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News | News Archive | Fall 2004
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What is Spirit?
If you do something, do it to the "best"
of your ability — seize the day. Take
advantage of the opportunity to make
someone else's day and enjoy the moment.
Do your best as an obligation to yourself
as a human being. Try to be a giver not
a taker. Do your best versus just doing
enough to get by. Your pride will be
your spirit.
The real difference between good companies and great companies is the collective
spirit and passion of all employees, not just
a few. Jim Slate, who has been with Quality
48 years, told me long ago that a blind man can walk in any company, store, or hotel,
and feel and smell the spirit of that company
and its employees.
What makes Quality Oil different?
It is the strong belief in our Core
Ideology and the commitment to our Vision
and Mission that allows all of us to "smell
the spirit of Quality." One note of caution —
the bigger and more complicated our
businesses get, the harder we must work
together to keep this "spirit" alive.
Celebrate and enjoy the "Spirit of
Quality" during this 75th Anniversary year.
- Graham Bennett |
Graham Bennett, President
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After Hurricane Charley hit Florida, Danny
Stroud received a call from Carolina Power and
Light, asking for a few volunteers to help them
out of a very critical situation. Sam Maphis asked
if anyone was willing to go, and ten or more guys
stepped forward to join him for the eight-day trip.
The guys showed the Quality spirit, wanting "to
do it because it is right" and "to treat others as you
would like to be treated."
In Florida, the power trucks were parked
overnight in staging areas holding 400 or more
vehicles. Our Quality crew worked all night every night, refueling the trucks and equipment to have
it ready to roll early the next morning.
Later, when Hurricane Frances made landfall
in Florida, our guys once again assisted the power
companies, staying another 13 days. By this time,
millions of people were without power throughout
the state. When Hurricane Jeanne hit — you guessed it
— the Quality volunteers went back for
another seven days.
CP&L's management reported that the
QOC team was the best organized, hardest
working, and most productive team that
helped during the crisis. Many thanks to
you guys for making us so proud. A
special thanks to families and employees
who made sacrifices so the team could
make the trip.
— Jamie Westmoreland
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Volunteers included Sam Maphis, Junior Baca,
Ricky Dull, Richard Bowman, Russell Day, Timmy
King, Frank McMahan, Tony Goins, C.D. Hampton,
James Noah, Michael Houston, Kurt Barnica,
Tommy Hall, Jasper Harper, Jesse Hairston, John
Cummings, Tommy Depaulis, Marty Smitherman,
Randy Hayes
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The Birdman Of Quality Oil
 Sylvester Burrows, a Quality Oil
Company fuel oil driver, is an accomplished,
award winning pigeon hobbyist with many
trophies and ribbons to show his success in
the sport. His lifelong passion for training and
showing Birmingham Roller pigeons began
when he was nine years old, watching and
learning from his elderly neighbor.
Birmingham Roller pigeons originated
in England and were brought to the United
States in 1959. They are bred for their
ability to do rapid backward somersaults
while flying.
They spin very fast and then drop from 10
to 100 feet. During competition, the birds fly
in a flock of ten to twenty, called a kit. Ideally
the kit should stay together and perform as a
group. They are judged on their style, distance
and velocity.
When he was just beginning his hobby,
Sylvester took young wild pigeons from the
nest to train them. Early on, the birds learn to
recognize and respond to Sylvester's whistle.
To keep the birds happy, healthy and trained,
Sylvester lets them fly twenty to thirty minutes
every day except during the autumn hawk
season when he protects his prized pigeons
from the hungry predators.
Sylvester's flock now consists of seventy
registered and pedigreed birds, which can
be traced back as much as ten generations.
He houses them in a complex unit containing
trap doors and feeding and nesting areas. He
uses selective breeding to develop certain
qualities, such as the fastest spin and body
type, and to insure a pure bloodline.
Sylvester is a member of the Virginia
Birmingham Roller Club and the National
Birmingham Roller Club. His wife Brenda
supports his hobby... although Sylvester says
she stops short of cleaning cages!
— Annette Wagoner
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The Susan 0. Komen Foundation hosts the “Race for the Cure”
walk at Old Salem each year to raise funds for
breast cancer research. This year a group of
Quality employees participated
in honor of
Annette Steele in
Customer Service.
We are happy that
Annette has survived
this disease and is back
at work.
- Lisa Dodson
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(Left to Right) First row: Lisa Dodson, Mae Luffman, and Brandy
Mowbry; Back row: Pamela Updike, Danita Dominquez, Pat
Nifong, and Tina Watson.
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Service Awards
| 25 Years |
| Dalmar Collins | Reliable - W/S |
| 20 Years |
| Carol Holt | Information Sys. |
| Gene Lauer | Sales Dept. |
| Tim Lowman | Administrative |
| Betty Rayfield | Springs Rd. QP |
| 15 years |
| James Howell | Quality Mart #3 |
| Haywood McCree | Reliable Charlotte |
| 10 Years |
| Sue Anderson | Quality Mart #32 |
| Danny Brown | Sales Dept. |
| Abebe Feleke | Quality Mart #20 |
| Mary Kinzer | Hampton - W/S |
| Sandy Ward | Washington QP |
| James Williams | Quality Mart #25 |
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| 5 years |
| Renee Barr | Sleep Inn |
| Mylia Belton | Hampton - W/S |
| Steven Cheney | Hampton - Columbia |
| Mario Cruzlara | Hampton Inn - W/S |
| John Cummings | Burner Service |
| Tim Dills | Burner Service |
| Danita Dominguez | Customer Serv. |
| Blanca Hernandez | Hampton Inn - Cary |
| Charles Jones | Quality Mart #15 |
| Doris Jones | Elon Quality Plus |
| George Jones | Reliable - W/S |
| Ann Lentz | Sleep Inn |
| Randolph Modrow | Hampton Inn - W/S |
| Flor Ramirez | Hampton - Cary |
| David Ranes | Reliable - Selma |
| Glen Shorter | Capital QP |
| Eddie Solesbee | Quality Mart #37 |
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Condolences to
the family of Leo Zdyb.
Leo was a driver for Reliable Tank Line
 Dealer Corner
Quality Oil Company is pleased to
announce the addition of two new service
station dealers. Kevin and Debra Seisdedos
are the new dealers at Yadkinville Shell. The
couple has relocated from Connecticut and
now reside in Clemmons. Kevin owned and
operated his own auto/light truck repair
facility for twenty-five years. Joining Kevin
and Debra in the new business venture are
their children Tara and Brian.
Terry and Joy Sink are welcomed as the
new dealers at Konnoak Shell. Terry comes to
us from Pepsi Cola. Terry is an original
"Southside" resident and very involved with
youth sports and stock car racing at Bowman
Gray Stadium.
All of us at Quality Oil Company
welcome you to our dealer family and wish
you much success in your new endeavors.
Quality Plus Update
The last week in October,
Durham Quality Plus had a
Halloween pumpkin carving
contest. The employees and their
families carved pumpkins and
displayed them for the customers
to judge.
Of the two categories, adult and
children, 150 total votes were cast.
The winners were: James Avila and
Jaylen Jones, children's carving and
Lydia Brock from the adult entry.
Gift certificates and movie passes
were given to
the winners.
Quality Recognizes 62-Year Customer
Mr. and Mrs. R.T. Casey who reside at
5621 Plantation Drive in Winston-Salem have
been fuel oil customers of Quality Oil since
1942. They have the longest running record as
residential customers with Quality — 62 years.
When speaking with Mrs. Casey she stated
that Quality had good men in the burner
service department and that we always come
when she calls us.
A "goody" basket was delivered to them in
celebration of our 75th anniversary.
Thank you Louella and Robah for your
loyal patronage for all those years.
Effective July 1, 2004, Quality Oil purchased locally owned Smitherman Oil
Company, adding over 2000 new fuel oil/ kerosene customers. This expanded our
current customer base in Northwestern Forsyth County and the southern reaches of
Yadkin and Stokes counties.
We welcome all of the Smitherman employees into our Quality Family!
Quality Mart #42, 1465 River Ridge
Drive, Clemmons, NC, opened October
21, 2004. This new innovative design, with
4500 square feet features its own coffee
island with all your favorite flavors, a
walk-in beer cooler, and new interior
design with an ultra modern, open air
feeling. Outside features our new rounded
QM logo and bull nose canopy (rounded
instead of flat). This new Quality Mart has
8 pump islands and a see-through car
wash. We are all proud of this new store.
Come check it out!
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Quality Oil opened it’s 7th Hotel
on September 22, 2004. The hotel
has 128 guest rooms and suites.
It is located in Jacksonville, Fl.
Watch for more news to come
about our award winning staff in
Jacksonville.
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Forest City Quality Plus Voted Best
Rutherford County residents voted in a local
newspaper poll for their favorite service station.
The Quality Plus was selected as the best in the
county. We are extrememly pleased with this
vote of confidence from our patrons. |
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Quality Oil Word Search
Forward, Backward, Diagonal, Horizontal, Vertical
— Danita Dominguez
Dinkins Puts Out Fire!
Everyone at the Hampton Inn Christiansburg/Blacksburg is
raving about their own little firefighter, Terri Dinkins. On Sunday,
February 29th, Terri was working her normal 3 pm-11 pm shift
where she is the only employee on duty. A guest came to her
complaining of the smell of smoke in the first floor hallway.
Immediately Terri investigated and found a smoldering flood
light outside the back door. Quickly following her instincts, Terri
contacted John Harris, the hotel's maintenance manager, and then
ran back to where the light was smoking. Upon her return, she
noticed that flames were now licking up out of the light and were
in danger of spreading across the dry mulch up one of the main
support columns to the building. Dashing back inside, Terri
grabbed a handy fire extinguisher and had the situation under
control before John even arrived.
Kudos to Terri for being alert,
responsive, and in control. |
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Having a strong and focused sales force is an
essential key to increasing business opportunities
and training is that key element to ensure our sales
teams are the best in our markets.
At the Hampton Inns and Hampton Inn & Suites,
the directors of sales are required to attend a
“Step Up” sales training class where they learn
basic sales skills, overcoming objections, account
management, prospecting, sales professionalism,
and Hilton resources.
On August 2-3, 2004, Quality Oil had four
directors of sales attending the sales training class
held in Memphis, TN. They all came back with
wonderful ideas and information to share with the
rest of their teams at each of their hotels.
— Kim Williamson
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From left to right:
Cary Hoge • Hampton lnn-Christiansburg, VA
Anna Anderson • Hampton Inn & Suites-Jacksonville, FL
Kim Roberts • Hampton Inn-Columbia, SC
Cindy Rogers • Hampton Inn & Suites-Raleigh, NC
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Quality Oil Company, LLC
PO Box 2736
Winston-Salem, NC 27102
336.722.3441
FAX 336.721.9527
bfoster@qocnc.com
Quality Oil Newsletter Committee:
Brenda Foster, Administrative Assistant
Danita Dominguez, Customer Service
Annette Wagoner, Purchasing Agent
Danny Brown, V.P. Service Stations
Haywood Stroupe, Sales Supervisor
William Pittman, Senior V.P.-Hotel Operations
Lisa Dodson, Accounting
Jamie Westmoreland, Operations Clerk
Tamara Lewis, Payroll
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To do it because it is right