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We are pleased to announce that Cait Naugle has joined the company as Human Resource Generalist.

Prior to joining Yazoo, Cait was a long-time bartender/server before pursuing a degree in Elementary education. She obtained all the required credits and was on the brink of beginning a student teaching program where she decided to make a career change. Cait graduated from Penn State in 2020 with a BS in Labor Employee Relations/Human Resource Management.

After earning a degree at Penn State, she went on to work as a generalist for a local paper manufacturer. In this role, she entailed recruiting, running a co-op program for paper sciences, and handled union grievance procedures. She later went on to work for one of world’s largest food retail groups in a remote position to manage its New England Health Fund, as well as two other Locals in the New England/Jersey area. Cait completed many audits of the union employee’s fringe benefits, and balanced their ledgers in a monthly process. Through her experiences working in unionized workplaces, she knew it was time to make a switch. Currently residing in the New Oxford area and having heard many great things about Yazoo, she jumped on the opportunity to apply for the open HR role.

As a HR Generalist, Cait is the direct contact for all employees to ensure they have all their questions answered. Her responsibilities expand into onboarding new employees by making sure they feel welcome and encouraged from day one. She also plans and coordinates most of the company’s yearly corporate events, in which she enjoys as it is a switch from the everyday HR duties.

Outside of Work

In her spare time, you can find her doing something with her husband and two kids; 5-year-old son Bentley, and a 4-year-old daughter Ariel. They like to play Mario, go to the park, and watch the Netflix popular series, Stranger Things. In the rare moments that she gets to herself, Cait enjoys to go for a run or do something active outside.

Something you should know about Cait is that she is OBSESSED with anything spooky or Halloween. She could leave those decorations up all year if her husband would let her. Fun fact, she has won her neighborhood holiday decorating contest 3 years in a row! She takes her decorating very serious, lol.

Welcome to the team, Cait! We are excited to watch you thrive your role and help Yazoo to maintain its strong workforce for providing our customers with fast, friendly, and hassle-free service.

With our company continuing to grow, we are finding our sales department doing the same.  Our continuous growth has allowed us to expand our footprint and grow our outside sales team to be able to continue providing a high level of service and exceptional product offerings to over 15,000+ customers nationwide.

We are pleased to announce the hiring of Ray LaBonte, to our Outside Sales team as the Director of Sales – Eastern U.S.  Ray’s extensive background, personality and goals align with our vision and values here at Yazoo. A 45-year veteran in the paper tube and core industry with several companies, Ray brings extensive knowledge, development, and success to our team.

In his new position, Ray is responsible for growing business in small to medium-sized companies in the Eastern U.S. territory.  Through new and existing relationships, Ray develops strategic innovation to help customers grow their business and focuses on finding solutions with Yazoo’s products that will allow companies profitable and sustainable growth.

What led Ray to Yazoo?  He says “I’ve always heard good things about Yazoo’s family-owned culture, integrity within the marketplace, quality, and customer service.  What also drew me to Yazoo was how customer-focused they are – they have a strong commitment and dedication to their customers.  Yazoo is truly passionate about finding innovative solutions that work for the customer.  The culture, values, and how focused they are on their employees showed a solid, devoted team that is continuing to grow and I’m proud to say that I’m part of the team!”

Fun facts about Ray:

Welcome to the Yazoo team, Ray! We’re excited to watch you grow with our company!

When looking for a new employee to join our amazing team, we make sure we take our time to find the perfect fit, not only for our company but also for our customers.  It’s important to us to find a teammate who has the drive, determination, compassion, and knowledge to allow us to continue giving the best service, experience, and products to our valued customers.  We are pleased to announce the hiring of Chelsea Weaver, who has joined our Customer Service Department.

Celsea, a graduate of Millersville University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, joins our growing team as a new Customer Service Representative.  Prior to coming to Yazoo, Celsea worked as a Branch Manager at a local staffing agency.  During her tenure there, she worked diligently to place temporary and temp-to-hire staff at local manufacturing facilities.  From interviews to placed advertisements to delegating tasks to her recruiters, she’s well-rounded when it comes to customer service.

As a Customer Service Representative for Yazoo, she is responsible for entering custom, stock, and purchase orders as well as handling customer inquiries about orders.  Additionally, she is taking on a temporary role as Receptionist which includes directing phone calls, handling incoming POs, entering the website, eBay, and Amazon orders, assisting customer inquiries, pricing orders, and preparing sales quotes and catalogs for mailing purposes.

Celsea mentions that she has always heard great things about Yazoo Mills and when she saw the job opening posted, she knew she had to jump on it to continue her career in Customer Service with an extremely reputable company.  When asked what she likes most about working at Yazoo, she says “I really enjoy the atmosphere.  Everyone is friendly and very welcoming.  I also feel extremely valued as a team member which says a lot about a company.”

In her spare time, you can find her socializing with her fiancé, friends, and family members.  She has a dog named Sam who takes many adventures with her and her fiancé from playing and going on walks to exploring new places.  Additionally, she likes to listen to music, shop, and decorate her home.  When asked if she wanted to share anything else, she continued to say “There are quite a few local manufacturing facilities that I am familiar with from my previous employer that placed orders with Yazoo Mills.  It’s great to see local businesses supporting each other.  Being familiar with these businesses also helps me understand how many different uses tubes and cores can really have!”

Welcome to the Yazoo team, Celsea! We are super excited to have you join our company as well as continue to watch you succeed in your role!

    

In 2012, our Hanover Distribution Center was built to broaden our production capabilities, product lines and to accommodate our rapid growth. Throughout the years, the Hanover Distribution Center has continued to grow, expanding to 90,000 square feet and now houses five, custom-built winding lines.  With production growth comes company growth and adding new, knowledgeable employees to our 135+ staff.

Amber Burns joined the Yazoo Mills team in June as the Distribution Center Logistics Assistant at our Hanover location. Before coming to Yazoo, Amber worked for a local logistics company as the Office Manager.  She has been in warehousing for over the last 10 years with knowledge and understanding of the trucking and office work.  As a Logistics Assistant at Yazoo, Amber is responsible for pack out orders, printing BOLs and makes sure the work gets to the warehouse in an orderly fashion and the entire process of shipping goes smoothly.

Amber joined Yazoo to better herself and family, especially with just having a little girl. She heard how great of a company Yazoo is to work for and knew the hours would be very beneficial for her family.  When asked what she likes best about working at Yazoo, she said “The environment is so nice and polite.  With having a little one at home, the hours are very nice and allow me to be home with my family as I did not have the luxury of that at my previous job.”  In her spare time, she likes to spend time with her family and friends, loves all things outdoors, soaking up the special moments with her little daughter and enjoying every minute of her daughter and husband, Shaun.

Since joining the team, Amber has been a great asset to the company and we look forward to watching her excel in her role. Welcome to the team, Amber!

    

If you’ve ever called in to place an order or request a quote, you’ve been met with a kind and helpful voice that is eager to assist you with your needs. The person behind that kind voice is Katie Hafer, our new Switchboard Operator/Customer Service, who joined the Yazoo team back in May.

Before coming to Yazoo, Katie previously worked at a local grocery store as the Assistant Customer Service Manager where she was in charge of customer service, answering the phone and handling daily cash flow and deposits. She was looking to find a job that had better hours, pay and awesome benefits which is when she stumbled upon the job opening at Yazoo.  Her mother-in-law works out in the plant and encouraged her to apply.  She decided to take her advice and it worked out very well for her!

In her current role with the company, her job duties entail answering all incoming phone calls, order entry, pricing orders and other general office tasks. When asked what she likes most about working at Yazoo, she said “Everyone is very nice and always helpful.  I also very much enjoying having a set schedule through the week.”  In her spare time, she likes spending time with her husband, taking their new puppy, Champ, for walks, as well as spending time with both families, reading, stitching, and scrapbooking.

Welcome to the team Katie, you’re a great addition and we are glad you are here!

    

If you’ve ever been to our New Oxford facility, you know that a smiling face is eager to greet you as soon as you walk into our lobby. We have a new face upfront and are excited to give a warm welcome to Cristie Shull as she joins the Yazoo team as our new Logistics Coordinator.

Before coming to Yazoo, Cristie previously worked as a Forester – practicing forest management techniques, implementing timber sales, and participating in controlled burning and fighting wild fires in the area. She also worked in the Treasury Department for a local manufacturer as well.  Cristie is a proud Penn State alum having received an Associate’s Degree in Forest Technology as well as receiving accounting certifications.

Shull’s current job duties within the role of Logistics Coordinator include processing paperwork for orders to be shipped (such as pack slips and bill of ladings), coordinating with customers and trucking companies to schedule pickups for orders that need to be shipped, and greet visitors as well as truck drivers as they enter our facility.

When asked what she likes most about working at Yazoo, she said “I enjoy the fast paced environment. The employees here are very nice and easy to work with as well.”  In her spare time, you can catch her in a gym or at a local competition as she is heavily involved in competitive weight training.  Some of her other hobbies include drawing and painting, brewing beer, hiking, fishing and many other outdoor activities.  She has two loving dogs named Cheyenne & Freya that also keep her busy.  Welcome to the team, Cristie.  We are glad to have you here!