Save the Date
Ashland's benefits date to be determined.
Health Challenge: Winners
This Slimdown Showdown weight loss challenge has come to an end with 3 lucky winners. Winners were determined by the total percentage of weight loss throughout the challenge. Thanks to everyone who participated in the challenge. We hope, even if you didn't win a prize, you won with yourself and your total weight loss. Congratulations to you all!
First Place: Gym Membership Reimbursement for one year - Goes to Wayne Yocom
Second Place: $200 Dick's Sporting Goods Gift Card - Goes to Igor Shirobokov
Third Place: $100 Nike Gift Card - Goes to Wayne Price
Great Job Everyone!
Out of the Box Awards Program
The Out of the Box program is our new recognition program that is launching on April 1st. This new program allows for immediate recognition and flexibility in reward options. Some people value cash, some value time off, others like to shop. With this program managers can reward employees throughout the year rather than waiting for year-end results.
On launch day, all employees will receive their logins to NectarHR, the system this program will be run out of. In Nectar, both Managers and employees alike will have a Points to Give balance that can be awarded for the exceptional demonstration of Pearson’s core values. Points are delivered shoutout style via a social feed that can be viewed directly in Nectar, in Teams, and on the SharePoint homepage. 10 Nectar points = 1 US Dollar. Every month, employees will receive 50 Nectar points ($5) to spend on their peers. Did Kellee display amazing teamwork? Send her points for a coffee. Did Larry step in to help smooth over a sticky situation with a customer? Send him points!
So you earned points…what happens next? You can choose to spend your points on what you value most. Your points can be redeemed for cash, Company swag, gift cards, extra vacation days, or spent directly through Amazon!
We are looking forward to using this tool to recognize our amazing employees!
Questions on the program? Contact Human Resources.
St. Patrick's Day Search for the Pot of Gold
St Patrick's Day was lots of fun and very challenging to hunt for the Pots of Gold in the facilities. They were all eventually found. We had 5 winners in the Ashland facility and 10 winners in the Spokane facility, who each won a six-pack of beer!
Pancake Breakfast
In celebration of being able to gather again, we held a pancake breakfast at each facility.
Lots of good food and comradery. It's so great to be able to socialize again!
Special Dates in April
1st - April Fool's Day
5th - Gold Star Spouses Day
10th - Palm Sunday
15th - Good Friday
17th - Easter Sunday
18th - Tax Filing Deadline Day (April 15th is a holiday - Emancipation Day)
22nd - Earth Day
27th - International Guide Dog Day
Employee Spotlight
Employee: Dylan Hansen
Position: Electrical/Mechanical Technician
Hello. My name is Dylan Hansen. I am a tech on the shop floor in Spokane. I've worked at Pearson since October of 2020. Honestly, I was hesitant to come to work here. I have almost always worked an outdoor mostly physical labor job that doesn't require much thought. My dad, Todd Hansen, tried to convince me for years to come work at Pearson but I was very intimidated by how much goes into the machines. I finally gave in after seeing so many people who have worked here for so long and knew it would be a great place to make a career. Now that I've been working here awhile it is much less intimidating and there is always someone to come give advice . That's why I like working here. Good people. Good environment.
I grew up on the outskirts of Spokane with my dad working here for most of my life. A couple years after school I moved to North Dakota where I lived for 7 years. I had all sorts of jobs there. Oil field, farming, John Deere etc. After those seven years I finally learned that there were no mountains in North Dakota and I knew it was time to come home. I have two daughters that are still there, and I see them as often as possible. In my free time I'm usually working on vehicles ranging from drag cars to full blown off road cars.
Working here has been a great experience so far. It's always a plus when you look forward to going to work instead of dreading it.
Thank you for sharing, Dylan!
Sparky 384 J.R. Tucker High School’s FIRST FRC RoboticsTeam (VA)
Many of you may not know that Pearson Packaging Systems has been a sponsor for J.R.Tucker’s High School Robotics Team, FIRST FRC, in Virginia. The team is known as Sparky #384. The former company, Flexicell, Inc. sponsored the team for many years prior.
There appears no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic never failed to throw powerful curveballs. The team suffered the heavy toll and immense impact of the pandemic like everybody else. Due to the COVID-19 safety protocols, the team was not able to attain access to the industrial machine shop generously provided by the team’s main sponsor, Pearson Packaging Systems. As an alternative to canceling the 2022 season, they collectively decided to persevere and move all of their belongings into a classroom at school where they would eventually design and build a simple and elegant powerhouse of a robot. Given that the team has not worked at school with so little mechanical luxuries. The beginning of the build season started off a bit rocky.
Unfortunately, a robotics storage area for the team did not make the cut during the design process of the high school’s new campus, so they had to adapt and spread the team out between the computer science engineering classroom and the workshop classroom, which worked for a short period of time. But as the build season neared its end, they needed more room and supplies that the school could not provide for the team. Nevertheless, the challenging situation of build season did not stop Sparky 384 from continuing to work long hours to produce a beautiful industrial-inspired machine ready for the competition. The team’s elegant design accomplished wonders at their first official competition of 2022, and although they experienced some minor setbacks, they ended victoriously after advancing to semifinals and finals with their three-team alliance winning first place!
The Team continually raises money on their GoFundMe account and would appreciate any donations!
Where in the World is Pearson?
New Kingston, PA.
Philips Respironics is a medical device company that manufactures ventilators, among other products too. At Philips, their purpose is to improve people’s health and well-being through meaningful innovation. They aim to improve 2.5 billion lives per year by 2030, including 400 million in underserved communities. Pearson worked with them for two palletizers that included a large amount of conveying and integration. Those who worked on this project, have recently considered it to be 100% closed and Philips is very happy with their new equipment.
` RPC-C Compact Palletizer
Pearson's RPC-C Compact Palletizer is our smallest palletizing cell. It is ideal for a single production line running one SKU at a time. Capable of picking cases up to 40ilbs. at rates up to 12 cases per minute. The cell comes pre-assembled on a common base for easy placement and start-up. It also has an intuitive HMI with a pallet configuration tool to support operation, changeovers and troubleshooting. Plus, the cell is equipped with Remote Access capability.
Birthdays
1st - Joshua Newburg
3rd - Terry Gaston
5th - Rachel Graham
6th - Travis Viehouser
10th - Brent Schrader & Daniel Sopkowiak
11th - Gabriel Botkin
14th - Keolalani Akana & Joe Hurst
20th - Todd Hansen
22nd - Brendon Olson
23rd - Brendan Weatherly
25th - Travis Hunter
29th - Alan Niezgocki
Anniversaries
1 Year: Todd Answine, Gabriel Bernal, Ken O'Connell, Tyler Reno, Maria Sepulveda & Michael Wood
3 Years: David Bowen
5 Years: Ron Cummings & Niels de Koning
8 Years: Joshua James & Jason Walsh
11 Years: Yasir Hameed
13 Years: Silvia Horton
24 Years: Steve Cromer
25 Years: Dusty McQuary
36 Years: Daniel Sopkowiak
Promotions
Isaac Walton - Senior Controls Engineer
Tyler Squires - Senior Controls Engineer
Maria Sepulveda - Senior Buyer
Diane Long - Senior Accountant
Mike Oien - Accounting Manager
Jessie Wicker - Intermediate Accountant
Stephanie Loft - Senior HR Generalist
Congratulations to You All!
Retirements
Mark Davis
April 1, 2022
Mark is retiring after 20 years with Pearson. He was hired as a Mechanical Technician, in which he did that job, plus a whole lot more. He would step up for a sales demonstration, or conduct a FAT, or guide a customer through training at their facility, with nothing but professionalism. Mark has been nothing but a dedicated employee through the years. He will truly be missed. Please wish Mark a happy retirement!
New Employees
Steve Stanislaw - Regional Sales Manager for the Mountain Region
John Hillard - Applications Engineer
Estephanie Alvarado - Customer Service Administrator
Brandy Dominy - Parts Sales Representative
Nick Lee - Applications Engineer
Devyn Brewton - Sales Development Representative
Coty Hendrix - Inventory Specialist
Welcome, To You All!
Brain Game
The first five people to solve this riddle will receive a $5.00 Starbucks gift card! Email your response to: zhutson@pearsonpkg.com
What can you put in a cup, but you can't take out, but you can eat it?
March Blog Brain Game Answer: He who makes it, has no need for it. He who buys it, has no use for it. He who uses it can neither see or feel it. What is it? A coffin
Winners: Natalie Goldthorpe, Wayne Price, Jackie Lopez and Travis Viehouser
Did You Know?
Ford unveiled their first Mustang on April 17, 1964, costing $2368.00.
Quote Of The Month
“The first day of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.”
― Mark Twain
Learn A New Word
Compendious - Containing or presenting the essential facts of something in a comprehensive but concise way.
Hot Beef Sundae - An April Fool's Twist
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 bowls
Ingredients:
2 cups roast beef with gravy
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
½ cup sour cream
4 cherry tomatoes
Directions:
Pile mashed potatoes in each serving bowl to resemble a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Top with roast beef and gravy to resemble hot fudge. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese on top. Dollop sour cream (the whipped cream) on top. Garnish each sundae with a cherry tomato. Kids will love this idea.
Enjoy! If you decide to make this delicious meal, make sure to snap a photo and email it to zhutson@pearsonpkg.com to be featured in next month's blog.
We had two people make last month's recipe (Pepper Steak)- putting their own twist on it!
Created by: Glen Thompson Created by: Zane Klemke
