10-19-2022 12:13am

Taylor Company rents ABC Supply Stadium for employee appreciation event

Poopsie the Sky Carp mascot sported a Taylor shirt while greeting the Gonzalez family.

On Saturday, October 8, Taylor Company employees were treated to a day of fun with their families at ABC Supply Stadium in Beloit, WI.

Taylor Company began in the Stateline area in 1926 and moved to Rockton in 1947. It currently has over 600 employees and continues to grow.

Although this event was centered around tenured employees, the company took the opportunity to welcome all employees, families, friends, and distributors to enjoy a day at the ballpark.

Service awards were given to those who have been with the company anywhere from five to 45 years. (See photo gallery at the end of this article). A total of 298 employees were recognized at the event for crossing a five year service milestone.

Taylor Company president Jeremy Dobrowolski said, “We have 4,575 yrs of service being recognized between 2019-2022.”

During those years, Taylor was unable to hold their usual annual service awards recognitions because of the pandemic.

This year, Taylor finally had that opportunity. In order to make it special, they wanted to do something different than the usual dinner with supervisors and management. Fun options were everywhere at the stadium, including picnic foods served buffet style.

The event's official lineup started with a Service Award VIP Reception at the Deck Deck Goose Bar.

Sounds of the band Minimal rang out through the stadium.

Fun on the field came in the form of Kids Zone activities including bounce houses, castles and a 35 ft. inflatable obstacle course. A batting game, pitching game, running the bases, a 3-1 sports game featuring football throwing, baseball and a basketball hoop added more chances for fun.

Yard games brought more laughs and smiles as challengers tried their hand at giant bowling, giant Jenga, Crazy Golf, Spikeball, Kan Jam, and corn hole games.

Food stations offered picnic foods, served buffet style with an extra option of grab-and-go foods such as popcorn, pretzels or Cracker Jacks. As you might expect with Taylor Company, soft serve ice cream was on the dessert menu, along with dessert nachos and funnel cake fries. Beverages were plentiful too.

Sky Carp merchandise manager Robert Villarreal kept the fun rolling by announcing the day's action. Villarreal interviewed different employees and discovered what department each works in.

Sporting a shirt with the word "Taylor" on it, Poopsie the Sky Carp mascot interacted with families and guests.

Employees at the event received a jute-style tote bag, made of burlap with cotton fabric on the inside. Inside the bag was a pre-ordered pullover, customized Taylor logo cookies, three complimentary raffle tickets for prizes, and a Taylor cookbook with recipes from Taylor employees and distributors.

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Employees used their tickets to enter to win Viking professional cookware, a Ninja Foodie 6 in 1, Apple AirPods, an air fryer, a Bose Smart Soundbar, a Nutri Bullet blender, or a gift certificate from Geronimo Hospitality.

Everyone had a chance to visit Kipp Photography's booth - photo opportunities were plentiful.

Before the awards ceremony started, Taylor Company president Jeremy Dobrowolski began his remarks by saying, "Taylor goes to market through a global network of 148 distributors that sell, install, and service our products in over 120 countries worldwide." He recognized employees who have been with the company for years.

45 years of service: Kevin Walsh, David Pohl, and Jim McCutchan
35 years of service: Steve Herringer, Kurt Simplot, Alan Strom, Warren Beckes, Scott Gilles, John Marshall, Brian Walsh, Timothy Puhl, Tim Whitney, George Hansen, and Dan Cornford
30 years of service: Amy Suess-Garcia

Dobrowolski credited the committee who put the event together.

During a “thank you” video from Taylor Company's distributors, the date of 2/24/22 appeared on a screen: the date that Russia invaded Ukraine. Taylor's distributor, Lodmar-Ukraine, was affected by the attack. The Taylor community sent support and supplies to Lodmar during this time.

Taylor Company always strives to be a present supporter of the local community and typically donates over $150,000 annually to community and customer backed charitable organizations.

This year, Taylor's goal was to recognize one local, non-profit charity every month. Along with a monetary donation, they would have a supply drive or to learn about volunteer opportunities that employees could get involved in

RAMP, Beloit Meals on Wheels, Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary, the Beloit/South Beloit Boys Girls Club, and Vets Roll have received a helping hand from Taylor Company over the years. They also support the United Way Blackhawk Region on an annual basis.

Taylor Company has been steadily increasing their team this past year and will continue to do so as they expand production capabilities.

“It was great to get everyone together and to celebrate as Team,” said Samantha Kavajecz, human resources generalist for Taylor Company.

Taylor Company has continued a legacy of years of dedication to the Rockton community. This can only be backed by a strong team who works together to accomplish goals of the company, one with deep roots.