Brenda Allen

Brenda Allen remarks on career and life after retirement

For the last 37 years, Brenda Allen has worked for Linder Industrial Machinery Company (previously Mitchell Distributing Company) in North Carolina. A majority of her career was spent in the accounting department at Linder’s Concord branch, where she built strong relationships with her co-workers.

Brenda Allen, Accounts Payable, Linder

“I love the people here,” Allen said. “Linder is a good company to work for, but I think it’s the people who make the business. You have people here who work together. It’s home to me. I’ve made friends that I will keep for the rest of my life.”

Allen added, “I would like to thank all the people I’ve worked under throughout my time at Linder; they have all been wonderful. I was lucky enough to know John Coughlin before he became the president of the company. I’ve loved watching some of the employees grow from young kids just starting out to now having their own families and balancing work with teenagers. It’s almost like an extended family.”

Allen has watched the company grow into a dominant equipment distributor in the Carolinas.

“Years ago, it would be really slow during wintertime,” Allen noted. “The last couple years, we haven’t slowed down much. We seem to keep growing.”

Allen noted that Linder’s new facility is a testament to that.

“It’s been really nice — good job, good place, good people,” she said. “I’m going to miss it.”

After retiring, Allen plans to spend more time with her daughter and grandchild.

“I have an 8-year-old grandson, and my daughter’s a single parent, so I’ll get to help raise him more,” Allen stated excitedly. “He keeps us young. Hopefully, I will find something that interests me, even if it’s working part time or volunteering somewhere at a hospital. I want to continue to get out and be around people.” ■