After spending more than seven decades on job, Sidney Richardson officially retires from his post in Gadsden Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Richardson has the honour of being the longest serving employee of the Goodyear Company globally.
On his induction into the Goodyear plant, Richardson was given the employee number 0912 that stayed with him throughout his career. Since Goodyear hired Richardson, the employee number has shot up to 10,000 plus, which means more than 9000 people have been employed by Goodyear all through Richardson’s time with the company. He was the only employee left at the plant with a zero before his employee number.
After completing his 70 years with the company two years ago, Richardson was given a massive party by the company and his co workers in honour of his services for Goodyear, the celebration continued for two days. Just last week Richardson was given the honour in a ceremony for longest serving employee and as a heart warming goodbye from Goodyear.
Richardson considers his co-workers as his own family, talking on the occasion he expressed his gratitude and respect for the people he worked with all through his life. He said that he was definitely going to miss his colleagues and the place in particular. He added that it seemed to him as if Goodyear is all he knew, but he thought it was the right time to say his goodbyes. Recognising Richardson’s service for the company, former division chairman Mr. Butch Mitchell said that the company never had a minute’s problem with Richardson, and that he was a model employee and a kind human for his co-workers. Current Manufacturing Director of Goodyear-Gadsden went one step further and expressed his gratitude by calling Richardson a walking talking dictionary of work ethic. (AL.com)
When Richardson came to join Goodyear on a Tuesday morning, June 22, 1943 the Second World War was at its prime and the allies had started fierce bombing campaign against Nazi Germany, and the toilets were segregated on the plant. All through his career he saw the transformation of the world from a bigoted hateful society to a much more tolerant and peaceful habitat. He served a number of various jobs during his 72 years of employment, and worked under sixteen plant managers. On his goodbye ceremony, Richardson was presented with a plaque bearing one of his quotes (more like an advice to other employees) which would later be posted somewhere in the plant as a reminder for others.
Lead image credit al.com