Mr. Adam Gooch

Say hello to Adam Gooch, Merchandising Manager for Houston’s since 2016. Adam currently oversees Cash & Carry Smart Foodservice locations throughout Idaho, Oregon, and Utah. When asked what that means he said, “I ensure, with the help of Jon Saari (Merchandising Supervisor) and the amazing merchandising team, and that all stores have current product sets while receiving the highest quality merchandising and customer service our team has to offer.”

Adam initially started here at Houston’s in 1996 while attending college, pulling orders and even washing Mr. Houston’s car a couple times at the 26^th Avenue location in Portland. He then moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for a few years before returning to Portland in 2014, at which point he reached out to Houston’s to see if there were any openings. At the time, there were no open spots but a month later Adam received a call and accepted a job as a Merchandiser. In March of 2016 he was offered the Merchandising Manager position and accepted. “There are so many wonderful things about working for Houston’s but if I had to choose one, it would be the company culture. It’s a pleasure working with everyone.”

When not focused on work, Adam enjoys the outdoors and the challenge of hiking and biking different terrains, as well as the great sense of accomplishment he feels when finishing a difficult trail. His favorite place to hike is the Enchanted Valley along the Quinault River. “It is so green and lush, it feels like another world. There are beautiful camping locations along the trail but requires days of hiking to reach. When you reach one of these locations you feel as though you’ve earned it. It’s a great place to completely unplug, relax, and recharge.”

When the weather doesn’t allow for Adam’s preferred outdoor activities he enjoys gaming, particularly video games and he is currently playing his way through the Destiny series. His favorite book is Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin- a book about leadership and taking ownership over everything in your life. “It made me reevaluate the way I looked at life as a whole and how I dealt with individual situations. For me, it has been life altering.” He also enjoys a variety of music with Pink Floyd and Nine Inch Nails being his favorite bands.

The Enchanted Valley

“…the great sense of accomplishment he feels when finishing a difficult trail.” Ramona Falls

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Brenda with her 5 grandchildren

Brenda Willett began her job as the Kansas City Warehouse Swing Shift Supervisor in November of 2015 and truly enjoys the team environment that Houston’s provides. With the many different backgrounds and opinions brought to the table she appreciates that they work well as a team and have fun together while working. When asked what she loves about her job she says, “Houston’s feels like home and everyone feels like family.” The only thing that Brenda says can make her dread coming into work is the summer heat.

Outside of work Brenda lives with and takes care of her 89 year old mother and feels blessed to spend this time with her. They enjoy hunting for treasures at estate sales, thrift stores, and yard sales and have found some really wonderful and unique items such as a beautiful, vintage porcelain ballerina doll for Brenda’s granddaughter who is a little ballerina herself. They also love to go on long drives out in the country to see the Dogwood trees in bloom or the beautiful trees changing colors in the fall.

Brenda is an avid sports fan and loves to support her local teams, the Royals and the Chiefs. She also loves to visit her two sons and five grandchildren in Arkansas whenever she has the free time. Family time there includes fishing, riding four-wheelers, and horseback riding.

If you are looking for tips on how to find the best treasures at yard sales or swap fishing stories, or even costume makeup advice (see Brenda’s winning costume from last year’s Halloween contest), feel free to reach out and say ‘hello’!

Brenda in her zombie costume for Halloween 2016

Brenda fishing with the family

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Sherman Dodd

As a supervisor, part of your role is working to elevate the employees you over-see. To help them grow in their jobs and as an individual, while helping the company around you grow as well. As the First Shift Supervisor in our Kansas City warehouse, Sherman Dodd does just that. He takes pride in training and working closely with other employees to contribute to Houston’s overall success, gaining a sense of satisfaction in seeing employees he has helped train go on to tackle more advanced assignments and roles.

In addition to training employees, Sherman is very attentive. Paying close attention to details helps minimize mistakes. As a testament to his leadership skills and dedication, “He [Sherman] is very proud that his first shift team had no pick errors for the month of July,” says Robert Jones, Kansas City Warehouse Manager.

Away from work, you’ll often find Sherman spending time with his wife, or taking care of his mother, who lives next door. A couple times each year Sherman enjoys participating in Civil War re-enactments, spending a whole weekend “fighting” for both sides, and then sharing “war stories” around the campfire. You may not know, every holiday season for the past twenty-five years Sherman has dressed up as Santa Clause for his local community. He now sees grown adults who sat on his knee as a child bringing their children to see him as Jolly Old Saint Nick, allowing Sherman to reminisce about the many years worth of Christmas wishes.

Another aspect of the supervisor role is to assist and cover for managers while they are away from the facility. “I can always count on Sherman to make sure things get done as needed in the Kansas City facility,” says Robert. Sherman’s hard work and commitment to employee training an the paying attention to the small details has made his crew a force to be reckon with.

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Scuba Scott makes an appearance in the Gulf of Mexico

And then there were seven! Please join us in welcoming the newest member of our Outside Sales Team, Regional Manager, Scott Miller.

Scott comes to us from Libbey and will be taking over the South region – Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arkansas. Nineteen of his twenty-one years of foodservice industry experience has been based in Texas, which will allow him to reach out and develop those customer relationships further in order to aggressively grow the territory with Houston’s.

Not only is Scott excited to get back to his roots in the great state of Texas, but he is also excited to “work alongside the people I have worked with at Houston’s for the last 2 years in Seattle/Oregon markets.” Scott took over the Pacific Northwest Region for Libbey after the retirement of long-time Libbey Rep, Carol Haskell, in 2015. During that time, he’s had the opportunity to get to know Houston’s on many levels – from working in the field with Matt Clark and Angie Lightening, to preparing quotes for Inside Sales, and providing back order and PDP information for Purchasing.

As Scott joins our team at Houston’s, he is faced with the task of expanding his knowledge base to include numerous product categories outside of his expertise in glassware. As a testament to his personality, Scott remains optimistic and excited about this new journey, ” I have been provided a great opportunity to do something different in the industry and I look forward to the challenges. Houston’s has a great reputation in the industry and I am proud to be part of this team.”

Triathlon training

Outside of work Scott enjoys scuba diving, hunting, offshore fishing, mountain biking, and road biking. He also regularly trains for Olympic triathlon competitions with a goal of completing a Half-Ironman in the next 18 months. A recent injury has forced Scott to take a short break from training, but we suspect he’ll be back at it as soon as he can.

In addition to training for his new position, triathlon training, and all his hobbies, Scott is in the process of moving from Washington back to his home state of Texas. Be sure to say hello next time you see Scott in the office, and ask about his latest competition or fishing trip.

Until then, welcome to the Houston’s team, Scott! We are happy to have you with us! And we hope that broken ankle heals quickly.  

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Angie and her husband Dan

This month we would like to introduce Angie Buffetta, Cash and Carry Supervisor in our Portland Warehouse!

Angie started at Houston’s in August of 2002 as the weekend shift Warehouse Supervisor, and continued in the position for eleven years. Angie now works days, and has been the Cash and Carry Supervisor for the past four years. She also helps out with transfer assigning, and in the FedEx Department as needed. Her favorite part of her job is the schedule – “Being able to start early and leave at 1:30pm and have most of the day left to enjoy time outside of work is fantastic.” When asked what she likes about Houston’s as a company she replied, “All the people I work with, and that Houston’s is growing while still keeping it’s small family feel”.

During her free time she loves the outdoors. Walking, jogging, and hiking allow her to enjoy nature, which she finds peaceful and stress relieving. Angie also completed the Portland to Coast run two years in a row! While she enjoys running and the outdoors, her favorite hobby is, “What most women love to do. And that is to shop and spend time with my girls!”

Angie and her husband Dan, a member of our HTrans team, met at Houston’s thirteen years ago. The couple has a very exciting event coming up this September – the arrival of their granddaughter, making Angie a first-time Grandmother! Congratulations to Angie, Dan, and their family on their coming bundle of joy!

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