2/3/2023 - By Mike Hess

Sheila Sajko was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida where she married her now husband, Tim Sajko, and had her daughter, Kendra. For the last 21 years, Sheila has been a part of the Harrell's family. She started in customer service, but it wasn't long before a need arose in our Lakeland production plant. Sheila not only graciously met the need, but stayed in the role until her recent retirement 20 years later.

A New and Exciting Opportunity

"I was laid off from the small construction company I worked for," Sheila said, "but my sister had lunch with someone who currently worked at Harrell's named Michael New, and mentioned that I was looking for a job. Michael relayed the message that Harrell's had an open position in their customer service department, and I was thrilled."

Sheila had her first interview with Jack Harrell, Randy Haskins, and Matt Shook, and it wasn't long after that she was offered the position at Harrell's, which is where it all began.

A New Opportunity for a Life-Long Career

21 years is no short time. It takes a lot of dedication from someone to stay in one place for that long and is a true testament to a company's culture to be able to keep so many employees for that amount of time. I asked Sheila what it was about Harrell's that made her spend the majority of her career here, and her answer is truly what we all should look for in a position, "I loved what I did. Even though I basically performed the same duties every day, it was always interesting for me. Whenever challenges came up like all the order requests, difficulties with raw materials or supply chain, or bulk trailer availability, it was always a learning experience for me."

Sheila is someone who always looked forward to working with her fellow Harrell's employees. There were always challenges (expected and otherwise) but she was always willing to step up to the plate and do her best to address them as they arose. Thank you, Sheila, for all of your hard work over the last 21 years.

Sheila's Favorites and What She's Looking Forward to

Outside of the office, Sheila's favorite thing to do is spend time with her friends, family, and fur babies (Lexie, Lola, and Mickey). Outside of her normal favorites, her retirement plans are to do all the things she didn't have time to do while working! She plans to travel, work on crafts, and read more, just to name a few activities.

Even though she will be retired from Harrell's that doesn't mean Seila can't work on the side. She has taken the step of joining her friend's travel agency team as a travel advisor, allowing her to check one thing off her retirement list by getting some travel opportunities, and work on something she's looking forward to all at the same time. "I am excited to help others plan great vacations, all the while earning travel opportunities for myself and my family."

Overall, Sheila is very excited about her retirement. She is looking forward to the time she will finally get to spend with her family doing all the things she couldn't do while working full-time, and we are so excited to see what she does next.