Calli Ward

In my time at Manzana Products Co., I worked in a shared position for our Human Resources and Finance departments. Within our Human Resources department I worked with employees regarding their questions, concerns, and complaints. I also worked heavily with processing, tracking, and filing for the department. This included benefits communication, internal audits, external audits, and spearheading the research and implementation of our new HRIS and Payroll systems. I handled all government communications regarding employees, and the maintenance of employee personnel files. Additionally, I liaised regularly with our Safety Manager and Workers Compensation Lead to help manage and facilitate workers compensation claims, as well as participating in monthly safety meetings with our team. In conjunction with the safety team, I created and edited training programs through Microsoft PowerPoint, uploaded them to our training servers, and distributed the trainings to our teams. The largest, and most frequent responsibility of my role was processing weekly payroll for our 180+ hourly employees. This consisted of reviewing timesheets, labor allocation review and reassignment, reviewing weekly manufacturing records, applying manual wage adjustments, and processing within three different systems. Once payroll was concluded I processed and analyzed all time, labor, and wage reports. As the primary processor for hourly employees, I completed onboardings, terminations, and processed all manual checks. I was the main point of contact for any payroll questions that arose with employees. My other finance tasks included ACA tracking and submission, W-4 distribution, and garnishment processing. Upon request, I processed wage, hour, and work allocation reports for our leadership team.

At New Directions Northwest, I worked as a FEMA Outreach Specialist, focused on Covid-19 support throughout Baker County. I worked in partnership with FEMA and Oregon Safe and Strong to provide various support and resources to those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. These resources included financial assistance, mental health support, connections to Covid-19 testing and vaccinations clinics, and other varied assistance programs. My partner and I distributed resource materials throughout the community, organized and managed agency events, and coordinated efforts with inter-agency and statewide FEMA team members. We participated in marketing and public relations efforts to increase awareness through radio spots, social media, community booths, and business outreach. During our time in the community, we provided initial crisis counseling interviews and subsequently conducted follow-up visits to connect clients with appropriate departments and resources.

Ward Ranches was my place of employment from high school through my first two years of college. Due to my student status, I would work full-time during the summer months but only part-time throughout the rest of the year. My most important role at Ward Ranches was as the Program Coordinator for the Conservation Stewardship Program. This program is a government led initiative to monitor the land use and conservation efforts of farms and ranches throughout the country. My role in this program was to regularly collect and record field data for approximately 20 unique locations. I would then combine this information with the tracked land usage, and analyze the plant life and grazing patterns of the land. I presented this data annually to an NRCS representative to receive the program’s accreditations. Outside of this program I perform a variety of other tasks throughout the operation. Two of these key areas are the operation of heavy machinery such as tractors, combines, or agricultural implements, and ensuring the quality of crops by maintaining irrigation schedule, routine pest and weed control, and attention to the condition and repair of equipment.

In the summer of 2020, I was contacted by the Baker County Sheriff’s Department to fill a temporary position as a Control Technician in the Baker County Jail. I have previously occupied this position, also in a temporary capacity, during the summer of 2019. An employee within the department had unexpectedly quit and left the department shorthanded. Due to my experience and positive reputation from that time, I was asked to come back. As a Control Technician I handled all controls within the jail including access points, internal doors, and inmate intercoms. I processed inmate requests, new arrivals, and deputy moves throughout the building. I processed paperwork related to bookings, releases, and general records and communicated with the public regarding any questions or requests.

In the summer of 2019, I was contacted by the Baker County Sheriff to fill a temporary position as a Control Technician in the Baker County Jail. As a Control Technician I handled all controls within the jail including access points, internal doors, and inmate intercoms. I processed inmate requests, new arrivals, and deputy moves throughout the building. I processed paperwork related to bookings, releases, and general records and communicated with the public regarding any questions or requests.

I worked at Sweet Wife Baking for approximately two and a half months, before leaving due to a prior summer job commitment. While employed at Sweet Wife I worked throughout the shop and assisted wherever I was needed throughout the day. The main duties that I performed during my shifts were, washing and sanitized dishes and utensils for continuous use throughout the day, ensuring availability of materials by restocking ingredients and supplies, and preparing ingredients so they were available to the bakers when needed.

Study abroad term in Brighton, UK.