The Paper Mart family includes over 250 employees all working together to deliver the best products and service in the industry. We believe that each individual on our team plays an important role in making Paper Mart a great place to work and grow. What better way to showcase their passions, talents, and stories than with an Employee Spotlight?
We are honored to be able to launch our employee spotlight series with Mark Gutridge, who is retiring after 40 years at Paper Mart.
About Mark
What do you do at Paper Mart? Inventory control.
How long have you worked here? 40 years
Tell us what a typical day at work for you entails. I check item locations in the warehouse for discontinued items, cycle count, and pull samples for photographs.
What do you like best about working at Paper Mart? Being a team player and helping others. I like making other people’s jobs easier when possible.
What’s something most people don’t know about you? I have enjoyed singing at church over the years. I’m old enough to be a father to most of the employees here.
Before Paper Mart, what was the most unusual/interesting job you had? Making bricks and driving 53’ tractors and trailers.
Apart from your work at Paper Mart, what are some side projects or hobbies you have outside of the office/warehouse? Driving charter buses, camping, fishing, and riding motorcycles.
If you had to eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Yams.
Would you rather go back in time or in the future? Why? The future to see the change in technology.
Describe what you were like at age 10. I was quiet, compliant and very thin.
What is the first concert you attended? Sandi Patti.
What’s your all-time favorite TV show? Little House on the Prairie.
40 Years at Paper Mart
Paper Mart recently celebrated Mark’s long career by dubbing his last day, “Mark Gutridge Day.” All of our employees showed up to the celebration wearing blue and plaid (his favorite color/print). Custom stickers were designed and worn by all employees to give Mark the perfect send-off. Members of Mark’s family including his sister, brother, two daughters, son and granddaughter were also invited to join on this special day.
Owner Tom Frick, President Buffy Simoni and Director of Distribution Ron Carter all gave fun and heartfelt speeches about Mark’s tenure at Paper Mart.
As a show of our appreciation, Mark was given a full set of Paper Mart apparel, $250 gift certificate to the Dodgers (his favorite team) and a hand-drawn tree with the fingerprints from the entire Paper Mart family. The whole team here at Paper Mart will sincerely miss seeing Mark on a daily basis, but we are all excited for him to start the next chapter of his life.
I am a customer of Paper Mart and just read about the retirement of one of your long term employees. I got such a warm feeling when I read about how years there and the send off party he was given from fellow employees and management. That must be a wonderful place to work, with a family like atmosphere. In a stressful and bad news kind of world we live in, it’s nice to read stories like this. Thanks for sharing and good luck & best wishes to Mark on a job well done!
You gave Mark a great send off… I am one of his sisters. Wish I could have been there. Mark didn’t mention that he has 5 sisters and 4 brothers. And we all genuinely like/love each other. Happy trails brother. Love ya much