Recently retired Select Sires Holstein Program Manager, Charlie Will spent over four decades working to bring the world’s best bulls to Select Sires customers. He kicked off his world-renowned career with his first acquisition, 7HO1897 To-Mar BLACKSTAR, and throughout the next 43 years, he traveled to 21 countries spanning five continents to introduce and promote Select Sires genetics, and more importantly, to make a personal connection with every Select Sires customer he could. Known as a “rockstar” in the industry for the bulls he made available to customers, Charlie says, “The best thing about working for Select Sires for so many years was the opportunity to meet some amazing people both within the Select Sires federation and around the world.”
As All West also acknowledges the importance of not only our bulls, but more importantly our people, we were honored when Charlie insisted on visiting All West Territory during his “Farewell Tour” as he prepared for retirement at the end of 2017. “When asked where I would like to visit before officially retiring, I contacted Jim Wells and said I would really like to come back to California. I think about the bulls and the cows over time, but nearing the end of my career, what I think about most are the people. The people who have touched my life and my career in a positive way and those are the people who I want to see.” In December, we had the pleasure of granting Charlie’s request by hosting him in California for a week of festivities and farewells.
Our very own All West retiring legend, Bill Genasci, was responsible for touring Charlie to his favorite west-coast destinations. They visited the All West/Select Sires office in Turlock, CA as well as the World Wide Sires headquarters where they met with the marketing team. They spent time with dairy producers including Bob La Salle, Dino Migliazzo, the Matheron family, and more. And of course, no trip would be complete for Charlie and Bill without enjoying Northern California’s wine country for a few tastings. The highlight of Charlie’s trip for the All West team was having him spend two nights at our company holiday parties as our honorary guest speaker. In his presentations, he shared his excitement about joining forces with Accelerated Genetics, his extensive knowledge from years of experience, his admiration of the All West family, his pride in our competitive advantage and sales totals, and his confidence in our bulls and the future of Select Sires.
Charlie mentioned, “One thing I have always admired about the All West team is that you work hard, and you play hard… in that order! I always enjoy coming back here to learn.”
At the end of his presentations, Jim Wells and Bill Genasci honored Charlie with a special token of our appreciation. Charlie has bent over backwards for many years to provide us a “sire for every desire”, and in return our customers have done backflips over the successful herds that those bulls have created. He is also a longtime St Louis Cardinals fan, and we thought there was no better way to honor Charlie than to gift him an autographed portrait of Ozzie Smith doing his signature backflip.
We hope that this will always remind Charlie of the excitement, success, and friendship he brought to our staff and customers during his impactful career. From every member of the All West/Select Sires family, THANK YOU CHARLIE! To learn more about Charlie’s lengthy and successful career and accomplishments, watch this video interview produced by The Bullvine.
“A Career With Impact” – by The Bullvine
.
.
.
.
.
.