We have been very proud this past year celebrating our 190^th anniversary as America’s Oldest Brewery. As 2019 comes to an end, we would like to take a moment to celebrate the inspiration behind all of our 190^th anniversary events – our family, our friends, and of course, our employees. Through their superior dedication and hard work our generations of employees have made a huge impact on the 190-year success of our brewery. This year, in particular, our employees went above and beyond their commitment by providing brewery tours to 70,000 visitors, and by supporting our 190^th summer concert celebration, our first-ever free concert in Pottsville, PA.

During this holiday season our employees gathered to assemble 500 care packages to benefit U.S. servicemen and women, first responders, veterans and their families. Through our Lager for Heroes program, we partnered with Operation Gratitude to give back to service members for all that they do.

We wanted to take a moment to show appreciation to our employees and spotlight one of our dedicated team members, Diego Viteri.  Diego has been with our Yuengling Employee Family for more than 10 years.

In September 2008, Diego joined Yuengling as a brewing operator where he worked hard to educate himself on the industry and all the jobs in brewing. In 2011, he was promoted to Brewing Supervisor where he demonstrated a passion for training and teaching his brewers the meticulous attention to detail that he believes is so important in brewing exceptional beer. In 2015, Diego was chosen to lead the Tampa brewing department. We’re so inspired by Diego’s journey that we wanted to share his story and keys to success.

Why is it so important to do things the “Yuengling Way”?
As many of us know, we are celebrating 190 years of history, tradition and success of this company, and this has been achieved through the culture and values the Yuengling family has shared with us. We ask ourselves – who wants to be better tomorrow than today, do what is right, do things with simplicity and work together as a team? Keeping these values in mind will help us all to improve in our jobs and even with our families and in life. Simply put, the “Yuengling Way” is the right way to do things and we all should be proud to be part of this culture.

Can you share any stories of how these qualities have helped you succeed in the organization?
Eleven years ago, I started as a brewing operator. As I learned how to run each job in brewing, I made some mistakes. Even with my 20 years of experience in other breweries, those mistakes helped me realize that it wasn’t happening because I didn’t know the job – it happened because I wasn’t paying enough attention. Since then, I invest more time in checking things twice, which helps me to make the right call. When I started my career in this company, it was difficult managing all kinds of jobs, but I had a good opportunity to learn about teamwork. Now as the brewing manager in Tampa, the success in our department is thanks to the great team I have.

Who has impacted you as a leader and why?
My mom is the most influential person in my life. She was a role model for my sisters and me, teaching us about integrity, humility, respect for others, and of course, hard work. In fact, my mom was the one who pushed me to pursue a career in brewing and supported me in times of doubt.

What does leadership mean to you?
Leadership to me is the ability to lead by example. In other words, practice what you preach. A leader should be a good listener, open to change and able to motivate others. A good leader should also demonstrate personality, courage and clear vision in order to succeed.

What is one piece of advice you would share with fellow employees to help them understand and embody our unique culture?
My advice to fellow employees is to come to work every day willing to do your best. Let us always keep in mind our values on everything we do, in order to improve our behavior and relationship with others through respect, consideration and good communication. When you come to work, don’t just do your part, but go a step further to ease the next person’s job. Take also in consideration that we all spend half of our lives at work, so it’s one good reason to make things easier while we are here. Finally, be thankful for the Yuengling family for the opportunity to have a job with a great company.

 

A big thank you and congratulations to Diego and to all our employees for helping us celebrate 190 years together!

 

• Debbie Yuengling