Paper 2 Re-write

October 25, 2012

On a typical weekend at Hy-Vee there are plenty of helpful smiles and there is always friendly service. There is also plenty of cauliflower ear and potentially starving Morningside wrestlers.

Bob Taylor didn’t know what he started the day he met former Morningside Student and athlete Morgan Freese.  What it did end up starting was an alliance of sorts between the Morningside wrestling team and the Hamilton Hy-Vee in Sioux City.

Morgan Freese was at the off-campus job fair in 2008 when he first met Hy-Vee Bob.  Bob Taylor is the human resource manager at the Hamilton Hy-Vee.  Morgan introduced himself and was eventually hired as part of the Hamilton Hy-Vee team.  Eventually a few of Morgan’s teammates were starting to feel the financial pinch of college life and decided to go have a talk with Hy-Vee Bob.  This started a trend that has been happening for nearly five years since then.

Asked about the connection between Hy-Vee and the Morningside Wrestling team Taylor said, “It’s easy hiring on these Morningside wrestlers, especially when I don’t have to worry about if I’ve hired good characters.  I have my very own pre-screening system of (former head) coach (Tim) Jager and now I have coach (Jake) Stevenson to do the same for me.”

Taylor is a Hy-Vee legend of sorts.  He received the lifetime achievement award for Hy-Vee which is given to only 7-9 employees of the people employed by Hy-Vee each year.  He has shown his continued dedication to Hy-Vee with his efforts to help not only the customers but do whatever he can to help his employees as well.  He also has shown an ability to be in touch with his workers schedules outside of work by making sure to schedule them when it is convenient for them and getting them off work even when they forgot to ask off.

Kory Kistner, a senior 125 pounder for the Mustangs has enjoyed his three years serving Hy-Vee and said Taylor was a big part of that.  “Bob has always been very understanding of my schedule and has bailed me out numerous times when I had things come up and couldn’t come to work.”

It isn’t all about work when it comes to the connection for Hy-Vee and the wrestling team though.  There have been numerous weddings, road trips, and grill outs that have taken place as well.  “I like to think that this relationship between the team and Hy-Vee has grown from a simple work relationship into a true friendship,” Taylor said.

He has hired ­­28 wrestlers over the last four years and been a key person in making sure the wrestling team always has an option for off campus jobs.  He has made it a lot easier to keep the team on the same page while ensuring they have a continuing source of income throughout the school year.

Chad Morehead, a senior 165 pounder for the Mustangs appreciates Bob’s continued dedication to his workers.  Chad often wants extra hours and Bob is able to find them for him on most occasions.  Chad said, “I live off campus, so I always need extra money.  Bob helps me get extra hours on the weekends and even helped me get a job on the night crew the last two summers so I could make sure I always had cash flowing in.”

Hy-Vee management has noticed the increased presence of the Morningside Wrestling team at the store.  Front end manager, Jeff Betsworth, loves how he can trust and doesn’t have to worry if they are doing the right things.  “I love having the Morningside team working here, they are dependable and are always looking for something to do, just like I told Bob, we need to make sure we keep this connection so we always have these kinds of workers here.”

Juggling an off-campus job along with the duties of being a full-time student as well as being a collegiate athlete can be hard work.  However, Taylor said it is worth the time to invest in hiring athletes for numerous reasons.  “Athletes are used to having to follow set schedules, they understand the value of working as a team, and in most sports there is some sort of dress code that is enforced just like here at Hy-Vee.   They also aren’t afraid of hard work.”

Now anytime a Morningside wrestler needs a job, they just make a trip into the Hamilton Hy-Vee, go up the stairs to the human resource office, and ask for Hy-Vee Bob.

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