Faces of Quaker Oats: Tilton man finds job with city of Danville

The following is a News Gazette story by Jennifer Bailey

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TILTON – When Jeffery Williams learned that Quaker Oats would close in June and he would lose his job, he took it in his stride.

Williams sees himself as a quiet person. He just goes with the flow.

He was thinking about working part-time and his plan was to do nothing at least this summer.

But he started looking for a job casually, sending out resumes and applications. He said he didn't take it too seriously.

“I think I got a job offer in the second week,” Williams said.

He applied for a job as a public servant with the city of Danville.

During the interview, he was offered another job in the city.

He was hired as a technical engineer in July.

“I’m doing a lot of inspections right now,” he said of sewer and plumbing inspections.

He said the job was “very different” but also had some in common with what he did at Quaker Oats.

“Engineering requires great precision. I’m not used to that,” says Williams.

He has a degree in political science, but the skills he brings to his new job from Quaker Oats include a lot of data collection and quality control.

In October, he will be entrusted with the $3.1 million project to replace the pumping station and improve the sewer system in Ellsworth Park.

Williams wasn't a Quaker Oats employee looking to relocate. He has a daughter, which played a role in his job search and desire to stay local.

Williams, who is not related to Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. but is the son of Danville City Councilman Robert Williams, said his father did not learn of his new job until after he was hired.

Williams started working as a part-time employee at Quaker Oats in 1996. He worked there on and off for three years and was hired full-time in 1998.

For most of these almost 29 years he worked as a process designer.

He said it was difficult to explain the situation.

“It's about the production of the (granola) bars… I (was) on the line, but I (supervised) the equipment,” he said of the production of the bars.

He said that when employees were unable to work because of the Quaker Oats recall, he initially believed they would return to normal work.

“There was always this glimmer of hope that everything would be okay,” he said.

But as big as the problems were, he somehow knew that something was wrong and that it had been so for some time.

“It wasn’t a shock,” he said.

He said many of his former colleagues are pursuing CDLs and other careers locally.

“I think it had a lot to do with your severance package,” Williams said.

When he now looks at the situation at the longtime employer in Vermilion County, “it is sad,” he said, especially every time he drives by and sees the plant.

“It's almost like leaving a family,” Williams added. “There have been so many events and things that have happened there. We've seen births, deaths, weddings and divorces, and people starting kindergarten and graduating from college. It's hard, and suddenly it's all gone.”

He said the former employees remained in contact and had a

Union party a few weeks ago.

They will hopefully continue these reunions, he said.

Williams said he could see himself continuing to work for the city for the foreseeable future.

“I like it,” he said. “There's a lot going on here.”

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