At Raymond, we have outstanding employees, so we decided to feature some of them on our blog. We’d like to highlight Michelle Icenogle, Purchasing Assistant for all California regions, based out of our Orange, California Headquarters. Michelle has worked in the construction industry for 14 years and with Raymond for four. Michelle is responsible for reviewing material orders, processing the orders for payment, and placing orders for projects as needed. She works closely with our field teams, accounting department, and vendors.
We sat down with Michelle to learn more about her and her time at Raymond.
What brought you into the construction industry? When I was a freshman in high school, I lived with my older sister. At the time she was a superintendent for a home builder in Las Vegas. After school, she would pick me up and I would walk the jobsite with her. As we would walk houses, she would explain the different phases of construction. I learned a lot by listening to her talk to all kinds of people from different trades. It was very fascinating to see the progression of a home being built from the ground up. When I was 20, I followed her to California, and I got a job working as a filing clerk in the accounting department of a custom home builder. From there I’ve done various jobs within the industry.
What do you like most about working in construction? It’s hard to decide what I like the most. There are so many things about working in this industry that I like; from the people to the daily challenges within my job, to being able to see pictures of the cool projects that Raymond gets to do. I also like that there is always something new for me to learn. I’ve yet to work in the field, but over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to work in different positions where so many great people have taken me under their wing and I’ve had the chance to learn about accounting functions, insurance, contracts, sales and marketing, and of course, purchasing. No matter what position I’ve been in, it’s always been a fast-paced work environment and I like that.
Three words to describe Raymond: Integrity, Pride, Cool
What’s the best thing about your job? The people. I’ve never worked at a place before where everyone is so kind and respectful of one another. I remember my first week starting at Raymond, I came home and told my husband, everyone is soooo friendly and happy. They can’t all be that happy everyday working here, right? Haha. I was wrong. People are as friendly today as they were my first week. It makes for a nice work environment. Don’t get me wrong, I know we have stressful situations, but even during those times, people are still kind and respectful.
What is the most challenging part of your job? Staying organized and balancing my time. Since I process items for our Northern California, Orange, and San Diego locations, I must make sure I don’t get caught up working in one area and get behind in others. I’m constantly bouncing back and forth between the different companies/locations.
What is the best advice anyone ever gave you? My dad used to tell us kids, whatever it is you choose to do in life, you better bust your butt and give it your all, and if you do that, you’ll always be proud of yourself; even when you fail.
What do you like doing when you’re not at work? I love spending time with my family. We’re close and we do most things together. We live in Norco, which is known as Horsetown USA. It’s an awesome place to live, where you can catch a rodeo, or see kids being picked up from school on horseback. A lot of the people who live here have ranches with farm animals. We have 10 chickens, which consist of five different breeds, and with those different breeds, we get different colored eggs. We get white, light tan, terracotta, and light blue. Soon our newest chickens to the flock will start giving us olive-colored eggs. My daughters and I have also gotten into gardening. So far this summer, we are growing two different kinds of tomatoes, two different kinds of peppers, mint, and basil. My husband and I plan on expanding our garden area to include more vegetables. We like being able to eat what we grow.
What show/book are you currently binging? I don’t watch a lot of tv, but when I do, it’s usually some kind of real medical stuff. Medicine and the human body have always fascinated me. I do love to read. Sometimes, I read one book at a time, and sometimes, I bounce back and forth between books depending on my mood. Currently, I’m bouncing between the Game of Thrones and Joe Dillard Series.
Before working at Raymond, did you have any other interesting jobs? I got my first job as a summer hire when I was 13. My dad was in the Navy, so I worked on the military base in Japan. Initially, I thought I was going to have an easy job, working at the movie theater we had on base, but I ended up being a maintenance worker. The movie theater just happened to be the place where we reported for duty every morning. I was the youngest person in that position. My colleagues were 16–17-year-old males. That summer we mowed the lawn of the football field, stacked lumber, painted buildings, and restored the hobby shop that had previously caught fire. I received an appreciation plaque that I still have to this day for our hard work restoring the shop. Also, as a teenager, I worked in the galley (food hall) of another military base in Florida. We served over 5,000 meals a day to military personnel.
What inspires you? My family. Going back to when I was a kid, I watched both my parents work hard and make sacrifices to provide for me and my siblings. Now that I am a parent, I want to show my kids the same work ethic that my parents had. My kids inspire me as well, to be better and do better. My husband is another great source of inspiration. That man deserves an award for all he does for our family.
What’s one thing you couldn’t live without? My family. They make my world go round.
How do you balance your career and your family? It’s a lot of juggling, but when I’m at work, I do my best to stay focused and be the best worker I can be. That way when it’s time to go home, I can leave my work at work, knowing I’ve done all I can for the day and am able to be present with my family during our time together. I’m also fortunate enough to have such a supportive boss who understands when situations arise that have to do with my kids, which may alter my work schedule. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t be able to juggle my career and family life as well as I do.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us? Thank you, thank you, thank you. To all the people that I work with here at Raymond, whether we’ve met in person, or not, I am so appreciative and in awe of all you do that makes coming to work a joy.
