By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES - In her 48 years at National-Standard, Pat Coons has seen a change in job position, office location and competition. But, as the inside sales rep said she has never changed the way she treats her customers.
And, that is what Coons said she enjoyed the most about her job.
Coons started in the shipping and receiving department at National-Standard in 1957 directly out of high school.
The business used to be much larger, she said, and included three plants. The “major early outs,” she said, sent a lot of her friends looking for new employment.
Eventually, Coons made the move to weld-wire sales, which meant a more intense work area for the last 26 years.
The inside sales group, which includes six other women and a lone male, has a mound of experience in the business. Along with Coons' 48 years of service to National-Standard, there is Karen Schoff (35 years), Lorene Lundy (25) and Mary Lamberton (more than 10).
The end of her business careerat National-Standard does not mean Coons will be resting soon, though. She said she plans on helping out around the Niles community, hopefully in the hospital.
Travel plans are also in the works for Coons and her husband, Robert, because National-Standard is sending the pair on a trip to Las Vegas as a retirement gift. Coons will also have more time to use her season pass to women's basketball games at Notre Dame.
Sounds like it was about 48 years ago.