30 seconds with David and Penny Chapman

What are you most proud of?

David: The people who have worked for us over the years and how we’ve supported them over the years.

Penny: What I’m most proud of is getting to do this with my husband, and how that lasted 50 years, I have no idea. Secondly, our family. We have two children, both healthy and moving on in life. That’s the essence of what makes us happy in the heart.

What was your biggest challenge?

Penny: The plant fire in 2009. It took out our whole plant, our offices, and all our records. Seeing that burning – I’m still not over it. But what came out of it just proves the importance of perseverance. It was my husband who said on the day of the fire, ‘we’re going to rebuild.’

David: I remember seeing all the young people who worked for us, along with their children, who had come to the site after the fire. We had to think of them, too, and what they were going to do for employment.

What are the ingredients for success?

Penny: Perseverance and hard work. There was a lot of hard work through the years to make this all happen. And don’t pass off the job to someone else. There was no job that David couldn’t do. He could work in the plant, he could make mix, he could fill packages, he could drive a truck. So don’t be above anything. Just get on with it.

What excites you most about the future of Chapman’s?

David: We’re handing it off to the next generation. It’s very nice to have all the hard work that Penny and I have put into this business carry on into the future. And Ashley is certainly our future.

Penny: It’s exciting because the younger generation looks at things differently. We may end up at the same place, but we get there in different ways.