Resource Center

Jacob started at Harbor two years ago in the role of Delivery Driver. In his time with the company, he has transitioned to a leadership role, becoming a Driver Supervisor. His prior experience and work ethic have helped him to succeed at Harbor. Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? J: Coming from the military and being in a supervisory role there made the transition smooth. Being in a leadership role isn’t easy by any means, but having experience definitely makes a difference. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? J: I have been with Harbor for 1 year and 11 months. Q: Any advice for advancing your career at Harbor? J: Continue learning and improve everyday. You might be good at what you do but always ask yourself where can I suceed or get better. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? J: I have been a Driver and Driver Supervisor here at Harbor. Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? J: A good work ethic is key. Showing up at the right time ready to work and get the job done as efficiently as possible.

Hunter started at Harbor in 2018 as an Order Selector. Through his passion of learning new things and hard work, he transitioned to his current role of Freezer/Cooler Supervisor. Hunter shared some thoughts on his path of progress during his time at Harbor. Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? H: My first role at Harbor was as an Order Selector, but I was given the opportunity to work in different departments throughout the warehouse. I also went out on routes with the Drivers for a week. With the cross-training that I had received I was able to float between different departments and help out where needed. After working for a few months I was offered the role of Order Selection Trainer. In this role I was partially responsible for the onboarding of new hires and helping them get acclimated to the flow of work in the warehouse. This position also helped me practice my leadership skills and begin to learn even more about the company. In addition to training new hires I was able to help Supervisors with some of their day-to-day tasks and learn more about what specifically went in to their job. Management was very supportive of my desire to learn more about the company and to develop my leadership skills. The support from Operations leadership and my desire to learn more about Harbor is what allowed me to reach my current position. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? H: I have been with Harbor since 11/08/2018. Q: Any advice for advancing your career at Harbor? H: My advice for advancing your career at Harbor is to adhere to the company values of genuine, motivated, resourceful, and friendly. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? H: I have been an Order Selector in various departments, an Order Selection Trainer, and my present role as the Freezer/Cooler Supervisor. Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? H:  I think the most important quality to have is the desire to learn new things about Harbor and how it operates.

Kristina joined the Harbor team in 2017 as our Accounts Payable Lead. Since joining our accounting department, she’s been a part of their department’s growth, eventually transitioning to her current role of Accounts Payable Supervisor. Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? K: My initial role at Harbor began with a newly established position to support our AP team.  I had over 10 years of diverse accounting experience across many different industries. Harbor saw potential to strengthen our AP team structure by hiring me as a lead. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? K: I have been with Harbor for almost three years.  I often look back at where our team transitioned to modern, paperless workflow management, creating a huge turning point for our team within my first year. Q: Any advice for advancing your career at Harbor? K: I believe in order to truly advance your career at Harbor you need to be very versatile and resourceful.  Career advancement requires outside of the box thinking, being capable of wearing multiple ‘hats’, and ability to cross departmental lines to expand your knowledge and growth. If you are someone who is determined to find the answers you seek, then Harbor is the right fit. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? K: I began as an AP lead for the accounting team in 2017.  Our enterprise has grown exponentially since then, creating the opportunity to lead further, by being promoted a year later as manager for our AP team. Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? K: Harbor carries unique opportunities to those who are motivated to be in the driver seat of their own success.  If you are they type that can overcome any obstacle, likes fast paced, collaborative, team environments then your career at Harbor can, and will mature.  Although we have become a large enterprise, the family dynamic at Harbor is quite unique and beyond commendable.  Simply put, this unique motivator puts success in the hands of the individual and their teams.  In twenty years, I have not found in any other public or private enterprise that can compare to Harbor.

Joy started at Harbor in 2015 as a Credit Clerk. Through her years at Harbor, she’s worked in different roles within Customer Service eventually transitioning to her current role of Customer Service & Sales Support Lead. Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? J: I made the effort to become an authority in my roles at Harbor. I learned everything I could about how the Customer Service Department works and how we interacted with other departments across the company. I want to be the best at what I do, and I never stopped learning. I made sure my supervisor was aware that I wanted more and was willing to put in the time and effort it would take to move forward. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? J: It will be 5 years in July Q: Any advice for advancing your career at Harbor? J: Be open to every opportunity that comes your way. You also have to take responsibility for your own growth. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to approach your supervisor about ideas, and never stop asking what else you can do. If you are willing to put in the effort you will get so much out of working here at Harbor. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? J: I started as a Credit Clerk, then promoted to Customer Service Rep, then to Sales Support Admin, and finally I am now the Customer Service and Sales Support Lead Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? J: Perseverance. Do the best you can every day. If you are showing that you want what is best for the company and you are growing, it will be noticed. It will not happen overnight, but Harbor is growing. I firmly believe that if you want it and work hard you will get there.

Zachary works in RDC as a Warehouse Supervisor. During his time at Harbor he has worked a few different roles, and had some great thoughts to share about getting your career started at Harbor. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? Z: Utility/I have picked everywhere/Stamped Cigs/Consolidated/Inventory Control/PM Warehouse Supervisor. Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? Z: Aaron hired me into a PM utility position. I picked up boxes for a couple of months and then moved into eaches as an order selector. While working in eaches I was crossed trained on just about every PM position. After about a year, a position opened up In the freezer. I did that for another year or so. From there I moved into Inventory control. I learned a lot about how the AM shift worked while in that position, as well as learning a lot about the company in general. I did that for I believe close to 2 years. Then, a few months ago, Chris Ritter and Leon Dillon approached me with a promotion into a PM supervisor role. I gladly accepted. And that is what I am doing now. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? Z: 4 ½ years. Q: Any advice for advancing your career at Harbor? Z: For me, a willingness to work and a willingness to learn, has worked pretty well. Don’t be afraid to take on a big or important task. Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? Z: I don’t know if I could say just 1 quality that is most important. Everybody is different, and no 2 people will take the same path within the company. I think being genuine, motivated, resourceful, & friendly are all good qualities to have! 😊 Just be you, and be willing to learn and teach and your positive qualities will come out through that. This will be recognized by not only your supervisors and managers, but also your peers.

Dylan is currently the General Sales Manager of Harbor’s Eastern Sales Team. When he began at Harbor he started in a very different role. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? D: Territory Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager and General Sales Manager Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? D: My introduction to this industry started 9 years before I had heard of Harbor Wholesale Foods. In 1995 I started loading box trucks with retail and foodservice items. My responsibilities increased from Truck loader to Order Selector to Dairy and Produce Buyer to Stocking Manager and finally, Director of Operations. My previous employer was acquired by Harbor on April 19, 2004. I started a very new role for me, Territory Sales Manager. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? D: Almost 14 years. Q: And advice for advancing your career at Harbor? D: Perform your job to the best of your abilities, help others when you can and have your employers best interest in mind. It will pay off. Q: What do you think is the most important quality to get your career started at Harbor? D: A desire to serve your customer. Your customer is the person your work impacts. A Truck Loader’s customer is the Delivery Driver. A Stocker’s customer is the Order Selector. Your customers are the people you work with every day to make your department and company a success.

Michael started as a driver 17 years ago and as time went on became the person to train new Harbor Drivers in RDC. Since then, he has moved into the Driver Supervisor role. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? M: Driver and Driver Supervisor Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? M: I started as a driver with Paul Jackson. When Harbor bought the company, they kept us as employees which was great! As years progressed I became the go-to driver to train other drivers, some right out of the Warehouse. So, the transition to Supervisor was my next step to carry me to retirement. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? M: 17 years Q: Any advice for advancing your career at Harbor? M: My advice for advancing your career with Harbor is to not be afraid of a challenge!!! Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? M: I think there are several important qualities to have to succeed at Harbor which are Dependability, Friendly, Resourceful, Motivated and Genuine!

Justin has been with Harbor since July of 2015, starting as a Territory Sales Manager and them moved into the Regional Sales Manager role. Continue reading to learn more about his path of progress at Harbor and how he transitioned into his current position. Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? J: My transition into my new position was smooth as I had prior experience as a sales manager, and felt like had great training here at Harbor. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? J: I’ve been with Harbor since July of 2015 Q: Any advice for advancing your career at Harbor? J: Learn as much as you can in all aspects of the business. Work with Territory Sales Managers, Drivers, Store Solutions, Warehouse, Buyers, Credits, Customer Service, Marketing, Accounts Departments. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? J: Before my current position of Regional Sales Manager I was a Territory Sales Manager. Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? J: The want and willingness to learn. This business is always growing and changing and being able to and wanting to learn is key in being successful.