RETA Breeze Sep-Oct 2022

2021-22 BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN Aer Teale, CARO, CRST Lineage Logistics PRESIDENT Keith Harper, CARO Tyson Foods Inc

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Bengie Branham, CIRO, RAI SCS Engineers TREASURER Michael Hawkins, CARO Midatlantic Refrigeration, LLC SECOND VICE PRESIDENT David Gulcynski, CIRO Dot Foods Inc. DIRECTORS Alan Gervais, CARO, CIRO Western Precooling Systems Andrew Palomar, CARO APCCO Bill Lape, CARO, CIRO, CRST SCS Engineers Debbie Koske Calibration Technologies, Inc. Edward Johnson, CARO

CHANGE Change is in the air. It’s fall again, the weather is cooling down, the leaves are changing, and it is time for RETA Conference! I am looking forward to seeing many dear friends and meeting new people. RETA is a beloved organiza tion, and many of us would like for it to never change. I would be fine to continue to see the same wonderful people that I have come to know and love year after year after year. But I know that is unrealistic. Things change. One of the changes that must take place is bringing new people into the RETA family—new faces and new ideas to help us remain relevant to a changing workplace. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher said, “The only constant in life is change.” Josh Lee, one of my RETA friends from the Northwest Arkansas RETA chapter has used as his e-mail signature tagline another quote from Heraclitus. Josh’s signature tagline used to be: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” The physical circumstances of the world we live in are in a constant state of change, but so are we. We must change, even if we don’t want to. Certainly, sometimes we don’t want to change. It seems to me like I am fast approaching the age where it is harder to change. I find that I am much more resistant to change. Either that, or I am getting old enough that I don’t remem ber how resistant to change I was in the

Schwans Global Supply Chain, Inc. Gordon Rascoe, Jr, CIRO, CRST, RAI ConAgra Brands Jeff Lublin Kolbi Pipe Marker Co. JeremyMurfin AC & R Specialists Jim Kovarik Ricky Jimenez, CIRO Mericle Mechanical Inc Victor Dearman, Jr. Peco Foods, Inc COMMITTEE CHAIRS Certification: Lee Pyle, CARO SCS Tracer Environmental Education: Eric Girven, CIRO, CRST, RAI SCS Tracer Environmental Marketing: Dascha Whitmore Stellar Membership: Michael Hawkins, CARO Midatlantic Refrigeration, LLC National Conference: Jim Kovarik Gamma Graphics Services Publications: Ed Johnson, CARO Gamma Graphics Services Raymond Urban, CARO Lineage Logistics

Keith Harper, RETA National President

past. I love RETA just the way it is. I also realize that if you desire to get better, change is required. The workplace has changed. The relationship that exists between employees and employers is very different than what existed when I entered the workforce years ago. Today, due to labor shortages, workers have the upper hand. It is common for people to change jobs and even change careers many times. This too will change in years to come. As employers grapple with increasing labor costs, they look to automation, the way that they looked to outsourcing labor in the past. RETA’s role in an increasingly automated workplace is centered squarely on the technical worker. As things change, we

Schwans Global Supply Chain Executive Director: Jim Barron

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