Founder's Day

I am starting this post at 9:31am from the comfort of my pajamas and bed, because I have the day off.  I don't have the day off because it's a snow day.  I don't have the day off because today marks the 10th anniversary of the merger of Belgian brewer Interbrew with Brazilian rival AmBev to form InBev, the world's largest brewer...a name that may invoke a bit of distaste in the mouth of some St. Louis locals who love the heritage of Anheuser Busch in these parts.

No, my friends, I have the day off because this is Founder's Day.

What is Founder's Day, you may ask?  It is this man's birthday.

His birthday is actually March 4, and not March 3, but the day off can float a bit as best meets the calendar each year.

Who is this man, you may ask?  This man is John Burgess Brunner, the founder of Vi-Jon.  I have told you before that I love my job, because I do love my job.  I love what I do, and I would love what I do if I did it somewhere else.

But I also love the company I work for, and Founder's Day is one of those days that reminds me why I love this company.  This day serves as an annual reminder of who we are, why we are here, what we do, what work is really all about.  For if you think work is all about making a paycheck, you are sadly mistaken, my friend.

When I came to work for Vi-Jon back in 1998, this man's son, John W. Brunner, the successor to John B., was still living and actively retired from this company, which may not be a phrase that makes any sense to people who do not know Vi-Jon or our history, but it accurately depicts his role at that time.  In fact, I remember the first company Christmas breakfast that I attended at Maggie O'Brien's.  I believe that I have the location right.  What I do remember is this man - albeit a bit older version of this face - sitting down across the table from me just to introduce himself and find out who I was.  Me.  A lowly newbie customer service representative.  But that's just it.  He never defined people by their job title.

I could go on to talk more about Vi-Jon's historical timeline, but our website tells the story pretty well if you want to click on the "About Us > Our History" button here.  I will include a couple of quick screen shot pics for fellow Vi-Jon employee's enjoyment before I move on to the real focus of today's post.

Here are the very early years, before we were known as Vi-Jon, including that infamous peroxide "lab" pic from the early 1900's.

And here is a nice pic of both John B. and John W. since John B's tenure was cut short at such a young age.

These are the sort of pics that bring us smiles, but there are plenty more on the website along with video of the various time periods.  I think most anyone would enjoy viewing these.

I want to spend the rest of this post fleshing out more of what I said above:

This day serves as an annual reminder of who we are, why we are here, what we do, what work is really all about.  

I've mentioned the Brunner family name a few times in this post already, and I haven't done so to be a name dropper.  I have done so, because I want to highlight the values that this family instilled in Vi-Jon through all their years of leadership.  For I do believe that we wouldn't be who we are had they not lived out these values for decades.  Are they a perfect family?  Of course not.  I believe they would be the first to say so.  But families build reputations, and this family has built a good one, a solid one, one that is not contained within only their family dynamics but is, instead, carried over to their circles of influence, including the company I've grown to love working for over the past 15 years, Vi-Jon.   

So just what are those values?  For starters, the value of hard work.  I believe I can safely say that this family does not embrace the culture of entitlement that seems to pervade a great deal of our world.  We are not entitled to all sorts of privileges - privileges that used to be understood as coming  from lots of hard work lived out responsibly over time.  I know, that's an old-fashioned idea these days - that yin and yang of responsibility and privilege - but old-fashioned or not, it is still true. There is no shame in hard work; it is, in fact, quite the opposite of shameful.  It is something to be pursued, to be proud of, energizing.  If you haven't seen it yet, Ashton Kutcher espouses the virtues of hard work quite well, and that he never had a job that he was better than.  Vi-Jon values hard work at all levels of the company, and does not see any job as less important than other ones.  The Brunners have lived out the importance of the janitor, the production line worker, the salesperson, the cost accountant, the forklift driver, the scheduler.  Hard work usually involves a team to make it happen, and that is definitely the case at Vi-Jon.

Integrity is another big one.  Saying what we mean and doing what we say.  Honesty.  Trustworthiness.  The confidence that comes from knowing you can trust the individual to do the right thing whether anyone else is watching or not.  The knowledge that people who stick around, who last the longest, are those who go the extra mile.  I have one individual in particular in mind as I type this.  He works on our IT service desk, and doesn't just set up your new laptop.  He sets it up so that you retain the features that came from working with your previous one - like not having to recreate your Outlook frequently used contacts.  Integrity.  It's a cool thing.  A very cool thing.

Perseverance.  This goes hand in hand with hard work, but there are lots of times when hard work isn't a short-term deal.  Perseverance kicks in when hard work takes time, a long time - when you don't cross the finish line early but it is still a long way off.

Hope.  I know, that sounds like an odd value to mention, especially in the context of a company, but it's true.  I have seen this family offer hope quite a few times before.  In hard times.  In grief.  In public speaking and in private, one-on-one conversations when confusion was the prevailing emotion.

Service.  Customer service, internally and externally.  Public service.  Community service.  Quality service.  Service in the big things.  Service in the little things.  Military service.  This picture typifies this value.

For really, the last value I will mention sums up all of the others.  People matter.  It's all about people, folks.  People matter to God.  People matter to each other.  You can have the best product around, but if you forget that it is made by and made for people, you've lost the game anyway.  You can pursue excellence and be world class, but if you forget that people live out that excellence and are what make something world class, your excellence will have no staying power.  People laugh and cry and dream and love and give until they have nothing left to give and then give just a bit more.  Somehow.  Someway.  We do.  Yes, my friend.  People matter.  And we do well to remember this value.

One other thing happens each year with Founder's Day besides a day off from work.  Because these values are more than simply words, a tradition began long before I ever knew the Vi-Jon name, of recognizing those employees who have lived out these values with special awards and statements of appreciation.  I enjoy this every year, and reminds me again why I love working for Vi-Jon.  Do other companies live out these same values and reward hard work?  Sure.  Absolutely.  I applaud that, too.  But that doesn't detract from what I love about working here.  Nay, it simply strengthens it.

I will tag a number of work associates when I post this link on Facebook.  Some still work for Vi-Jon.  A few have moved on to other places of employment or even started their own business.  A few others never really worked "for" Vi-Jon, but worked with us, and lived out these values, too.  And I am sure that I will forget a name or two or ten.  But I hope to honor each and every one of them as well by this post.

For this post is about more than only honoring the Brunner's legacy.  It is about what motivates us when we our energy wanes...the worthy calling of hard work...the joy of recognizing and rewarding others...

I am honored to have known and worked along side so many of you.  Thank you for living out these values in front of me.

Love,
Deb