Haldimand Workforce: It’s the Little Things

What does the VP of Sales and Marketing at Armstrong Milling love most about his job? His lunch.

Asking Brett Maves what attracted him to work in Haldimand makes him laugh. “I wasn’t sold on it initially,” he said, talking about being interviewed for the job he took at Armstrong Milling, halfway between Hagersville and Cayuga. “I was contacted by a recruiter, and I thought, ‘birdseed?’ But then I went to some big box stores and saw their product on the shelves. They were in every major retailer. I thought, ‘they must be doing something right!’”

Armstrong Milling is doing something right, in fact. Six years after accepting a job offer as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Maves is working to expand Armstrong’s operations and sales south of the border. “Being where we are in Haldimand is fantastic for that,” he explains. “Being close to the GTA and London, but also to the border at Niagara Falls or Sarnia. It’s a lot easier to work with American sellers and companies if you can reliably get them your products.”

But beyond the work – the satisfaction of seeing rising sales, of seeing more and more stores carry Armstrong Milling bird seed – one thing in particular gives Maves satisfaction in working in Haldimand: “I love my lunch breaks,” he grins.

Most days, Maves says, he goes down to the Sunflower Cafe for lunch: “I walk in, sit down, say hello to the waitress, and then I order the usual.” It’s the small-town diner feel that he appreciates, after years of running out to fast food chains when he was working in the GTA.

“You really come to appreciate the difference, once you realize what’s there,” he says. “No comparison. Give me the Sunflower Cafe every day.”

After lunch, Maves will sometimes go for a drive while he’s digesting, swinging by the lakeshore to admire the views before heading back to his desk for the afternoon.

But lunches aren’t the only difference between his old job and his new one. “I used to work for a big Fortune 500 company that had me in Oakville, Mississauga, and Richmond Hill,” explains Maves, who lives in Burlington. “There’s a lot less – ‘pressure’ is a good way to describe it, working at Armstrong. I spend less time in meetings discussing last week’s sales numbers, and more time actually doing my job.”

Plus, the commute isn’t bad either. “I don’t miss rush hour on the QEW,” Maves laughs. “Going down Highway 6, the only way you get in a traffic jam is if you get stuck behind a tractor.”

Maves wants you to know that working in Haldimand County has been a breath of fresh air for him – literally. “It’s a much nicer quality of life,” he says. “And I appreciate my work, and the environment here.

“I think most people would consider Haldimand a great place to work.”

Hearing Maves’ testimony, would you?