This Friday, April 30th, our Service Manager John Miley will be retiring after spending 9 years gracing us with his presence! He will be taking the month of May off to travel with his family and friends and will be back to do sales part time after that. We sat down with John and talk about his experience at Reeds Ferry Sheds.
- How long have you been with the company and what made you decide to try out a position at Reeds Ferry? I started in May of 2012, I was working at Presstek Digital Imaging in Hudson with Laurie Blanchette. She had just taken a management job at Reeds Ferry and suggested I apply.
- What job(s) did you have prior to working at Reeds Ferry? 1977 – 2000 Polaroid Corp, many jobs, from starting on Assemble line, Machine Operator, Film Manufacturing, R&D to Lead Tech on a 2 Story 800’ Long Coating Line. 2000 – 2012 Presstek Digital Imaging in Hudson R&D and Coating line.
- When you started, what was your position? What positions have you had since? I applied for Sales/Site Inspection Position but that spot was filled by someone else (can you believe it??), but they still decided to hire me to do part-time sales. Then in August I replaced Steve Carleton as Service Manager.
- What has kept you at Reeds Ferry? I have to say the people. It’s not just a family run business but my 2nd family. Everyone is treated with respect and even on your worst day you’ll still laugh at something, or just have a good cry if necessary. We all have to work right? Why not work at a place you enjoy?
- What are the three biggest changes you have seen in your time here? There were only 6 Delivery Trucks (now 13), 7 of us in the office (now 15) and only 1 building (now 5). A lot of growth over the past few years!
- Over the years, are there people that stand out in your mind, fellow employees that you enjoyed working with? I’d have to say Chuck Moriarty, our Service Foreman. He’s been my go-to guy since day one, he always gets the job done. Also Rich James in the shop (last minute materials needed for repairs, he always comes through) Lastly the entire office, Thank You all for always being there.
- You will still be working part-time sales at Reeds Ferry after you retire, just couldn’t handle fully parting ways eh? Thought it would be nice to go full circle, back to 2012 doing part-time sales!
- Tell me about your family and what you like to do outside of work? I’m Blessed with a great wife Diane and family; we’ve been together since 1973. We have 2 children John, Christine and 3 grandchildren Francis May, Gus and Penny. Outside of work I enjoy traveling to Aruba each year, Hampton Beach, skiing, golf, bowling and of course BBQ grilling.
- Any particular funny stories you would like to share? So many great ones! On one trip to look at a new product in Pennsylvania with Tim Carleton and Mike LaCorcia, we got a flat tire. We struggled to get the spare tire unlocked. Once we finally got that done, the battery was dead! That truck was gone a week later!
- Favorite moment at Reeds Ferry? Working with great people that go above and beyond, I have also enjoyed the special events, like Employee Appreciation Days!
We hope you have a great retirement John! Your “full-time efforts” as Reeds Service Manager were much appreciated and we look forward to having you back “part-time” to help customers land the perfect shed!
