1971: The first Starbucks was established and the cost of gas was $0.36 per gallon. It was also the year that Jerry Ralston began his career with L&P.
Jerry, fresh out of school, “just wanted to work.” For the past 45 years, he’s accomplished his goal. He joined Leggett as an employee at Carthage Spring, a facility which produces coil mattress units. In his first role, he cleaned boiling rooms (with actual dirt floors), tidied up bathrooms, and performed minor repairs. Many days, he says, he returned home looking like a coal miner.
He then worked in the Chromecraft department, where he monitored machinery and crated finished goods. After about seven years and wearing several hats, he was relocated to Phoenix, Arizona to work at our Phoenix Spring location.
In 1991, he was relocated back to Carthage Spring, where he now works as the Maintenance Superintendent. “I’ve really enjoyed seeing processes become more automated over the years,” Jerry said. “This job used to be extremely labor-intensive. It has been very rewarding to be a part of significant change at Leggett.”
When not at work, Jerry enjoys spending time outdoors with his family, playing golf, and fishing. In the next five years, he would love to retire and build a log cabin at the lake.
Kile (left) and Jerry inside the Carthage Spring facility.
Over the last two weeks, we’ve shared concepts from our in-house class, Difficult Interactions (see Part 1 & Part 2). While creating the class, it occurred to our Learning & Development team that no one was a better representation of difficult interactions in the workplace than Darth Vader. This developed into an over-arching Star Wars theme which is visible right from the get-go.
With the help of a local Darth Vader-helmet-owning employee, Jim Spena, and our wonderful Creative Services team, we captured a series of fun photos for the presentation. Check out some of our favorites below!
Flip through our second of two slide decks which focuses on how to neutralize misunderstandings before they turn into conflict as well as what to do when the difficult interaction is unavoidable.
This is part of our in-house class, Difficult Interactions, taught by Director of Employee and Labor Relations Michael Altman. Check out Difficult Interactions – Part 1.
Flip through our first of two slidedecks which focuses on the anatomy of difficult interactions including what causes them, why they’re so difficult, why we avoid them, and how they escalate.
This is part of our in-house class, Difficult Interactions, taught by Director of Employee and Labor Relations Michael Altman. For more learning content like this, check out our 2-part SlideShare series on The Art of Coaching Employees.
On August 27, Leggett & Platt hosted the 5th annual Golf Scramble to benefit the Carthage Area United Way. A total of 48 teams – our biggest turnout yet – competed throughout the day in the golf scramble, poker tournament, and hole-in-one and putting contests. Altogether we raised $13,000! We couldn’t have made the day successful without the players, corporate sponsors, and our 50 volunteers. Here are some of our favorite photos from the day!
If you want to get to know Leggett & Platt, you should get to know our people first. What better way for you to do that than by seeing a few of their favorite things.
Jim’s role: Staff Vice President in Accounting
Job in a nutshell: Leading a team that ensures the accuracy of Leggett’s financial information, reinforces the integrity of internal controls, and continuously improves existing processes.
Want to see more? Check out the series introduction.
Liliana Rupp’s outlook on life is infectious. Her enthusiasm for her family, her work, and her community bleeds into everything that she does. She smiles as she talks through list of activities, which makes it seem as if she’s discovered a way to fit extra hours into the week. She speaks joyfully of her job, her upcoming test for U.S. citizenship, and her volunteer work with her church.
But she absolutely beams when she talks about her children. “The best job I ever had was being a parent.”
A single mother of two, Liliana permanently moved to the United States from her native Colombia to give her kids different opportunities than she had. After a brief time in New York, the family of three relocated to Carthage, Missouri, where Liliana spent time as a foreign exchange student. Currently she works as Translation Services Specialist at L&P, a role she has held for 4 years. Continue reading
