Twenty-two years ago, Bill Harrison began working at Apollo. In the early days, the company was small enough that everyone did a little bit of everything. Bill worked in sales, art, and shipping before quickly assuming the role of IT Specialist and then IT Director.
Bill explains why the position of IT Director is his favorite: “I’m fortunate that my work is so interesting. Each day is fresh with new developments and new challenges. Repetition is minimal. There is a bunch of research, analysis, planning, developing, piloting and deployment. It is quite satisfying to figure out and implement solutions that improve how we meet the challenges of the day.”
“Every week our department has victories. We have access to a great set of tools in the form of hardware and software. We’re constantly learning about how to use these tools to increase our capabilities as a company,” continues Bill. “We figure out how things work and then how best to configure and deploy. I look forward to getting back into the office on Monday mornings; I always seem to have an idea or hypothesis on the weekend that I can’t wait to explore.”
Outside of work, Bill enjoys hiking in the region’s forests with his lovely bride, Mary. In their downtime, they’re currently binge watching The Office (US) on Netflix.
Bill, Apollo enjoys your upbeat attitude and creativity in finding new solutions!
Mary Harrison celebrates 21 years at Apollo as an Inside Sales Representative. She also trains new Customer Service Reps.
“I love working with my customers and fellow Apollo colleagues. We all work together and have a great time,” says Mary.
Mary was the first to meet Joel Nichols while working for FedEx. Bill shares, “Mary told me tales of a wild-eyed, frenetic businessman who was always getting to the FedEx station with his outbound packages just as they were closing up.”
“Joel is a great guy that is still passionate about customer service and taking care of his clients,” adds Mary.
While Mary processed his packages, Joel would tell her that he wanted to hire her. At one point she and Bill went to the Front Street facility for a tour and interview. Bill soon joined the team. Mary followed Bill to Apollo one year later.
Mary quickly adds, “There is one thing that I really want people to know about Apollo: Joel and Keersten truly do care about the products they sell, their customers, and our Apollo team. They constantly strive to make a better product at a great price and to make the customer happy. I feel blessed to have worked for them these 21 years. It’s a privilege to work with such a wonderful group of people both inside and outside of Apollo.”
In addition to hiking and traveling with Bill, and enjoying adventures with her family, Mary loves to curl up with a good book on a cold winter day while sipping hot cocoa (with plenty of marshmallows on top).
Mary, many Apollo customers have told us how much you care about them personally and professionally. You make our customers happy!
Since 2014, Nick Picciuto has served as Chief Financial Officer for Apollo.
He recently added part-time Shipping Laborer to his title after helping Jeff Peterson pack RAIL lights for a large order that needed to ship out on time. Nick’s willingness to jump in to get things done is always appreciated.
During Nick’s first three years at Apollo, his 13-year-old Corgi, Spanky, was his sidekick at work. Nick claims that some of the people in his department were happier to see Spanky than they were to see him. He says he doesn’t want to call anyone out, but the names Rita LeFavour, Ann Young, and Karey Davis did come up in conversation. (wink)
When asked what Nick most enjoys about his position, he answers, “Interacting with employees of all three companies — they are truly nice people.” Continuing, he states, “I’m driven to do what others say can’t be done. I’m a sucker for the underdog and have always had that chip on my shoulder.”
“Coffee is for Closers” is a motto Nick shamelessly stole from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross. Joel and Nick make wagers on where a month’s sales are going to end up, and the prize is always coffee.
Outside of work, Nick enjoys golfing with anyone other than Rita. He confesses that it’s only because she always wins.
Nick, don’t worry — we love you just as much as Sparky.
Alex Williams joined the Apollo team one year ago. He wasn’t available for an interview; we’ve heard that his position as Assembly Tech is in high demand this time of the year.
Since we couldn’t bring you fresh content, we decided to borrow an inspiring quote from his Facebook page: “I think it’s safe to say you’re obsessed with fishing when you go check your fish trap over lunch and come back with nightcrawlers in your lunch box.”
Alex, we think it’s safe to say that your lunch will forever be untouched in the breakroom from now on.
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