Jarrod Hayes
In Town: “Right now I’m a service manager for Gammon Equipment, a forklift dealership in Springfield, Mo. I’m in charge of about 12 employees. I do a lot of the routing, scheduling, ordering of parts and billing. I’ve been with Gammon for four years, as a service tech and I became a manager last December. I did forklift repair for another company for eight years before that.”
In the Country: “My father-in-law runs the cattle side of the business here in Everton, Mo.; about 60-70 head of Charolais on 160 acres. I’m the mechanical, fix-it side of things around here. I take care of the tractors, trucks and numerous family vehicles. A lot of my neighbors bring their stuff over.”
Making a Switch: “My last day with Gammon is August 8. After we go to the State Fair. My wife, Carla, is involved with 4-H. I will be opening and running Hayes Tractor Service, which will be mobile and I’ll make service calls.
“I do everything from welding to air conditioning, a lot of electrical, complete transmission rebuilds, brakes, engines – from one end to the other. There isn’t anything I shy away from – except maybe boats and 4-wheelers. I prefer to work on larger pieces of equipment. I’m also going to work on farmer’s trucks. Long term I will also do painting. That’s what I grew up doing.”
Why Bring the Town to the Country?
“I’ve been turning away customers because I haven’t had time to do it. I would get phone calls daily, even at my town job during work hours. There’s plenty of business.
“The main reason is just to be at home more. My son is 10. It will be more relaxing, less pressure. I grew up in my dad’s shop. He started his own business when I was 12 and worked at that until I was 24. He retired and I started working for a company. My dad taught me a lot – how to work on stuff. I’d like to teach my son as well.”
