Ryan Harvey: Preload is the innovator of wire wound prestress concrete tanks. We invented the product in the 1930s and 40s, and we re main the innovator and leader in the market today. We started to incorporate faith in our workplace back around 2017, 2018. During that timeframe, we had some tragic events that happened in the business.
Will Cooksey: When they're out on their own, that's when the world starts to seep in, right? They don't have a pastor that's right there that they can go see. They may be on a project for 12 weeks.
Ryan Harvey: Over the past several years, we've recognized that it's very important to stay out ahead of what's going on in the field with an individual. A lot of times, unless you're communicating with that individual constantly, you're not aware that they're struggling with issues.
Michael Watson: I was in the Marine Corps for nine years, and so I was familiar with what a chaplain was. We had chaplains that served us and helped and things like that, but never thought that was in corporate America. But what you begin to see is as you do this day in and day out, as you remain faithful in it, you begin to develop relationships. You begin to develop friendships, and that's where the magic happens.
Will Cooksey: The chaplaincy is they're there, they're with you, they're with in your work environment. When that time comes, you feel that comfort level to call them.
Javiler Barraza: This is actually the first company that I've seen this with. Initially I thought it was different or maybe even strange, but I wasn't sure at the first if it was something I was going to be open to. But having gone through what I went through at the beginning of the year, it was very helpful. And when you're feeling as low as I was at those moments, it's a godsend to have somebody you can open up to and talk to.
Matthew Black: Me, I've got a wife and two kids and stuff happens every day, and my wife's, it's almost like she's a single parent. Being able to speak to somebody about that and get advice and stuff, that's just something that you can't hardly put a price on. I think it's invaluable.
Javiler Barraza: I think it's very critical to be able to have somebody who you can talk to.
Robert Emery: The chaplain. I mean, whenever I got interviewed here and Dean told me about that, I was kind of shocked, honestly, because I've never even heard of a place having a chaplain or Bible studies or anything like that. So that's just kind of blew me away, honestly.
Shane Morgan: So a chaplain for a company is like a workplace pastor. Usually when a new employee finds out that there's a chaplain, it's almost always something that they're not familiar with because it's relatively rare. I think some 2% of companies nationwide actually have a chaplain.
Tom Kleppe: Faith in the workplace of preload is incredibly important. The people at Preload and how we treat our customers is at the forefront of everything we do.
Dean Wernert: I feel like it's a thing that brings us all together as a family. Every time we meet together, we end up in a prayer, and that's to show the team and show each other that we truly care about each other.
Jesse Crawford: I feel as though that God led me here to this place, and to be able to come here and not have to change who I am or try to fit in with the world, it's wonderful.
Joshua Burris: We have a morning meeting, and after a morning meeting, we do a prayer, and then on Friday we have Bible study with Shane. He comes in and we get to gather around with the people around us, have fellowship together.
Dean Wernert: It's made a great difference in our company, in this facility. I've been here for 25 years now, and for many of those years we didn't have this. It's built a culture that I've never seen before.
Jesse Crawford: Without faith, it's impossible to please God, and that's who I'm working for anyway, really. So when you're working for him, it makes the workplace better.
Michael Watson: And this is a benefit that isn't put on the employees. It's not taken out of the employee's check, it's not added to or anything like that. This is something the company is investing in, and I think it says a lot of the character for the leadership. I think it says a lot of the heart of the leadership that they're not focused on themselves, they're focused on their employees. They're focused on the bigger thing, the bigger picture, and the totality of health for their employees.
Matthew Black: And I really appreciate that my company Preload is doing that for us because I think it's very useful.
Javiler Barraza: Anything you can do for your guys to keep them centered is a good investment.
Michael Watson: It's not just safety on the job site, it's safety in life. It's protection in life. And I think that's where you see companies now really stepping their game up and saying, we need to take care of everybody in a complete way.
Ryan Harvey: We make that investment because we want to be better teammates and we want to work better as a team. And in order to do that, we need to show compassion. We need to show stability. We need to show our team hope, and we need to generate trust. And the biblical example of the way to do all those things is to incorporate faith in everything you do.
