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News | News Archive | Fall 2003
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To do it because it is right
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Hackett Takes Mission Trip to Honduras
Editor’s Note: John Hackett, a member of the First Baptist Church of Kernersville, participated in a Deep Impact Mission trip to Honduras this summer. He agreed to share some of his memories and experiences on the mission field.
The First Baptist Church of Kernersville regularly sponsors mission trips. This summer, I had the opportunity to participate in the NC Deep Impact Mission to Honduras. I was really excited about having the chance to serve God in a different country. My calender was already full but this trip was very important to me.
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I was one of 144 people divided into teams. These teams included a construction team, clown teams, music and drama teams, backyard Bible Clubs, and a medical team.
I worked on the construction team. It was our responsibility to add two classrooms to the Burning Bush Baptist Church, which was built last year by Deep Impact. Working in the sun with limited tools and not much water proved to be extremely challenging. It was also a very wonderful and fulfilling experience.
I brought home many wonderful memories. Some were of Manuel, our bus driver, who helped us on our construction team. He spoke no English, but that never slowed our ability to communicate.
Children would show up at the job site during lunch and we would play soccer. We shared our testimonies and sometimes even our lunch. We were amazed by how much they knew about the Lord and how they shared it with us. Every evening after our Bible lesson, we reported about what went on that day. That was one of my favorite times.
One of my most inspiring memories from the trip is of a little nine-year old boy named Bryan. He has heart deformities and, without surgery, he will die. Our medical team has found a pediatric doctor who will perform the surgery free of charge. We are raising other money to pay for the trip for Bryan and his mother to come to the USA.
The trip was very gratifying both spiritually and emotionally. I would not hesitate to go again if given the chance. I thought I was going to help a country and serve God, but that country and its people helped me and taught me about serving.
— John Hackett
New Faces
The Quality Oil Operations Department has undergone many changes in the past few years — additions of new team members, management restructuring, and space crunching, to name a few. During this time, we acquired Davie Oil Company from the thriving metropolis of Advance. Davie Oil maintained separate offices until June 30, 2003.
On July 1, the Davie office staff took a journey down the highway to our corporate office here in Winston-Salem. After a few weeks of hectic activity and shuffling of desks, they have become integrated into our existing Operations Department!
The staff has been a wonderful addition to our working environment and to our Winston office team. We extend a hearty welcome to you!
— Danita Dominguez
Cubicle Dress Up
The Accounting
Department decided to
brighten up their offices
by having a “Cubicle
Dress Up.” Everyone who
wanted to participate
picked a theme and
decorated their cubicle.
Participants also were
encouraged to dress up
to match his or her theme
on the final day. As some
people started to decorate,
their co-workers and
friends got into the spirit.
When judging began in
August, 13 people
were participating.
The themes offered something for everyone: Jungle, Flower garden, Birthday Party, Going to the Beach, Bug Invasion, Tilley’s Café, 1950’s, Vets Office, School Teacher, Hawaii, Going on a Picnic, 1960’s, and QOC’s Weatherman.
Everyone did a great job and put a lot of imagination into the competition. On Friday, August 1st, the entries were judged. The judges, QOC employees, got their final look at each office and came to a decision. The votes were cast in a secret ballot. The winner was Mae Luffman with her beach theme. Congratulations!!!!
— by Lisa Dodson
Country Fair Picnic
On September 6, the office personnel and Reliable Tank Line were treated to a “country fair” picnic on the Quality Oil lawn. Approximately 250 guests were entertained by the Carolina Cloggers and had the opportunity to ride in a hot air balloon — tethered of course. We have Allison Tedder, Tina Watson, Lisa Dodson and William Pittman to thank for this wonderful afternoon. You did a great job, guys!
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 |  | The Country Fair brought smiles to the young and young at heart. Hot air balloon rides took picnic fun to new heights! |
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| 25 Years | ||
| Graham Bennett | Administrative | |
| Patricia Keefer | Connelly Springs GH | |
| David Lisenby | Burner Service | |
| 20 Years | ||
| Richard Conner | South Boston GH | |
| 10 years | ||
| Don Baker | Hampton Inn, W/S | |
| Jean Sawyer | Sales Department | |
| 5 years | ||
| Pamela Allison | QM #4 | |
| Pattie Bradsher | Burlington GH | |
| Randall Crawford | Hampton Inn, W/S | |
| Dorothy Wadlington | Hampton Inn, Columbia | |
| Art Williams | Hampton Inn, Cary | |
Children and Why
We Love Them
The Children were lined up in the Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the line was a large pile of apples where one nun had posted a note on the apple tray:
“Take ONLY one. God is watching.” Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, “Take all you want. God is watching the apples.”
Visit the new Reliable web site at: |
Who Are They?
Quality Oil Maintenance Department
You see them everywhere. They are at Quality Mart, Quality Plus and Shell stations to repair maintenance problems or to prevent them from happening at all. Quality Oil has four maintenance personnel. We know that you have seen them, but we thought you might like to know a little something about them.
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Rex Taylor, based in the Winston-Salem area, began working at Quality Oil in 1963. As maintenance supervisor, Rex is responsible for tank and pump installation. He also installs lifts and does pump repairs. He is involved in the general construction of new gasoline facilities. Rex has been married to his wife Jean for 40 years. They have one son, Barry, and a twelve year old grandson, Cameron. In his time off, Rex enjoys going to the beach, fishing and boating. |
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Bobby Linville has been with Quality Oil for three years but has worked in the petroleum industry for the past seventeen years. He is also based in Winston-Salem. Bobby does pump repairs, service work and lighting maintenance. As a self-described jack-of-all-trades, he can be found anywhere, doing anything. In his spare time, Bobby visits with friends at his general store in Belews Creek, appropriately named “The Old Store.” Bobby has four daughters and nine grandchildren. He loves to fish and to dance. |
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Based in the Statesville area, Dean Ladd has been with Quality Oil for six years. He is in charge of maintenance in every sense of the word. He handles pump maintenance, landscaping, lighting and general maintenance both inside and outside the stores. Dean has been married to his wife Narriman for 31 years and is the father of three girls. He has two granddaughters and two grandsons. He enjoys baseball with his grandsons, and golfing and playing in the pool with all of the grandkids. |
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Dick Garrett takes care of maintenance in the eastern territory. He has been with Quality Oil since 1972. Dick describes his job duties as “everything.” He takes care of pump maintenance, lighting, plumbing and electrical. Dick and his wife Beverly have been married for 34 years. They have a son, Michael, and a one-year-old grandson named Cameron. He spends his down time playing golf. |
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The next time you see these guys, thank them for keeping us up and running. While they are at your loction you can check to see if the fish are biting, if they know the latest baseball scores ... or maybe ask Bobby to dance.
— Annette Wagoner
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52 & 8 Shell
Phillip Hutchens has been a Quality Oil Company dealer at
52 & 8 Shell for the past three years. Prior to his venture into a
Shell station dealership, Phillip was employed for over twenty
years in the automotive repair division of Douglas Battery. He is
ASE Certified and is one of a limited number of AC Delco
Certified Master Mechanics in the Winston-Salem area.
Phillip oversees all routine automotive and factory recommended services performed at his station. He has the capability to complete all types of major repairs. He personally specializes in the diagnosis and repair of automobile and truck electrical system problems. This includes repair or replacement of starters and alternators, power window motors, electrical short circuits and complete wiring harness replacements when needed. Phillip prides himself on being able to repair these types of problems when most other service providers are ready to throw up their hands and give up.
Assisting Phillip in the service bays are Tim Britt, Mike Miller, Thomas Moran, Paul Hutchens and Walter Cox. Collectively they represent over one hundred years of automotive repair experience. Phillip encourages his shop employees to take advantage of every training seminar available. Their on-going training enables them to out perform the competition and offer first class professional service to their customers. Recently, Phillip has taken delivery of a V-Tronics Master Tech Computer that will interface and reprogram GM, Honda and Toyota on-board computers, a service previously limited to new car dealerships.
Lorraine Tolley manages the convenience store side at 52 & 8 for Phillip and does a remarkable job. A visit to the convenience store is an experience within itself. Imagine taking the entire floor stock at the local Winn Dixie and condensing it all into the space of a two car garage!
A customer once jokingly asked Phillip if he “stocked any hubcaps for a 1955 Buick.” If memory serves me correctly, he was directed to the second isle, somewhere between the honey buns and the gas grills, if there were any left!
All jokes aside, this is one well-stocked store. Recently, Phillip built an addition to the convenience store that houses all drink merchandising and drink storage. He is anticipating a 40% increase in store sales as a result of his investment.
In a candid discussion, Phillip was asked about his biggest pet peeve and he replied, “People who lack common respect for others and persons who expect 110% from life but are only willing to contribute a fraction of that toward their goals.” It is this level of positive business professionalism and personal pride that enables Phillip to be the successful dealer he is today.
Everyone at Quality Oil Company is extremely proud to have Phillip Hutchens as a business partner, and we wish him the best as his business continues to grow.
— Danny Brown
Want to Save Time and Money?
Have you ever gone into a drug store to get a prescription filled and wound up standing in line for over an hour? Your time is valuable — right? Well you could be spending that time somewhere else.
Why not have your prescription delivered to your mailbox and save money at the same time. Sound good? Here’s how. It’s called AdvanceRx.com. Ask your doctor to write two prescriptions — one for a short-term supply and one for an extended supply, usually 90 days’ worth or three refills. Have the short-term supply filled at your local drugstore and mail the second prescription to AdvanceRx.com. You need to send your co-pay with each mail-in order.
The prescription service saves you money because you only have to pay for two co-pays but you get three refills. Pretty cool huh? And once you get it set up, all you have to do is visit www.advancerx.com to have your remaining refills sent to you. Look for an AdvanceRx.com brochure in your pay envelope or simply call our Human Resources Office for more information. We’ll tell you all about it.
Planning For Your Financial Future
Are you ready for retirement? Ok, are you financially ready for retirement? Don’t keep using the old “I’ll worry about that later” excuse, because “later” usually gets here sooner than you expect it to.
Quality Oil offers you an excellent way to plan for your future with our Wachovia-sponsored 401k plan. With total flexibility and a company match of up to 5%, you’re the one in charge: you decide how you want your money invested and how much risk you’re willing to take. From a lower risk stable fund, to a riskier but possibly higher rate International Fund (with lots of choices in between), you decide how you want your money invested.
Put yourself in charge of your retirement future now. To find out if you qualify for the 401k plan, call our Human Resources office today, or simply visit www.wachovia.com/401k.
Quality Quick Quiz
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On the right are five questions that relate to past articles in the Quality Oiler. Answer all five correctly and we will put your name in a drawing for a prize. Three names will be drawn from a box of correct answers and will win a $20 gas certificate. Send your answers to Brenda Foster at bfoster@qocnc.com (email or mail only) postmarked by October 31. Please put your correct mailing address on your entry. Winning names will be listed in the next Oiler. If you do not have past copies of the Quality Oiler, you can find them at www.qualityoilnc.com under the link to news. Good luck! |
1. What year was Quality Oil Transport, now called Reliable, born? 2. What is 300 degrees below zero and catches on fire instantly? 3. Quality Oil is building a new hotel in Florida. What city? 4. Who said, “Our families were the only ones dumb enough to hire us?” 5. Reverend Francis Norton scored a hole in one in a recent golf game. How many yards was the drive? |
Safety First: The Right Way to Lift
Back injuries are the most common injury in the workplace. Approximately 25 percent
of all on-the-job accidents reported each year involve back injuries and usually happen when
employees are lifting something incorrectly.
The following tips can help you lift safely.
- LIFT, push, and pull with your legs, not your arms or back. Bend at your knees, not at your waist, to help you keep your center of balance.
- AVOID lifting higher than your shoulder height. Use a step stool or ladder to move objects at these heights.
- USE a mechanical aid, such as a dolly, hand truck, or forklift, when you need to move heavy or bulky objects.
- TURN with your feet, not your hips or shoulders. Twisting can overload your spine and lead to serious injury.
- CARRY heavy objects close to your body and avoid carrying them with one hand. Avoid a long reach to pick up an object.
Back injuries can be debilitating. Stay on the safe side by lifting correctly.
Have you heard this one?
The TOP Five Reasons to Buy A New Car!
5. Your passenger seat is on the National Register of Historic Places
4. When you leave for work in the mornings a tow truck follows you
3. The Right A Way fifteen-minute oil change takes three days on your car
2. As you drive up to Interstate Shell for gas, the mechanic opens the service bay door and waves you in
1. The WSJS traffic reporter starts referring to you by name when discussing morning and evening traffic tie-ups