If you combined Diane Custodio’s and Greg Lavery’s years working with Breakthru Beverage Illinois and went back in time, we would still be one-year shy of the start of Prohibition.
99 years. 50 for Custodio and 49 for Lavery.
We at Breakthru Illinois couldn’t be luckier to have had these two incredible associates working for Rocky Wirtz and the Breakthru family for all these years, and what better time to honor their tenures than last Friday at our annual Employee Appreciation Day event.
Custodio, a Senior Accountant, has been a numbers guru for a long time even though she initially didn’t see herself as a natural fit for the role.
“My first job here was as a bookkeeper, and honestly, I kind of didn’t like numbers back then,” Custodio said. “But, accounting is just logic, and I’m logical, so it worked out just fine I think.”
It’s more than worked out for Custudio and our team in Illinois. We couldn’t be prouder to have Custodio and Lavery as part of our team for so long, and we’re happy that the feeling is mutual.
“I love working for Rocky and the Wirtz’s—they are a wonderful family,” Custodio said.
Lavery feels the same way about the company, and enjoys how the alcohol industry is always evolving.
“Every day still feels like it’s my first day,” Lavery said. “In this industry, there is always something new to accomplish!”
Our celebration at our Cicero campus included a bevy of fun activities, including bags, pop-a-shot, a DJ, a SLOTH (see below), stuffing Crown Royal bags with notes to be sent over to deployed troops, top shelf libations courtesy of our supplier partners and an excellent lineup of food trucks. Custodio pointed out that before the age of food trucks, associates enjoyed BBQ thanks to a familiar face.
“Rocky used to run the BBQ at all of our picnics and cook for us—he was a great chef!” Custodio said.
We’d like to thank all our associates in Illinois for your hard work and dedication to the business during the last year. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to take the next steps in our mission to be the leading beverage wholesaler in North America.
Cheers!
Enjoy the Employee Appreciation Day event in photos – #BreakthruMoment
