“We are the day-to-day problem solvers. We work to be a resource to operations.” This is the mindset of Jeanette Commodore, who comes to work daily solution-minded and ready to improve processes as she encounters challenges. Jeanette has been with Superfresh Growers® for five years and enjoys each day's action and challenges.
“Every day is different. I like our company culture and energy. Our team maintains a positive, solution-minded, go-getter atmosphere. We value individuality and expression. I like to see the different personalities, backgrounds, and personal strengths everyone brings,” Jeanette shares. She appreciates how everyone on the team is empowered to be a leader and improve processes as challenges present themselves. “I like that I am allowed to suggest the idea or solution and implement it without being shut down like some bureaucratic hierarchy-minded company would,” Jeanette writes.
She continues, “The mission statement, to act with urgency, transparency, and integrity, hits home with me. Since being agile enough to adapt to situations is critical, it motivates me to think independently. My parents taught me to work hard and always do my best. If you are going to do it, do it right. My nature is to get things done, step up, and take control when needed. I am motivated by the need to make sure ‘the ball keeps rolling.’ We should solve any problems that might disturb or delay our system.
“I understand that in operations, the wheel must keep turning. To ensure our team's success, I try to help others, whether it is just showing them something in Computech (our order system) or explaining how a process works. My goal is that every team member has support and resources to do their jobs well,” shares Jeanette.
Jeanette on a morning bike ride to the office last year.
During the quick transition from sales coordination to sales, Jeanette “hit the ground running,” she shares. “I was glad to get the hang of it quickly, and the tasks felt natural.” Her main tasks are to enter and process orders, work with logistics, customer service, and day-to-day order management. “While they may seem like simple tasks, knowledge of fruit, customer behavior, and shipper operation is all required to set up orders that will ship with ease. Order management is where the fun comes in. It is our job to ensure an order ships with quality, in full, and on time. We are the problem solvers for the day-to-day orders,” she writes.
Jeanette started in the produce industry at Giro Pack when she moved to Yakima from Seattle nine years ago. Her primary duties there were inventory control, selling, shipping, and ordering machine parts. “There, I gained a general understanding of bagger machines and how a packing house works.” She then joined Superfresh Growers as a Sales Coordinator, where she “dove into the fruit industry. I quickly learned varieties, packs, sizes, and grading. I was amazed at the details and depth of working with fruit. The coordination department taught me the foundation of Superfresh Growers and the strength of our network. I got to see how much goes into shipping a purchase order.”
Jeanette loves that the Superfresh team feels like family. “A few years ago, I received birthday gifts and flowers from my pod and surrounding pods. It was an awesome surprise and a great feeling. Right then, it occurred to me that we are like a family,” she shares.
Jeanette and her daughter Kathryn on a walk.
When Jeanette goes home, she likes to leave work at the door. “It’s like changing worlds when I walk through the door. I like to keep family and work separate.” When home with her family, Jeanette enjoys reading novels, riding her bike, watching a good TV show, and walking their dog with her nine-year-old daughter, Kathryn, and her husband, Nick. Her daughter is the light of her life and loves science, math, reading, and playing with their pet, a guinea pig and dog. “My family is my core in life,” Jeanette shares.
Jeanette grew up in Seattle, WA, mostly. She also lived in Lakewood and Lummi for a few years each while growing up, but she has always considered Seattle as her home. Jeanette moved to Yakima nine years ago with her husband from the Yakima Valley. Jeanette graduated from Indian Heritage High School in North Seattle. She earned an A.A. in General Studies at South Seattle Community College. She recently went back to school to make a B.S. in Business Management at Western Governors University online and will graduate this June.
Jeanette continues to move the needle forward and is motivated to work through any problems or challenges that arrive. As a team player, she ensures her team members have the support and resources they need. Jeanette puts the company, her colleagues, and her customers first and ensures they feel supported, making Jeanette Commodore The Force Behind Fresh®.
