RETA Breeze Jul-Aug 2025

EDUCATION CORNER

fact, most don’t have any idea how important what we do is, but we do it anyway; and we do it every day because of our love for our industry. At any given hour of the day, one of our brothers and sisters are climbing onto a roof in the heat or cold to fix a problem, entering a noisy engine room to make sure everything is running as it should, meeting with customers or bosses who aren’t really happy to receive the news we must give them. We scratch our heads trying to find the answers, all for that one moment when we know we fixed something others couldn’t. We know that satis faction is short lived because there are maintenance tasks, work orders and more issues to solve. We go to work knowing we could be at work for hours past the normal work schedule, while others are at home. We miss events that we dearly want to be at. We spend hours on our knees, on roofs, in basements, in backyards, no matter the freezing cold, blazing hot, screaming winds, or pouring rain. We

do this all so others can eat fresh food, take the medicine they need to stay alive, be comfortable and even have a cold beverage. How could I, or any of us, not be humbled by being part of such a group? So, I say to all of you, never forget that learning never ends and none of us have all the answers. That’s why we have RETA-RSES, “our house,” where we can grow our knowledge, meet with each other to share ideas and most of all, not be alone as we go to war each day. Blessings to you all and never ever forget we are here for you, and because of you this is “your house,” your safe place.

To all Members from the Education Coordinator: As I started to write this article, I found myself reflecting on my first year as RETA’s Education Coordinator and how I am still very humbled to be able to do this work. It has been a year of learning so much more about RETA and RSES than I ever knew, a year of meeting new lifelong friends, and deepening friendships with those I already knew. Then, I reflected on why RETA and RSES are so dear to my heart. And the only answer that comes close to explaining it is, all of you, the mem bers of RETA-RSES. You are truly my brothers and sisters in arms, protecting the global food chain, the pharmaceutical industry and manufacturing. Keeping people warm when it is cold, and cool when it is hot—actually saving lives and so much more. You are an unsung army doing your jobs every day, without fanfare. In

Scott Melton scott@reta.org 1-509-833-5258

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