FIVE MINUTES WITH Joyce Anglin Material Handler, IMAGEN Brands Celebrating 60 Years With IMAGENBrands More than six decades ago, Joyce Anglin began working for IMAGEN Brands, then Vitronic, in packing. Committed to the supplier and the friendships she’s built there over the years, today Anglin works as a material handler and is as enthusiastic as ever to support a company she calls her “second home.” by Danielle Renda Joyce Anglin, left, is pictured with her supervisor, Tracy Steele, as the IMAGEN Brands team celebrates Anglin’s milestone anniversary of 60 years with the company. Joyce Anglin is the epitome of a loyal employee. More than six decades ago, on Monday, Feb. 19, 1962, Anglin walked through the doors of Vitronic in Doniphan, Missouri, a supplier which later became a division of IMAGEN Brands, now owned by Koozie Group. A year after graduating from high school, Anglin moved west to St. Louis to help her sister care for her triplet infant sons, and after being there for a year, she’d started applying for jobs. Anglin received a call-back from Orville McManus, formerly a human resources representative with Vitronic, who asked her to come in. She wasn’t assigned to a specific role or department, but she was prepared to learn. “When I was hired, I was never informed which department I was hired to work in,” she says. “They just wanted to know if I wanted to work.” Anglin thoroughly proved that sentiment true. On Feb. 19, of this year, she celebrated 60 years employed with the company. Anglin is a currently a material handler, which entails cycle-counting the warehouse to keep track of stock. Alongside her coworker Janine Buckhanan, Anglin says they also “inspect items when they are delivered and fill in for people when they are on vacation or call out.” She adds, “We’re always happy to do whatever is asked of us!” “I still can’t believe it’s been 60 years that I’ve worked at one place,” Anglin said in a statement released by IMAGEN Brands. “It’s been so good to be able to work with friends. They’ve become my family. I asked God to allow me to work so I could take care of my mother and dad; my prayers were answered.” PPB spoke with Anglin to learn more about her experience in the promotional products industry, and her career with IMAGEN Brands. PPB What can you tell us about how the industry has changed in the last 60 years? Anglin I’ve seen quite a few changes to our company alone over the years. Each company that has bought us brought new ideas to make things work easier. When we were Vitronic, we made everything in-house. We had a huge cutting department, sealing department, silk-screen department, as well as stitching, stamping and then packing. The company then began ordering items from overseas, and because of that, some departments started to phase out. Also, we made items from plastic and leather. Some items were sealed to finish, then some materials went to silk screen to get the [branding] put on them, then sealed and packed. PPB What were some of the most popular promo products when you started? Anglin The popular items were calendars, pass cases (which resemble a travel card holder or wallet, and are used to store and identification, event passes and tickets), 70 | JULY 2022 | THINK
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzU4OQ==