Category: Employment opportunities

It took more than 40 years of playing golf, but Jack O’Hara recorded his first hole-in-one on June 5, 2018.
He was part of a foursome participating in a senior men’s league at Spring Creek Golf Course in Hershey. They were on the eighth hole.
“Hit the green about four inches behind the hole, [the ball] curled around, dropped in,” he said. “That was really fun. We all just kind of jumped and started screaming.”
At 65, O’Hara still brings plenty of youthful enthusiasm to his job as a seasonal independent delivery driver for Royer’s. He has been with Royer’s since Valentine’s Day 2015, having responded to a newspaper help-wanted ad shortly after moving to the area from Richmond, Va., with his wife, Terrie.
“I love doing this,” he said one afternoon at the start of his shift. He was wearing boots, jeans, a fleece jacket and a ball cap.
O’Hara spent 40 years in the printing industry, during which he was a customer service manager overseeing 19 customer service representatives in five states. Covering that much territory meant plenty of time behind the wheel, time that he put to good use.
“A lot of windshield time, a lot of time to put your mind together, reflect, and think about how you can make someone’s day,” he said. “Customer service has always been one of my things that I’m really proud of.”

‘Instant love affair’

He credited his father, who was a funeral director in Pleasant Mount, Pa., for teaching him customer service and other skills. As a customer service representative himself, O’Hara worked on major accounts from across the country.
“You learn how to treat people,” he said. “You treat people well, that will come back on you 100 times. I always taught my CSRs to think positively. If your day starts off bad, it’s OK, start it over. It’s not the end of the world. There’s no issue or error that cannot be fixed. Forty years, I’ve been able to bring that with me.”
From his first Valentine’s Day with Royer’s, he said, “It was an instant love affair for myself. I wanted to do something. I’d been looking around. Being new the community, this opportunity helped me to learn a lot about the area, the community, and meet a lot of people.
“A lot of people that I deliver to, I deliver to maybe two or three times a year,” he said. “And it’s always great to go back and see someone, say hi.”
That first year, he also worked at Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. More recently, the store has needed him on additional occasions. He typically works three-hour shifts for Royer’s. (During the golfing season, he also works in the pro shop at Spring Creek Golf Course.)
He offered this endorsement to anyone interested in becoming a seasonal independent delivery driver for Royer’s:
“If you’re looking to do something, and if you’re the type of person that likes to meet people, talk to people, and help people out, I think it’s a great opportunity,” he said. “I think it’s something people should at least check out. I really find it very fulfilling. If you can bring some joy into someone’s life, I think that means a lot.”
If you or someone you know would like additional information about seasonal independent delivery driver opportunities, please call or stop by your nearest Royer’s store and ask for the delivery room manager.

Liz Bazewicz still marvels at what she saw that first winter some 15 years ago when she first joined Royer’s Flowers as a holiday helper.
“The volume,” she said. “I had no idea what was involved in putting together Valentine’s Day.”
As Cupid comes calling once again, Royer’s is counting on seasonal mainstays such as Bazewicz to augment its regular staff during what amounts to the floral industry’s version of the Super Bowl.
Royer’s has a range of holiday helper openings with flexible hours available at royers.com/careers.
Bazewicz initially was drawn to Royer’s at a point when her three children were sufficiently grown and she wasn’t needed at home all day.
“I was bored, and the opportunity arose [with Royer’s],” she said. “I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for Valentine’s Day, and I knew I loved being around flowers, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

‘Real camaraderie’

Bazewicz has always worked at the Hershey store. She’s a fixture at major holidays and during homecoming season, primarily to wrap orders but also to help with any number of other behind-the-scenes tasks.
“I am still amazed at the planning and the organization that it takes to pull off these holidays,” she said, “and how successfully they do it. Speaking more than three weeks before Valentine’s Day, she noted that Royer’s already was in production for the holiday.
“It’s such an incredible well-oiled machine in terms of timing and personnel and getting everything done in a timely fashion so that there are no crises,” she said.
Asked what she likes most about her job, Bazewicz cited teamwork.
“Anybody that’s coming in new is going to be trained properly on what needs to be done,” she said. “They don’t have to feel like they’re going to be left alone to figure it out on their own. It’s well orchestrated.
“And we have fun. We really, honestly do. We joke around. And because people are so helpful toward me, I try to be so helpful toward them. So there’s a real camaraderie that I feel is really important. I literally wouldn’t come back if I didn’t feel cared about.”
Bazewicz, 61, noted that floral work is fast-paced and physically challenging.
“Number one, you are on your legs all day long, period, amen, end of story,” she said. “And there is lifting, there’s no question about that. And if you’re not comfortable or able to do that amount of lifting, then certainly you ask for help.”
It’s good, hard work for someone who wants to be physically active, Bazewicz said, that brings with it a deep sense of satisfaction.
“To be a part of this process where you can pull this off is almost an amazing accomplishment,” she said. “You need to be prepared to work hard. But I think it’s very rewarding. A job well done.”