National Electric, an electrical distributor based in Albuquerque, N.M., held an event Jan. 29 to recognize 13 employees for their many years of service. The highest honors went to Joey Candelaria and Roy Yonemoto for completing 25 years with the company. Both received a trip of their choice along with spending money to celebrate the accomplishment. Other high achievers included Greg Dann, Paul Martinez and Ted Springer with 10 years, followed by Roger Harris, Matthew Jaramillo, Harry Laporte, Michael Loeppke, Arthur Manring, Jonathan Semarge, Sara Wickham and Keith Yates with five years of service.
In announcing the awards, National pointed to a recent report from U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed the average employee tenure for the nation was 4.1 years. The average employee tenure at National is over seven years and one third of National's staff members have worked ten or more years.
“The key to such great longevity is to treat your employees how you want to be treated,” said Rocklan Lawrence, National Electric's owner. “It's important to provide an environment where people have the chance to grow and learn new things continually. We place a high emphasis on training and promoting from within. Everyone at National has the same opportunity for advancement if they choose to.”