Rebecca Campbell has a life list, a selection of goals and activities – small and large – that she wants to be able to check off. She experienced one of them recently when her husband was out of town. Rebecca and her two children built a fort in the basement and “camped out” overnight.
“Not everything is extreme,” she says. “Sometimes it’s eating in a new restaurant or doing something special with the kids. But it also could be hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon,” she says, demonstrating an openness to the kind of thing that usually shows up on a bucket list.
Rebecca’s ability to simultaneously embrace life and approach it as a project with goals and deadlines gives insight into why she was chosen as a Hormel Foods Pride of the Jersey recipient. The e-commerce and digital marketing manager is a shining example of an inspired person, says Craig Drefcinski, director of the Kroger business team for consumer products sales.
When Craig made the surprise announcement, he cited Rebecca’s accomplishments as the company’s first manager of shopper engagement. At the same time, he highlighted some of the Hormel Foods Cultural Beliefs she embodies so well: Challenge Yourself, Build Bridges, Create Solutions and Results Matter.
Rebecca’s role demonstrates that the company understands the importance of making its goods available through the internet. Among her responsibilities are making sure the right products are available online, pairing them with the correct imagery and working with retailers to have Hormel Foods items well-positioned.
Working With Inspired People
Rebecca loves her job and the people even more so. They’ve been there for her in good times and bad. Many co-workers were at her wedding, she says, and there for her during darker days as well. Rebecca lost two of her four children shortly after they were born. Both babies – her first child and one of her twins – inherited a genetic disorder and lived only a few days.
“The Hormel Foods family showed up,” she says, meaning literally at her babies’ funerals, for example, and figuratively, through phone calls and messages of support. “I thought, ‘Wow, these people really care about me.’”
She mentions the tragedies to shed light on why she is nearly 15 years into her first job – not to mention her first interview – out of college.
“It’s so common to have a couple of different companies on your resume,” she says. “But it’s almost as if I’ve had experience from a number of places; I’ve had so many opportunities at Hormel Foods.” She explains also explains her reason for staying as so many other Hormel Foods team members do: the people.
“I know it’s a corny answer, but it’s a huge reason. Hands down, it’s the people,” she says.
Rebecca loves how “everyone rallies around each other,” and how much access there is to senior management. “It’s phenomenal,” she says. “They listen to you.”
Rebecca’s Journey To Hormel Foods
She’s based in Cincinnati, not far from her childhood home in Kentucky. Rebecca’s husband, Andrew, is also a native Kentuckian. In fact, the two were high school sweethearts. Rebecca attended the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa after graduation. Andrew, one year her senior, was already in the United States Air Force. They decided to remain friends instead of having a long-distance relationship, but that was short-lived.
Rebecca and Andrew reunited when she was in college and he was in the military. “Neither one of us ever found anyone else,” she says. As Rebecca was beginning her career with Hormel Foods, Andrew went to college on the GI Bill. He now works as a home inspector.
They recently combined their love of travel with their devotion to their children, 6 and 3. The family went on a Disney cruise, a special treat for the kids. “Watching their joy made the experience magical,” Rebecca says.
She returned to the usual accumulation of emails and assignments, but insists the vacation was worth having to work extra to catch up.
“You have to experience life,” she says. “You just never know.”
