Kim Burks

Keep trying. When I initially applied for this job, I actually was not hired. They said they decided to hire from within, and I respected that. I said fine, that's great, let me know if anything comes open. And then a week later, they called me back and said, when can you start? The guy they hired from within did not work out. So it's just keep pushing. If you have a friend that works in the industry, ask them, hey, what can I do to get my foot in this door? Because the doors are open. I mean, I'm fixing to retire here in a couple years. This door's gonna be open. Just keep on. Just keep trying. If it's something you're really looking to get into, just keep looking, because there's jobs out there. We can do anything a man can do, exception maybe heavy lifting. But I mean, we can run equipment, we can dig, I mean, it can be done.

The biggest challenge is that my position and the majority of positions at this utility company are still mostly men. The office work like customer service has a lot of women, but in warehouse management and other operational roles, it's still male-dominated. However, there are real opportunities opening up. I'm fixing to retire in a couple years, so this door's gonna be open. My supervisor told me years ago that they would never hire another man for this job because women are more thorough, take their time, and do it right. So the opportunity is there for women who keep trying and keep pushing to get their foot in the door.

Honesty and being trustworthy are really important to me. You have to be trustworthy, and you have to be consistently accurate. I mean, if you're not accurate, your inventory's off. So I try to be thorough as much as I can. I don't ask anything of anybody that I wouldn't do myself. That's my leadership style, to lead by example. Family is also very important. As you get older, there's less and less of it, and on the flip side, the younger generation grows. So of course family is important, keeping that bond and that relationship with your family. I've always been one of those people who tries to do their best in all aspects of life. With our horse farm, I'm very particular about where our horses go. I do a vetting with the people that want to buy them to make sure it's gonna be a good match. I'm always trying to do what I can for the horse community in our area, helping people or pointing them in the right direction to get help they need, or even if there's somebody new that wants to come in and see what it's all about, I try to take them and lead them along the way and show them the right way.