July 2018 Insight by Michael Arbach

JULY 2018 INSIGHT. Monthly Employee Newsletter.

Plentywood, MT

WEATHER WOES

Plentywood, MT

A devastating tornado hit Plentywood and the surrounding area in early July, destroying the airport and damaging homes, business and farms. The National Weather Service classified the storm as a EF1 with 118 mph winds & large hail. Also, a microburst contributed damage at the same time as the tornado. Many old trees were toppled, and roofs, bins, semi-trailers and airplanes went flying. At C&B-Plentywood, windows were blown out of several tractors, shop doors were damaged and the roof and soffits were damaged. C&B Operations donated $5,000 to the Plentywood Angel Tree Charity to help support local families and begin to repair the community.

In Minnesota, multiple days and nights of rain saturated the ground and swelled rivers, causing flooding in several C&B communities.

Jackson, MN

Plentywood, MT

Tracy, MN

YANKTON

FFA TEST PLOT

Joe Cuka (C & B), Tyler Carda (Pioneer Rep), Brendon Wagner (FFA Instructor)

Yankton High School FFA members

On May 16th Joe Cuka, service tech, and Jeff Pravecek, Store Manager from C&B-Yankton planted a test plot for the newly formed FFA Chapter in the Yankton High School. The YHS FFA instructor, Brendon Wagner, had contacted Jeff in March and asked for help with the test plot. He had also been in contact with the other implement dealers in town and needed someone with a tractor and planter. The other dealers would till the field and harvest the crop in the fall. Seed corn was provided by Dean Morman, Pioneer seed dealer from Volin, SD.

JACKSON

150TH COUNTY FAIR

C&B had a mighty display of equipment at the 150th Jackson County Fair The crew from C&B-Jackson hit the fair for lunch at the 4-H stand and shakes from the Dairy Producers.

Fair Board President Rob Withers (Sales) was a bit too busy at the fair to make the picture!

C&B JULY INSIGHT.

SHERIDAN & BILLINGS

TACO FEED!

Both the Sheridan and Billings stores recently hosted taco feeds in order to raise funds for the medical expenses of Barb Irwin, long time Admin in Sheridan, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Billings raised $1,200 by welcoming employees and customers to indulge in tacos. Sheridan added a silent auction which had many generous donations from the community. About 140 people came to lunch and made bids so the Sheridan store was able to give $5,200 to Barb and her family.

JULY

CALENDAR CUSTOMERS

Harold Fick Beaver Creek, MN

McEntee Farms Mitchell, SD

Beck Farms Aberdeen, ID

ACCIDENT FREE DAYS

GLENDIVE

CHANGE IS GOOD I was asked to contribute to Insight on a topic revolving around Core-1st, Million Dollar Baby or something that was experienced from our first Aftermarket Summit. These topics all seemed to funnel into the challenge of how the Glendive location can achieve and then maintain the elevated level of performance needed for the future. Having come on board the C&B team in April of 2017, the last 15 months have flown by and included not only some success, but several challenges. Getting everyone prepared for what will be needed going forward is an intimidating task. Looking back, I found myself saying “be patient” not only to employees, but also to customers. Both of those groups seemed to have a distinct definition of the word “Change”. I had several different ways to approach the subject of change when confronted with the issue, including what I learned during a conversation with Matt Cronin during the final stages of the transition. Matt stated that there will be certain times that the way we used to do certain tasks could be better than what the C&B process is, but everyone has to be on the same page in order to be successful. This makes complete sense when trying to organize several locations in several states. As I look at the warp speed change that developed in Eastern Montana in the same 15 months, I am positive this region will continue to grow into a cohesive group that will feed off each other’s strengths. This territory has always had a very strong John Deere following. The areas that have seen a competitive influence can be transitioned back to Green with the resources that are now available with a group as large as C&B. Improving communication between departments in the store has continued to be a priority, but now with the addition of Circle, Culbertson, Plentywood and Glasgow, I see a growing need to open the communication pipeline to another level. As our AOR’s grow together under a new organization, Sales, Parts, and Service can take advantage of working together to become stronger. The support staff in place with C&B, not only at headquarters, but out in the region, has been the main reason that this transition was possible. Finding good people not only at the local dealer level, but within the regions, will continue to be a challenge. It will take innovative means to find employees that have the level of expertise needed and the desire to live in remote towns. The journey from a family-owned dealership for 75 years to multi-location, multi-state group will never be forgotten. As the new group of stores prepare to join the organization, all I can come up with is “be patient”, change is good. Kyle Milne Store Manger, Glendive

(as of June 15)

Headquarters

3239 Rexburg

Gettysburg

Blackfoot

Selby

192

St. James

Miller

346

Jackson

Roscoe

Truman

178

Billings

Luverne

Miles City

142

Edgerton

991

Glendive

452

Pipestone

123

Glasgow

Worthington

111

Circle

132

Tracy

Culbertson

132

Slayton

146

Plentywood

132

Freeman

226

Sheridan

174

Wagner

188

Powell

Yankton

339

Idaho Falls

Mitchell

215

Don’t forget to order your new C&B apparel! FREE shipping & FREE logos expire August 17th! Doesn’t fit? All clothing is returnable, even with logos! New Hire? Contact Emily Nielsen for a certificate

TECHNOLOGY THURSDAYS! Have you seen C&B’s latest Technology Thursday video? Many people have! These short ag technology focused videos made by Jeff Buyck and posted to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have been reaching anywhere from 3,000-10,000 people each week! Jeff was inspired to produce this weekly series after seeing similar YouTube videos focusing on car and pickup technology. He considers these 1 minute informal conversations a great way to get out info about technology features that The graph below will truly bring value to customers’ shows spikes in Faceoperations. So far he has made 7 book activity after the Technology Thursday videos, with TT videos are posted. many more planned. Some of the topics covered already are Exact Apply, displays, Autotrac & Active Yield. While the initial episodes have all focused on Precision Ag, Jeff plans to expand to explore technology in the other departments.

C&B JULY INSIGHT.

WELCOME

NEW EMPLOYEES Dalton DeYonge

Service

Mason Janson

Taylor Broyles

Trevor Overvold

Slayton, MN

Rexburg, ID

Service

IS Consultant Powell, WY

Glasgow, MT

Paul Flanagan

Jason Toavs

Maria Ellingson

Thurman Westerby

Service

Service Student

Marketing Coordinator Jackson, MN

Plentywood, MT

Zeke Van Walleghen

Austin Harris

Zach Bierman

Tanner Penning

Service

Service Student

Billings, MT

Service Student Mitchell, SD

Glasgow, MT

Service

Jackson, MN

Luverne, MN

Parts

Service

Pipestone, MN

Not Pictured:

Buddy Johnson Service-Glendive, MT

The Selby store showed off a new gator and a John Deere boat at the Akaska, SD 4th of July parade.

C&B JULY INSIGHT.

MONTANA

CELEBRATING THE 4TH OF JULY Billings Plentywood

Parade in Laurel, MT

Glasgow AUGUST BIRTHDAYS Brian Hagen Ben Peter

1 1

Sofia Garcia Buddy Johnson

10 10

Kyle Knuth Tim Ackerman

20 22

Tim Grammens

Duane Kamerman

Kirsten Bense

Tim Hammill

Drew Milne

Dayna Liner

Derek Potts

Skyler Stahl

Skot Schumacher

Brian Spitzner

Devon Carroll

David Tice

Jeremy DeJean

Jeff Fjelstad

Porter Jolley

Jacob Rempfer

Gunnar Lafrentz

Jerry Langstraat

Mike Kjos

Blayne Lettau

Jason Schreier

Ashley Dubbs

Scott Adkins

Jason Toavs

Eric Esp

Tyler Kaltenbach

Jackson Elliott

Chris Jacobson

Scott Stirn

Albany Horel

Brenden Pope

Darold Bitterman

Scott Lamson

Tim Davis

Rob Boager

Martin Pierce

Chris Schmeltzer

Jeff Grube

Jay Hymas

Dan Webb

Cody Richins

Gary Ingraham

Ron Mayrose

Jeff Roe

Jerry Palmer

Karen McDonald

Josh Gacke

Kirk Wichman

Nate Sorum

Mose Aesoph

Jake Wiskur

Jared Kopplow

Randy Heckmun

Duane Simon

Marv Kuipers

Landon Larsen

Don Sina

Brian Baasch

Mike Johnson (Sales) and Kirsten Bense (Service Writer) Parade in Hinsdale, MT