When the safety committee at the Hormel Foods Austin (Minn.) Plant welcomed a new leader, he quickly landed on a key to the team’s success. He began to ask where he could find more people like Rod Ryks. Everyone he approached laughed and told him, ‘He’s one of a kind.’”
Rod Ryks is a 21-year production professional at the Austin Plant. He’s also a recent recipient of the Hormel Foods jersey, designed to celebrate the inspired people who make the inspired food the company has long been known for.
“This is awesome,” he repeated as Plant Manager Clint Walters and previous Pride of the Jersey recipient Mark Turvey handed him the Hormel Foods hockey-style shirt.
Rod stood at the front of the room as Clint and Mark sung his praises. Sporting a dyed-pink beard and matching tie and head scarf, he also stood out. In addition to his work for Hormel Foods, Rod is committed to the community’s breast cancer fundraiser Paint the Town Pink.
When he slipped the bright-red Hormel Foods jersey on, it was a moment he won’t soon forget. Neither will those in the packed conference room who came to honor their friend and co-worker.
“We all come to work to do a job and do the best that we can. And to be recognized…it means a lot,” Rod says.
He grew up near the Austin Plant he has called home for more than two decades. He wanted to be part of the Hormel Foods team for as long as he could remember, so when an opportunity arose 10-plus years into his career as a grocery-store meat cutter, he jumped at it.
“My journey has been really good, really good,” Rod says. “This is a company that is diverse and it takes everybody to make things work. And things work well around here.”
