News

RLTurner was founded 50 years ago, and one employee has been here all but 15 of those years.

When Larry Sheets was working as a farmhand in his early 20s, he thought life was pretty good. He had a house, was surrounded by brand new farm equipment, and was getting a decent paycheck. That was until the paychecks began bouncing.

For his next job, he started on the county road crew. He enjoyed working outside and with his hands, but the pace was slower than he liked, and he wasn’t cut out for spending days leaning on a shovel.

In 1990, Larry was 24 years old, married to Sandi and raising two young kids. He knew a couple of guys who worked for RLTurner, and they encouraged him to apply for a job. “Honestly, I was just looking for a job,” Larry says. “I was blessed, though, in that I found a career.”

Over the decades, Larry’s responsibilities increased as both the warehouse and the company grew. “I remember when the warehouse was much smaller, and we tracked everything using a card system,” Larry says. “I’ve always had a willingness to learn, and our guys in the field have always taken the time to teach the people willing to learn.” So, by continually acquiring new skills, he’s earned a reputation of someone who can be counted on to get things done right.

He’s seen cards replaced with computers and fax machines and pagers replaced with cell phones, which rarely stop ringing with requests. The culture of helping our customers and coworkers, however, has remained constant.

Larry’s tenure has spanned three company presidents and five managers of field operations. “I never really was one to chase money, but I’ve been fortunate that I’ve hung around long enough that I always made good money, and I’ve never had to worry about a paycheck bouncing or saving for retirement,” Larry says. “I’ve always enjoyed helping out and working behind the scenes. I’ve had some bad days, sure, but when you’re working for good people, it’s all added up to be a pretty good career.