Celebrating 50 Years Betty Qualls began job in 1961 Reprinted in part from Decatur Daily, April 27, 2011 Betty Qualls has worked for Ascend and its predecessors for 50 years. “I always felt this was where I belonged,” said Qualls, who started working at the Decatur plant in 1961. “I enjoyed my work. You’ve got to enjoy your work to stay with it for 50 years.” • The goal of logistics – or “traffic,” as it was called when Qualls entered the department 35 years ago – is a steady routine of shipments to and from the plant. The reality of logistics is maneuvering from one crisis to the next, making sure the Decatur plant has the raw materials it needs and that downstream plants have the Decatur intermediates they need. • Qualls’ supervisor, Kim Roberts, is a 13-year employee. “She’s seen many different business situations and many different management styles,” Roberts said. “She’s very good at managing crisis situations when we’re trying to secure our raw materials or get our finished goods shipped out.” • Qualls often gets calls after hours and over the weekend, Roberts said. “She always responds with a positive attitude, regardless of the hour,” Roberts said. • “As a result of her long tenure, she has a lot of great relationships with our carriers, whether truck, rail or barge companies,” said Plant Manager Al Faulkner. “As a result, they are very responsive to us. Betty has worked very hard with them for a lot of years.” • She points out
her window, past a dogwood tree planted in her honor, to a plot of ground between Ascend and a neighboring plant. That, she explains with macabre humor, is supposed to be her burial plot. She scolded a contractor for infringing on the space when he expanded the parking lot. • Qualls has no immediate plans for retirement. “The people here are so much family to me that I don’t want to leave them,” Qualls said. “They all work together. It’s a great place.”
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