Meet Our New Regional Sales Manager: Stacey Bauerle

Stacey Bauerle is Freshway’s newest member of the sales team, and she is our Northeast Regional Sales Manager, stationed in the Pittsburgh area.

Prior to joining the Freshway team, Stacey worked at Verizon Wireless as a business account manager. In that role, she managed business accounts in a geographic territory.

Stacey applied for the position at Freshway because she wanted to make a change. “I was interested in going into a new industry that was not related to wireless technology because I had been in the same industry since college,” Stacey explains. “I wanted to see what else was out there and expand my own skill set in a new industry,” she adds.

In her new role, Stacey works with our customers to ensure their needs are being met. “I meet with customers face-to-face, and make sure their deliveries are on-time and accurate,” Stacey says. She says that the most difficult part of her job so far is trying to keep in touch with customers while driving across her large territory.

Stacey’s Puppy, Ava

Stacey is learning about the unique challenges of the fresh produce industry. “The perishable nature of our products is the biggest challenge,” she explains. “The timing of everything is very important, from when the product is picked from the field, brought to us, and everything that we do from that point forward to get the product to the customer,” she adds.

Stacey appreciates the positive culture at Freshway. “Everyone here works really well together,” she says. “Everyone not only can help their coworkers, but they are willing to help,” she adds. “That is very important to me. I’ve had jobs where you were supposed to be part of a team of people but it really felt like an island of one, so it is refreshing to work with people who truly work as a team.”

Stacey has a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Penn State. “When I started my internship in college, I planned to go to law school, and I thought, ‘This is great; I’ll be like Johnny Cochran!'” But I didn’t realize that most law school graduates spend the day doing case work, and you are just in the library reading and highlighting all day,” Stacey explains. “To me that was not very exciting,” she adds, “so I ended up going into sales.”

In her free time, Stacey likes to play with her puppy, Ava. She also enjoys cleaning her house. “I lead a pretty boring life,” she laughs, “That pretty much sums it up!” Stacey and her husband Bill live with their “furbaby” Ava in Pittsburgh, PA.

Please join us in welcoming Stacey to Team Freshway!

 

 

Meet Our New Customer Service Rep: Jill Jolly

Jill Jolly joined Freshway earlier this Fall, and she has quickly become a key member of our customer service team. Jill enters customer orders and provides additional support to our customers. Jill has a smile for everyone, and is a joy to work with.

Prior to joining Freshway, Jill worked as a customer service representative at Money Concepts, a financial planning company.

To be successful in customer service, Jill believes that it is important to be able to talk to people. “You have to be a people person,” she says. “If you can’t talk to people, then you can’t work in customer service,” she adds. “It also helps to have a positive attitude.”

Jill enjoys talking to customers every day. “We deal with some numbers, but I would rather work with people than with numbers,” Jill explains. “I also like the people I work with, and that makes the job more pleasant.”

Cake Decorated by Jill Jolly. Photo credit: Little B Memories

In her short time at Freshway, Jill has learned how important the customer service function is to our success. “I have learned that there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle at Freshway,” she states, “Without a piece, it’s not complete. Every job at Freshway is very important.”

Jill says that what she likes most about working at Freshway is the people. “Everyone here is very nice, and I think that Freshway has a strong family environment,” Jill says, “People here really care about you.”

Jill holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Thomas Edison State College. Jill completed her degree while living in Germany, where her husband was stationed in the Army.

Originally from Houston, Ohio, Jill lives in Sidney with her husband, child, and a dog and cat. In her free time, she likes to bake, crochet, sew and spend time with her family. Jill enjoys decorating cakes, and has worked in a bakery making custom cakes.

Please join us in welcoming Jill to Team Freshway!