Jackie and I weren't real familiar with
their daily routines. Mom and Dad were of retirement age; although Dad
still preached on Sundays, visited a few shut-ins, and Mom still played
the piano for the congregation every Sunday service. The first morning
they spent at our place I walked into the dining room and Mom was fixing
Dad his breakfast. I'm kidding. It looked like enough stuff to constitute a
meal but it was really all just Dad's daily dosage of vitamins, supplements, over the counter aids and prescribed medications. I was astonished. Dad was in his early seventies. I was in my late forties. I took a
Tylenol once in a while (may cause nausea, stomach pain, itching, dark
urine, or jaundice) and that was about it. Dad was very deliberately, with
the help of a glass of orange juice, ingesting ten or twelve pills varying in
size from a baby aspirin to a tablet that would choke a small horse.
Jackie and Mike Coggins
Since that glimpse into the practices of some elderly Americans, I myself
Author and BCS Retiree
have been led down the path of prescribed medications. I take three,
count 'em, three blood pressure meds (side effects may include respiratory tract infections, fatigue, cerebral infarction, tinnitus and sleep disturbance). My cholesterol is controlled by a
daily dose of one of those horse tabs I saw my Dad
choking down
that day so long ago (kidney failure, difficulty with swallowing, fever,
muscle cramps or skin rash). I have a prescription for
diazapam
“And there's no telling (constipation, sexual dysfunction, incontinence) for
occasional back
problems and occasionally take Coricidin (liver damwhat reading this
age, skin reactions and in extreme cases, death) for allergies. I have,
article all the way
also, been assailed as we all have been, by television commercials
touting Viagra
(heart attack, sudden vision loss, painful erection, hearthrough has done to
ing loss or seizure), Prozac (skin rash, chills, joint or muscle pain,
you but it's too late
diarrhea or convulsions) and Ambien (headaches, vertigo, vomiting,
now.”
dizziness, amnesia or dangerous seizures).
My, my, the
chances we take with our health to stay healthy. And
you sure can't
count on the medical studies to inform us of the safety
of this food or that food. In my sixty plus years butter has been the enemy, then the preferred spread
over margarine, then back to the enemy at least three or four times. The same goes for eggs. Good for
you, bad for you, good for you, bad for you.
Well. I'm here to tell you that you haven't heard the whole story. There are other, much less publicized,
every day conditions that can cause unusual side effects. Consider playing or listening to music (side
effects may include euphoria, increased heart rate, absent-mindedness). Taking a walk in a park
(sudden acute vision enhancement, leg muscle stimulation and increased lung capacity). Sharing a
meal outdoors with someone you care for (gastronomical satisfaction, increased metabolic functions
and overall sense of well being). The anticipation of sharing time with a grandchild (cerebral cortex
stimulation, elevated sense of protracted well being). Pets can certainly have an impact on our daily
lives. Interaction with a cuddly puppy or a lively
kitten can produce any number of emotional
and physical responses and should be handled
carefully. And there's no telling what reading
When I make dolphin shaped cookies,
this article all the way through has done to
I use all porpoise flour.
you but it's too late now. You've already read
What is round on both ends and hi in the
it. Hopefully, it hasn't produced any vomiting
middle?
or dangerous seizures. If it has, I'm really
sorry but thanks for listening anyway.
Ohio
Pun Times will be had:
BCS Earns SQF Level 3 Recertification By Kevin Harbine
Bellingham Cold Storage (BCS) is committed to maintaining safe, quality foods at its cold storage operations in Washington State. We are delighted to announce that we recently achieved a
level 3 Safe Quality Foods (SQF) recertification.
“It is our second year operating with SQF’s highest management system (level 3) and we are
pleased that our audit score went up to a 94 when tested by our certifying body, NSF,” said
Doug Thomas, Bellingham Cold Storage President. “We are dedicated in supporting customers
using Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognized programs like SQF and BRC”. Compliance Manager, Kevin Harbine, added that “achieving the SQF level 3 recertification is another
way for BCS to strengthen its relationship with valued customers and tenant processors”. “We
have an outstanding team at Bellingham Cold Storage to continue the SQF effort into the future”. Congratulations BCS team on this accomplishment!
Gladys Cuellar - QA Technician
Wow! Never learned that in school! By Judi Edwards
Both the Technical College and Whatcom Community College
have internship requirements for their computer and networking courses. These students are armed with a solid base of
classroom knowledge but generally have no on
the job experience in the field. Many companies in Whatcom County invest in the community by providing internships for these students
and BCS has officially joined their ranks. The
BCS IT Department has now had one intern
from each school. Both have been excellent and will go into the
workforce as fine employees. Taking on an intern is a double sided adventure. Learning goes both ways; the intern brings to us the
latest in many technologies and we provide special skills like real
world trouble shooting, collaboratively interacting with the folks
who actually use the tech tools to do their jobs and the importance
of IT to the success of the business. IT is customer service, problem solving and thinking outside the box. And, just because a
technology is cool and new doesn’t mean a business is using it.
Dear BCS,
It’s been a month and a half since I started my internship here, and now it’s finally time for me to check out. It was a ton of fun working with all of you! It honestly feels like I’ve been here for twice as long, and what I learned here definitely helped me get a foot-hold in
starting my career.
Thank you to those whom I worked with for being patient with me, and for welcoming me and treating me with respect. I’ll definitely
miss the work environment here, and the way it felt being here.
I’d like to give a special thanks to Judi for giving me the opportunity to Intern here, and for tolerating the
trials that came with getting all the paper work figured out on my end. You always gave me a new learning opportunity whenever I stepped into your office. Thank you also for indulging my curiosity, and explaining the inner workings of some of the problems we fixed.
Thanks also to Lucas for sharing your real-estate with me, my desk got so instantly cluttered I wouldn’t
have blamed you for charging me rent when I started to encroach on your own desk space! I appreciate
both you and Ian showing me a little more of what you do.
Finally I’d like to thank Nick for training me. Thank you for setting your time aside to find things for me
to do. There was never a time when I showed up and had nothing to work on. You’ve been a great instructor! I appreciate your sense of humor at the work place, and I apologize for the mental breakdowns
I might have caused you with some of our ‘out of the box’ solutions.
I always had a good laugh, and good insight on how to solve a problem. Again, it’s been a pleasure
being here. Goodbye everyone!
Karl Hubbard—IT Intern
Nick Dennis and Karl Hubbard
Got good words? If YOU would like to contribute to the BCS community, please contact the Icebreaker editorial staff via
email at [email protected] or call 360-733-1640. We would love hearing from more of the team!
We’re on the Web!
example.com
Newsletter Editor, Ian Bakke
September 2015