December Employee Spotlight

For the December Employee Spotlight, we thought we would celebrate the season, and our two employees, by beginning with a joke about the holidays. 

Unlike Rudolph in this joke, our employees are experts at logistics. From making sure orders are complete and accounted for to delivering the product on time to the customer, both of these employees are experts and can do it with ease. Let’s get to know them more.

Mike Mandak, Employee Since 2011

Mike is the warehouse manager for the Brecksville warehouse. He has been in the turf industry for over 25 years. For 16 of those years, he worked as a golf course superintendent for 2 different golf courses. Mike also worked in golf sales before starting at ATS.

What do you like most about your job?
The challenges. They pop-up daily and are hardly ever the same. Finding the ability to take them on and overcome them continues to keep the job interesting and rewarding.

What is your favorite movie?
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.

What makes you proud?
My family. Watching my 3 daughters grow and take in and apply all the lessons my wife and I have taught them has been a privilege.

What is your favorite holiday?
Thanksgiving. Family and food are a great combination and it is a nice, relaxing holiday for everyone to get together and enjoy the company of relatives we may only get to see once a year.

Who would you want to play you in the movie of your life?
Bill Murray. He is funny and I can be funny, so, he’d be a good fit.

What three items would you take on a deserted island?
I would take water, so I would not have to worry about boiling and distilling salt water. I would also want a photo of my family to keep me going and a machete.

Steve Thomas, Employee Since 2004

Steve has been working in the turf industry for 21 years. All of those years have been spent in the service of Advanced Turf Solutions, back before it was even named Advanced Turf. Steve is a great multitakser, working in the warehouse and making deliveries.

What do you like most about your job?
Getting to be independent in the workplace and keeping customers happy. This business is all about taking care of customers – great customer service.

What makes you laugh the most?
My 5-year-old granddaughter makes me laugh the most. She is a cutie and a character.

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Home-cooked chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, and veggies (home-cooked meatloaf would be my second choice). Home-cooked is better than anything you can buy at the store, especially when the person cooking is special to you.

What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas is my favorite holiday. It is one of the best times of the year with the colorful decorations and lights and much-needed time with family.

What is your favorite family tradition?
A big Christmas dinner, with all the family attending – grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Do you collect anything?
I collect Volkswagen Hot Wheels. I have a couple hundred of them in different styles and models and I have gathered them from different places and people. One of the cars is from Hawaii.

Name something interesting about yourself.
At one time, I had 12 life-size Volkswagen vehicles and I was the vice president of the Volkswagen club of Indiana out of Kokomo.