In June, I celebrated my 25th anniversary with Wright Service Corp. (WSC). Twenty-five years may sound like a long time to some of you, especially those of you that were youngsters 25 years ago, but I have attended enough banquets and watched enough employees walk across the stage to receive their service award, that I feel like I would almost qualify for rookie status. I remember thinking that if I could just get my 10-year award, I would call my career at Wright a success.

Now, as the sun sets on my career at Wright and I reflect on the last 25 years, there are two themes that keep coming back to me. First, the people that I have had the privilege of working with, both inside and outside the company. Early on I had the honor of working with John R. Wright and it was always his desire to share the company with the employees. I am sure he couldn’t help but smile if he could see what we have built.

I have also enjoyed working with the same executive team for the last 15+ years. It would be a lie to say we always agree on everything. But the one commonality that I have witnessed from the entire team is their passion for the success of our company and the betterment of our employees. I believe that is one of the largest contributing factors to making our company what it is today.

One thing I always enjoyed over the years was getting out and meeting the field employees. These are the workers, along with the outstanding support from the corporate office personnel, that keep our customers happy and “feed the engine” so that we have been able to grow like we have.

The second theme that comes to mind is pride. Believe me, I know my part in our success is no larger than any of the other 5,000 employees. But we should all take pride in the part we have played in building the Wright Service Corp. family of companies into the success that we are. We should be most proud of the fact that we have accomplished this without compromising one bit on our values. We have always held each other accountable for the safety of our employees. The integrity with which we operate, the excellence of our work and our innovative approach has made us one of the most respected companies in the industry. The level of teamwork that I have observed both in the field and in the office has been outstanding. The family culture we have cultivated has allowed us to recruit and retain the best employees.

We should all take time to look back over the last 25 years, or however long you have been with the company, and say, “Wow! Look at what we have accomplished. And I had a part in it.” I know I will.

By Terry McGonegle, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

This article was published in “Executive Excerpts,” a section of the Wright Service Corp. biannual newsletter, The Wright Perspective.