|
|
Karen Crowley
September / October 2001 |
| |
Locator UpFront Boss of the Year,
Everett Rigsby, was nominated by all of
the 14 employees at Rigsby's Auto Salvage.
|
|
|
Everett Rigsby learned how to be a good boss
long before he owned an automotive recycling
facility.
At one of his earliest
jobs, a young Rigsby found a role model in a
lumberyard supervisor named Freddy Hinds. Decades
later, the owner of
Rigsby's Auto Parts and Sales, Inc., in
Zephyrhills, Fla., still remembers Hinds for his
fairness and kindness to employees.
"I always admired the way
he treated people," Rigsby said. "I tried to
include a lot of his values into what I do here."
Those values have earned
Rigsby the Locator UpFront Boss of the Year award,
an honor that's been given to one outstanding
employer in the automotive recycling industry
since 1996. Although nomination forms poured in
from across the country, a tall pile soon
accumulated for Rigsby; all 14 employees at
Rigsby's Auto Parts nominated him for the award.
"I felt very honored by the
award," Rigsby said, "and I was very much
surprised."
The honor was no surprise
to Rigsby's employees, however. They've known for
years - even decades - that their boss is one of
the best.
"I don't know a more honest
man," said Manager Tommy Ellison, who has worked
for Rigsby for 21 years. "He's always got a smile
on his face. He has a good sense of humor, and he
goes along with the flow. He's a lot of fun, but
he's businesslike, too."
Rigsby's daughter, Rachel
Rigsby Lare, works as the office manager and said
she has seen how her father's easygoing manner
affects everyone at the business.
"He can turn a tense
situation around in a split second with a smile or
humor," she said. "People just flock around him.
He's truly genuine, and that's something you don't
see a lot."
Rigsby began his career in
the salvage industry more than 30 years ago, when
he worked at a facility in Ohio. He observed the
way it was run, and he knew he could do a better
job if he ever got the chance. In 1977, Rigsby
jumped at the opportunity to buy his own business
in Florida.
"I've been very happy ever
since," he said.
While Rigsby's 14 employees
all gave different reasons their boss should win
the contest, such as his honesty, his sense of
humor and his positive attitude, nearly all of
them seemed to agree on one thing: Rigsby will
never ask an employee do to something he wouldn't
do himself.
"I believe in treating
employees like equals," Rigsby said. "I treat them
as people, not as employees. I don't want to act
like I'm on a different level, because I'm not."
Rigsby also isn't one to
stay cooped up in an office all day long. When he
wants to get away from it all, he said, he hops on
the forklift and gets to work.
"I find some people can go
read a book and sit back and relax," he said. "I
can get on the loader and ride around all day. I
spend as much time out there as I can."
To those who work for him,
it's always been clear that Rigsby isn't just
another employer.
"He's more than a boss,"
Ellison explained. "He's a friend to everybody
here."
Copyright 2003, The Locator dba John Holmes
Publishing 712L458J0286
