This year, we wanted to do something a little different to reflect and look back on the year 2023. Instead of doing a general overview of the whole company and what happened at Nussbaum, we decided to take a more personal approach and ask everyone about their year, individually. It was so special to see the variety of responses.
Part two of this series:
What was one of your favorite (Nussbaum) moments this year?
Chris Aranda: Bringing on two great hires and watching them learn, adapt, and engage the teams! Winning the Caterpillar Award. That was so fun and was a huge company win. First year managing the analytics team. I’ve learned a ton and really have enjoyed getting to know them all more. We’ve continued to strengthen cross-department relationships, that has been a HUGE deal for productive conversations and the BEST results. Lots of big events for people in the departments, both at work and home. It was really fun to watch their milestones, learning moments, and victories!
Darien Aviso: I was able to deliver a high profile and highly valued load on time within a narrow window for success, but most importantly I got a driver home to his wife and family. All without incurring added cost to the company.
Peg Balducci: Every day at Nussbaum is a favorite life moment! LOL!
Jason Banwart: This is more of an aspect of 2023 at Nussbaum rather than a specific moment, but I am thankful for my job which I truly enjoy. Being able to look forward to coming into work in the morning makes such a huge difference.
Neil Barbour: Having Brent recognize me for my achievement of 500K Certified RED miles while simultaneously reaching Master Trainer status.
Jessi Blunier: I love being in the marketing department because of the connections I get to make cross-company. It’s a ton of fun getting to see all that goes on behind-the-scenes to keep things rolling in each department. I also really enjoy doing research for DRIVEN and working on the magazine twice a year – a big thank you to Gene and Gerardo who were willing to share their stories with me as our cover models this year (and so many others who contributed and shared their hearts! Nussbaum truly is a special place because of the people who work here!). I also enjoyed working with the ESOP Committee to create our own Nussbaum deck of cards.
Donzell Boyd: A Nussbaum highlight is being on a dedicated route from a reputable, inspirational company, family-oriented and Christian-based.
Doug Bradle: Being recognized by Caterpillar as Supplier of the Year.
Taja Burte: I enjoyed the positive energy you guys gave me.
Lisa Burton: Having 7 hires make it to orientation in November (so far my personal best).
Jackie Coffey: Receiving a call from Brent Nussbaum on my clean equipment inspection.
Addis Coffman: All the food day celebrations, but especially when I got to help with one!
Clint Coleman: Getting a brand new Nussbaum truck.
Hunter Collins: Getting hired! Does that count? Hearing Rick say, “We’d like to offer you the position” brought a smile to my face that I hadn’t had in a while. Just within the weeks that I’ve been here, I’ve been greatly welcomed into the Nussbaum family! It is such an amazing feeling to come to work every day knowing that I’m appreciated and noticed.
CJ Conger: Seeing two of my first drivers I hired have their 2-year anniversary and a few of the drivers I hired become Certified RED.
Donovan Craig: Getting to have my son ride with me for a couple of weeks. It was a really great experience.
Jackie Derrick: Being asked to come back to my original account, “Morton Salt,” and getting my new truck.
Josh Detmers: My first soup day, mush ball, Faire Coffee days, golfing with HNI, praying at the flag, the great life-changing events for so many peers – too many to count, so many awesome firsts!
Tyler Dietrich: Seeing Trip Notes get used so much in operations.
Bryce Domnick: Favorite moment was playing with the ping pong group for the first time.
Colin Domnick: While it’s not a one particular moment, I have really enjoyed having access to “SmartDollar”. I think it can be helpful for many people who have not had a chance to learn good financial habits. I have learned many things myself. I think it’s also important to note that one of the favorite moments was when we had ‘purple cows’ in the old breakroom. 😊 (A purple cow is essentially a delicious grape shake).
Derek Dotterer: Playing ping pong on breaks with people from all over the company.
Todd Evans: I got the pleasure of seeing my son Luke join our shop full-time.
Levi Fehr: Hiring a service advisor.
Oscar Flores: Getting to know drivers better and building that relationship with them.
Jeremy Fox: Coming down to Hudson my first week and learning more about operations.
Kevin Funk: Working at Midwest Food Bank. The work was very rewarding while having a blast with my co-workers!
Ed Gabriel: Either winning at ping-pong for the first time, or having the amazing ribeye sandwiches in November.
Donna Gardner: I saw some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
Caleb Gee: Participating in the ESOP week card games challenge, it was a blast!
Kirsten Gee: Adrienne Riel joining our team!
Wyatt Gerber: Winning ESOP Jeopardy (or at least being on the winning team 😊).
Joe Good: Working the AOH team is priceless.
Matt Gordon: Participating in Tender Mercies with Midwest Food Bank.
Angie Green: Favorite moment is the fishing derby – it is always a great event, and I love being a part of the committee.
Brad Haney: Beating Darien at finding a repower before him. 😊
Eric Hartter: Besides food day, finishing the pipeline project.
Pierre Hawkins: I love when I get assigned to a trailer that promotes positivity. You never know how you can make someone’s day, and why not show them on a 53 ft display.
Scott Herrmann: Probably the moments where the software teams worked together well, enjoyed what they were doing, and delivered something to the business that was meaningful and appreciated.
Zack Hildebrand: My final year on the ESOP Committee was a blast. Capping it off with a successful ESOP month was a great way to close out.
Scott Hills: I feel very blessed and fortunate to be in the company of such wonderful and professional people here at Nussbaum. I was recently saying how great it is to work where so much emphasis is placed on Safety and new Technology that helps us complete our mission with a sense of pride. We always know that when we call in, there will be someone there to help us solve any problem that might arise. I hope that everyone has an excellent, happy, and safe holiday season. Thank you and God bless!
Dillon Hodel: Learning that Angie and I were going to be desk mates in the new sales wing – lucky Angie!
Kylie Hoffman: My favorite moment was starting at Nussbaum! I’ve only been here for about 4 months but if I had to choose a specific moment during my time here, it would probably be the Mediterranean food day!
Jeremy Howard: My most enjoyed time at Nussbaum was utilizing the pond to fish.
Larry Hubbell: Knowing I was getting in a good clean truck.
Dustin Huber: Ride along with Wayne Kreps!
Carol John: My Nussbaum family was there for me when my dad died. A number from my team were able to come to the visitation which was an hour away. I received a beautiful wreath from my team which I cherish and have hanging in my apartment. I love my team as they are always ‘there for me’.
Brian Johnson: Seeing how many people came to the fishing derby and being able to be a part of making all that happen.
Josh Kissinger: First fishing derby experience – it was lots of fun for the family and nice to have them meet my co-workers.
Doug Knepp: Celebrating the completion of the server upgrade project.
Grant Knepp: One of my favorite Nussbaum moments was hearing back from the drivers who were positively impacted from using the Smart Dollar program!
Jerrid Knight: My favorite moment at Nussbaum was the customer visits. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Racine, WI in the summer of 2023 to meet some of the individuals I work with on a daily basis with CNH. I was also able to visit CNH in Lebanon, IN later in the year, which was an eye-opening experience on how their processes work. Our customers are amazing to work with and it’s great that Nussbaum allows us to take time to visit our customers and get to know their ins and outs to better help with relationships and the day-to-day processes of their operations and functions. It just helps with cohesion and the mending of relationships with our customers.
Roger Kyler: First time to run the Portland, Oregon Pella load. Beautiful drive!!!
Spencer Larson: Started at Nussbaum and have enjoyed the environment so far.
Ryan Mara: Growing as a team in Sales/Pricing—sometimes through lunch.
Brent Martin: I really enjoyed hearing from Brad at I Like Giving!
Drew B. Martin: Every food day ever. I love food.
Cristian Martinez: Receiving compliments about the equipment.
Wes Meador: The Road Captain Summit.
Emily Miller: Getting hired on to Nussbaum.
Michaela Mogged: Clarifying that Peg Balducci was inducted into the Greater Peoria Hall of Fame for BASKETBALL, not volleyball. 😉
Paul Mool: Being offered the lead tech spot after 8 months of working here was my favorite moment. I was not expecting it at all.
Sam Moravec: I got to help our marketing department with advertising the arrival of the 3 new psalm trailers with a truck photoshoot and ride along.
Stephen Mueller: Safely docking in Kenosha, WI with my first solo Nussbaum load.
Evan Nestel: Becoming a Fleet Planner!
Billie Joe Nussbaum: Shop Appreciation Day this year – we just had so much fun together as a group!
Jeni Nussbaum: The friendships that flourished. A work family is special. We spend 40+ hours a week with each other and I can’t imagine a better group of people to work with. I feel supported, they can make me laugh until I cry, and I get the best advice.
Toby Plattner: I got to be on the Fishing Derby Committee.
Dave Rainwater: I have made wonderful friendships here at Nussbaum and I wouldn’t trade them for the world!
Shawn Reischauer: I am known within the CAC’s to be the resident meme-generator, and one of my favorite moments was a playful back and forth we had in a group email with us all that prompted me to make the below image. It was a pretty fun exchange and reminded me of one of the best parts of this job – my co-workers!
James Rocke: Seeing other people benefit from PowerBI reports I created.
Dayton Rumbold: Since most of my year was spent in IT, I will make this one IT-related. Adding trip notes to Dispatch Planner was satisfying. Being able to see how this could fill communication gaps was exciting!
Lexie Salgado: I really enjoyed being a part of the November food day. It was my first time being on the committee, and it was a nice change of pace. I also got a chance to talk with and get to know others outside of my department (shoutout to Leah Strassheim 😊).
Joshua Schermerhorn: I brought my kids to the fishing derby, and my youngest caught a 10 lb 8 oz catfish – his biggest to date.
Rick Schmidt: I get the privilege of helping hire new office employees. For me, it is exciting to bring in new office employees and hear how they are doing with picking up the trucking industry! Being able to bring people into this amazing culture brings me excitement.
Mark Stalter: Having Faire Coffee here every other Wednesday. We need to figure out a way to get them inside during the cold months!!
Thad Steffen: One of my favorite Nussbaum memories from this year was being on the winning team for this year’s game of ESOP Jeopardy. Although, I have to give nearly all the credit to Grant Knepp, the MVP.
Jeremy Stickling: When Peg threatened me with a shotgun. Or maybe when Brendon claimed he was going to hit me. We all really love each other.
Heather Swords: All the food days! Having the opportunity to get to know so many people across different departments through the committees.
Lauren Turpin: Caterpillar presenting Nussbaum with the Supplier of the Year Award. It was so great to receive recognition for our hard work!
Scott Ubbenga: Bringing in food to show our appreciation for IT (it was a lot of fun to watch everyone jump in).
Anthony Voorhees: Getting on the CNH dedicated account.
Brent Wagenbach: Feeling the synergy of the Sales/Pricing department working as a team. CAT Transportation award. Winning 3rd place in the soup contest for the 3rd year in a row! Lots of fun moments and great relationships playing pong and mush ball!
Heather Warnick: I got my platinum driver sticker and just finished Certified RED training (equally proud moments).
Bill Wettstein: Frantically running through the Atlanta airport with a few of my co-workers, trying to catch a plane after one of them accidentally navigated us to departures instead of rental car returns and my luggage was randomly selected for a physical inspection. Doug Bradle, who reached the plane quicker, saved the day by telling the flight crew some of us were just a few minutes away, running through the terminal. The pilot had to get off the plane, walk up the jet bridge, and open the gate to let some of us on as the gate agent refused to wait for all of us. I was completely out of breath and drained a water bottle in basically one gulp when I got on the plane. A precious memory!
Shannon Wright: Graduating from Certified RED Training. Grateful for setting a goal and completing it.
Cody Zeller: Being able to read 5 full books in 2023 and it started here at Nussbaum this year. I utilized my breaks and lunch breaks to get through them.
Lena Zimmerman: Being a part of ESOP Jeopardy and thanks to Grant, we won a lunch from Nussbaum!
Matt D. Zimmerman: Starting to work here at Nussbaum! Even though I started on December 27, 2022, it’s been a great first year!
Matt “Zimmy” Zimmerman: Achieved Senior DM.
Noah Zimmerman: I really enjoyed reading and discussing the book, The Truth About Employee Engagement with a few fellow Nussbaumers. Pretty insightful!
