In 1894 the United States had established the first Monday in September as a tribute to the individuals of the American workforce. Here at Remington, we take our American Holidays seriously and we would like to take this chance to thank all our employees who have decided to take their careers down the Big Green path.

Remington’s plant sits off I-40 east about 6 miles outside of Lonoke, Arkansas and our machines can manufacture anything from 22LR to an 8-gauge slug. Remington began operations in this neck of the woods in 1969 and has brought continued economic and social growth to the nearby areas through employment opportunities and philanthropic events such as Shoot to Cure.

Since Remington’s founding in 1816, Big Green has provided consumers with hundreds of millions of award-winning rounds that deliver tournament winning and game stopping results. However, our legacy wouldn’t be worth a thing if it wasn’t for the men and women who show up to work in the belly of Big Green day in and day out. On any given day Remington has a rotation of hundreds of employees on the floor who each play an important part in making the ammunition you use and love.

Not only will this year mark the 130th year of Labor Day, but it also marks the 50th year work Anniversary of James Davis and John Hollis of Remington Ammunition. 50 years is a lifelong commitment to Remington and the folks here recognize and appreciate the dedication these two men have shown throughout their 50 years. As a recent graduate beginning their career, I seized the opportunity to take Mr. Davis and Mr. Hollis out to lunch for their anniversary so I could learn more about their careers and the history of Remington Ammunition.

John Hollis is originally from Chicago, Illinois and moved to Arkansas with his family and shortly landed a job with Remington on July 1st, 1974. John has worked a handful of roles here at Remington, but he currently resides in the shotshell ammunition area and plays a part in the formation of our hulls. Even though he has been in Arkansas for 50 years, John is still a devout Cubs and Bears fan and is recognizable by the iconic “C” embroidered on his ballcap he wears every day. He even has his Chicago hat on in his employee picture! John discussed the ever-changing landscape of Remington but paid specifically close attention to the transition between the type of people who have worked here throughout the years as well as the times the plant was owned and operated by DuPont. A specific story that stood out to me was the story John told about the employment of farm kids here at the plant. The gist being, the skills these folks learned out in the fields, like knowing how to work with machinery and being able to diagnose and fix mechanical issues, were exceptionally transferable when put into an environment such as a floor position. If you didn’t know how to fix something, you learn how to and then teach others how to do it.

James Davis on the other hand was born and raised in the Arkansas area and is a true southern gentleman. James has worked exclusively in our powder area for the last 50 years and his first day was August 12th, 1974. Since then, James has played a vital role in organizing the logistics of powder on Remington’s grounds and is extremely knowledgeable about our products as well as the variations between the hundreds of types of powder. James shared with me that Remington’s recordings of powder can be dated back before his employment and are still able to be viewed today! More so, I was intrigued to learn about the way James landed a position here at Remington as well as his remarkable 30-year streak without missing a day of work. James found himself in this role because he assumed it from his own father when he was in his early years. Prodding more about the Davis family, I learned that James’ mother, siblings, and even cousins, all had roles at Remington at one point in time. It was very evident that the Davis family has a lengthy history here in Lonoke. Discussing further, James and John, both made it known that this is a common practice here at Remington and how the atmosphere is especially family oriented.

At the end of our lunch, I gained a handful of humorous stories, new knowledge about Remington’s legacy, and some wise insight into what it takes to have a meaningful career. I walked away with these themes in my mind:

• Figure out what you are good at.
• Take pride in your work.
• Never stop learning.

Keeping these viewpoints in mind throughout employment is what separates a standard job from a meaningful career. As much as I would like to devolve into the funny stories I heard from James and John, some things are best kept between us Remington folks. This resonates true about the processes we follow to produce the ammunition you love. Happy Labor Day everyone.