Thanking Our Families

As we spend time reflecting upon 125 years one theme that has continued to come to the forefront is family. 

Family has played an integral role in our success and continues to do so. We are proud of our strong and diverse family of brands. We are grateful for the guidance of the Smucker family and for the resonant leadership they have inspired throughout our organization. We appreciate the families that have confidence in us to deliver the products they trust for themselves and their families each day. And most of all, we are grateful for the families we go home to each night that provide the love and support that inspires us to be our best each day. 

The Smucker family has said it many times – when we go home, we should make sure to thank the families there waiting for us. In this spirit, we have invited our employees to dedicate a word of thanks to the people that mean the most to them.  

Betsy Kuhn, Manager, Customer Supply Chain Initiatives: My family has always been hugely supportive of my career at Smucker, as well as supporting our brands (big Jif and Café Bustelo fans in this household!).  A special thank you to my kids for always understanding how important my job is to me, and an extra special thank you to my husband who has always encouraged me to reach my fullest potential. 

Dana Russell, Associate HR Manager: I want to take this opportunity to say “thank you” to my family! You have shared me with Smucker for the past 18+ years and have continually provided support and space as I worked toward my career goals. It feels great to know that my family (human and fur) is supportive and always there to cheer me on! #smuckerfam Love you guys! 

Jackie Welch, Vice President, Litigation: My family is my inspiration and motivation for all I do. They couldn’t be prouder of what I have achieved at Smucker and love that they can associate me with products they know. Every peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cup of coffee, and treat for our puppy is more special to them because I am a part of it. I cannot thank them enough for supporting me.    

Elyse Bois-Jobidon, Team Lead, Consumer Communications: Thank you for being my biggest supporters! Thank you for bringing the fun and silly, and putting everything back into perspective! Thank you for pushing me to be better every day! Merci JPEGG! 

Angie Phillips, Executive Assistant: A shout out and big THANK YOU to all my family for supporting me during my career.  Having an incredible company to work for and a wonderful family supporting my goals and career aspirations makes for a happy life ❤. 

Jamie Ferrell, Assistant Brand Manager: Thank you from the bottom of my heart to my family for their support and encouragement of my career and the daily reminder from my son (who is 3.5 years old) to “go make good dog food.” You boys are my reason in this beautiful life and I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to work at a company that supports an inspiring career and understands the balance of your overall life. 

Stew Omar, Representative, Consumer Communications: Wanted to say thank you to my family - Christine, Rachel and Brady - for standing by me and supporting me with my career here at Smucker. You are all my “Rock.” Love to you all. 

Guy Ruwe, Director, Pet Integrated Business Planning: My wife, Gereese and I have been married 31 years. This is the same amount of time I have been in the pet food business. I am thankful for all her support in the work I do and what my team accomplishes at Smucker. She runs our house, in addition to being our banker (CFO), Chief Petcare Officer (CPO) and a former teacher. During our marriage, we have had blind pets that have required significant eye care, daily maintenance and vet checks – all managed by her. In short, she manages and keeps our household running smoothly. I am so thankful for her partnership and support over my career and more recently during my time at Smucker. 

Dulce Lopez, Project Engineer: Mi familia es una gran bendición! I’m so thankful for all the unconditional support through all my adventures. 

Josi Gerardi, Sales Administrator: A special thank you to my beautiful family who has supported me in my new role at Smucker since August 2022. 

Brittany Buchheit, Senior Analyst, Employee & Labor Relations: I am so thankful for my family, who has supported me and my career at Smucker for the last (almost) 10 years.