Monthly Archives: April 2023

OEC Academy and Internships

In the summer of 2022, OEC had a problem. The summer was booked full of project installations, with too few installers to do the work. To find help fast, OEC turned to personal connections with high school students looking for a summer job. In no time, jobs were installing on time thanks to extra help from these short-term students.

Connecting With Local Schools

To avoid falling into the same situation in 2023, OEC developed a free four-month training course, “OEC Academy,” for high school students interested in the trades. Then team members from OEC construction and furniture connected with CTE instructors around the valley, inviting their students and visiting classrooms. By February, the program had students ready to learn and to vie for a paid summer internship.

OEC Academy

OEC Academy happens one night a month, and students from all over the West Ada School District gather at OEC’s downtown Boise showroom. Here, the OEC construction and furniture teams join forces to teach students everything from basic measurement and hand tools to heavy equipment, safety, how to read blueprints, and even building. Group challenges and games earn students points, and at the end of the academy, at least one participant will be offered a paid summer internship.

While this program has been an excellent way to expose high school kids to different trade options, they need more depth of experience to excel in the workplace.

Working With West Ada To Create Internships

That is why OEC asked West Ada CTE teachers what they needed to help equip students after
graduation. The teacher’s answers were loud and clear, internships. There is a big, wide world full of trades, and students need to know all their options to make their decisions easier after graduation. Internships are the perfect way for students to broaden their horizons and for businesses to find talented young workers. Through their CTE classes, many students are OSHA 30 certified, so they are already cleared to go on various job sites, making it even easier for businesses to work with them.

OEC asked West Ada CTE teachers what they needed to help equip students after graduation. The teacher’s answers were loud and clear, internships.

Real-World Experience

Through the West Ada program, companies interview students and selected them for an internship. Once selected, the students are spend certain days at a business. During those days, they go to the business for the time they would be in class. Their internship hours give them credit toward class; while they get real-world experience. Thanks to these internships, students gain exposure to multiple career options, and some even have jobs lined up after graduation.

Local Businesses Can Help

Not every child wants to go to college. Some love the hands-on problem-solving that working in the trades provides. As our community grows, we need skilled tradesmen and women to support us. Luckily, as we have learned at OEC, businesses can significantly impact raising the next generation in the trades. Whether it is creating a four-month training program like OEC Academy or partnering with a local school district, we can all make a difference in our community’s lives and economy.

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Four Generations of Grasmick Produce

“Grandchildren are a grandparent’s link to the future. Grandparents are the child’s link to the past.”

In the 1950s, Henry Grasmick and his son Dutch were potato farmers in Eastern Idaho. Together, they ran a successful farm and, on a trip to Boise, brought some potatoes with them for family. After realizing they brought too many, Dutch called Joe Albertson and offered to sell him some. Mr. Albertson accepted his offer, and an unexpected business relationship formed.

Dutch thereafter began transporting pickup loads of spuds to Boise regularly until he decided to move to Boise and start a produce distribution business. In1955, the Grasmick family rented out the basement of a bar near downtown Boise and began building the business. Henry Grasmick and his wife, Lillian Grasmick, handled the finances, while Dutch and his wife, Karleen, handled packing, sales, and distribution. Every member of the Grasmick family was involved in learning and growing the business. After moving locations a few times, Grasmick finally settled in Garden City, where it stands today.

The Fourth Generation

Angela Reed is Henry’s great-granddaughter and the fourth-generation owner of Grasmick Produce. She wears many hats at the woman-owned company and oversees a massive operation distributing produce throughout Idaho and Montana, with some activity in Wyoming, Eastern Oregon, and Washington. While the primary facility is still in Garden City, Grasmick has additional facilities in Idaho Falls, Spokane, Twin Falls, and Bozeman. On any given day, Grasmick trucks will cover hundreds of miles supplying their partners. Their headquarters alone will process over 20 truckloads of produce a week before distributing it to their partners, primarily restaurants, schools, grocery stores, and state institutions.

The Values of Grasmick Produce

While working in and out of Idaho, Grasmick is still unique in the Treasure Valley. They have been locally owned and part of the community for over 70 years. Angela quite literally grew up in the business; her playpen was where the conference room is today. She was raised not only by her mom but also by her grandparents. Angela spent time working in the warehouse after school and during the summer with her grandfather. She swept floors, cleaned out trucks, baled potatoes, and did any other needed job.

During that time, her grandfather taught her the importance of performing every job, no matter how small, so that her results exceeded expectations. By example and training, Dutch also taught Angela the importance of remembering people’s names, looking them in the eye, and being truly present in a conversation.

Dutch also taught Angela the importance of a good handshake and standing by your promises. These lessons have stuck with her ever since. “My favorite part of my job is seeing employees grow over time and push themselves to become a better version of who they are.” -Angela Reed

Beginning Renovation

When Angela left her career as an attorney to become the CEO of Grasmick, she wanted to bring who she was to the business. That started with renovating the traditional 1980s office space full of wall paneling, low ceilings, and poor lighting. Coming from a partnership at a large law firm where she had a lovely office space, Angela wanted to bring that same feel to Grasmick. She delayed the decision for a few years while getting her feet under her, but she began renovating last year.

Transforming The Space

Today’s space has with high ceilings, exposed HVAC and beams, sleek glass modular walls, branded workstations, conference rooms, and many sound clouds. Grasmick faced a unique challenge ptimizing the space for their staff, so they ended up enclosing part of a dock to make room for their 16 office staff members. Next came space planning. “My mom and I took this project on ourselves and came to Wendy (designer) and Jill (sales consultant) at OEC with a sketch of what we wanted. We soon realized we were in way over our heads and worked with them and the GC to space plan. OEC was extremely patient with us, especially when I changed my mind more than I would like to admit. They were fabulous.”

Building A Team And A Culture

With the renovation complete, the Grasmick team is loving their new space. The office staff is working well, and Angela is excited about the future. Her number one goal is to take care of her employees. She still carries her grandfather’s values with her as she continually works to build a great team, culture, and environment for everyone.

 "My favorite part of my job is seeing employees grow over time and push themselves to become a better version of who they are. Knowing I have done that is really rewarding." 

As Grasmick Produce grows in its existing service areas, reflecting on what a family can accomplish over four generations is heartwarming. And what can be more satisfying than watching a granddaughter step into her grandfather’s shoes?

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Message From The President

Building trust is important in every organization. One way to build trust is through transparency. How transparent is your leadership team?

Transparency In Leadership Workspaces

Your space can help increase transparency in an organization. One way is to literally increase transparency; in other words, build spaces where leadership team members can be seen by others during the day. This can be accomplished by placing leader’s workspaces among their team members or by separating them with glass barriers that are fully or semitransparent.

Displaying Organization Values

Another way to improve transparency is building spaces where you display your company mission, values, goals, and progress. Then reinforce these to team members. This can be done through digital signage, analog signage, whiteboards, and other similar tools that can be placed throughout the space to communicate and reinforce what is happening in the organization.

Start using your space to build transparency today! For more ideas on building transparency in your space, feel free to reach out to myself or my team anytime.

Sincerely,

Scott Galloway

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