When Sandy Jackson retires on Dec. 29, she will have completed a historic MFA Oil career. No other female employee in the company’s history has worked as long as Jackson’s 46 years of continuous, dedicated service.
Jackson’s career at MFA Oil began in 1977 when the company hired her straight out of high school to work in the sales processing department. When asked on the job application how long she planned to work for the company, Jackson wrote “indefinitely.” Clearly, she had an inkling she had found her professional home.
Jackson worked in sales processing for seven years when she joined the dispatching team in 1984. She worked as a dispatcher for six years before rejoining sales processing as a supervisor in 1990, a role she held for the next three years. In 1993, Jackson returned to her role as a dispatcher and continued in that capacity until she was promoted to product distribution manager in 2008. She has led the company’s dispatch efforts ever since.
Senior Vice President of Supply and Transportation James Greer, who has worked with Jackson for 30 years, says she could always be counted on to get the job done.
“The Dispatch Department plays a pivotal role in keeping our operations supplied with the fuel we need to run our business,” Greer says. “If our energy products don’t get where they are needed, we’ve got big problems. Sandy and her group have always delivered for our plants who depend upon them.”
In Jackson’s earliest days working in the Dispatch Department, much of the work was done on paper. She recalls writing all her notes on a Big Chief tablet with a pencil. However, introducing technology was not the only change during her time in dispatch. In 2008, MFA Oil hired common carriers to haul fuel to its plants rather than having employees do it.
“That was hard, saying goodbye to those drivers,” Jackson says. “At the time, the dispatch department was Diane Hudson and myself, and we knew the drivers so well that they were almost like family. It was a big adjustment for us to make that change, but it was also the best thing for the company.”
Jackson says the flexibility that working with common carriers provides has been beneficial.
“Looking back, I don’t know how we ever managed without the common carriers,” she says.
Debby Shimp, senior pricing analyst, has worked with Jackson for 38 years and considers her a great friend and co-worker. She says Jackson is a skilled professional who works well with people inside and outside the company.
“All of the common carriers our company works with would all say that Sandy has helped them through many issues without making them feel as if we were placing blame,” Shimp says. “She knew we had a common goal to fix the issue and move on. I will miss having her around. Not only could we work together, but we were also able to laugh together, and that’s hard to replace.”
Throughout the years, Jackson and her crew have handled many logistical challenges to keep MFA Oil operations going, such as the polar vortex of 2014. Dispatch sent trucks hundreds of miles to Texas and other states searching for propane during the supply crunch created by the frigid weather.
Another memory that stands out from her nearly half-century of service was staying in the office overnight on New Year’s Eve 1999 to ensure Y2K did not disrupt the company’s systems.
“Everything ended up fine, but Diane and I stayed up to make sure,” Jackson recalls. “Jerry Taylor, vice president of retail at the time, stayed with us and ensured we had everything we needed. I’ve always appreciated how the company has taken care of the Dispatch Department.”
Jackson has enjoyed her time working for the cooperative.
“This was a career for me, not just a job,” she says. “I’ve always enjoyed the work that I do. That’s why I’ve stayed so long. Retirement will be bittersweet because I like my job, but I don’t want to work until I can’t.”
She is proud to have led the company’s dispatch operations for the last 15 years and the strong connections she has built with her team.
“The Dispatch Department is a close-knit group, very much like a family,” Jackson says. “We joke that we probably know more about each other than our families do. I am thankful for the relationships we’ve built.”
Greer appreciates Jackson’s loyalty to the company and wishes her well in retirement.
“Sandy has given so much to MFA Oil during her 46 years of service and success,” Greer says. “She deserves a chance to enjoy retirement, and we wish her nothing but the best.”