To kick off the monumental milestone of CICB’s 50th anniversary year, we thought where better to start than with our amazing and talented team of CICB who have made us what we are today! We asked our seasoned employees, the longest who has been with us just shy of 20 years, what it means to celebrate CICB’s past?
When you set off on an exercise such as this, you never know what you are going to learn and uncover. In this case, there were a few themes that became prevalent. First and foremost, every employee who reflected on CICB’s past mentioned the words FAMILY and TEAM.
Another theme was the rate of GROWTH and EVOLUTION of CICB over the decades. Our tenured folks reflected on our small and mighty team. What we lacked in size in the early days, we certainly made up for in service. It always was and continues to be about dedication, integrity and an unwavering commitment to our customers.
We invite you to join us for our year-long celebration! And to begin, it is an honor for us to open our doors so you can hear from some of our employees firsthand what it means for them to celebrate our past and inspire our future. We’d love for you to join in the conversation, visit us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
“I feel very fortunate for the chance I was given by Craig and Christina Epperson when I was hired as a secretary with very little experience! Today, as I celebrate my 19-year anniversary, I proudly serve as the Director of Operations for CICB. CICB has afforded me the opportunity to learn and grow within the CICB Family. We have an exceptional team of Instructors, Sales Account Managers, and Administrators that work together to ensure CICB provides first-rate customer service, exemplary safety training and thorough equipment inspections to its clients. I am looking forward to many more successful years at CICB.” Karla Cirizola, Director of Operations
“It has been a pleasure working with the CICB Family for over 16 years. It is exciting to watch CICB grow from four employees in 2002 to twenty-eight full time employees in our 50th year in 2019, fourteen of which are subject matter experts who train, inspect, and provide audits, and consulting services. This is a close-knit group who communicates well and shares ideas as to how each of us can grow, as we continue to expand. Our future is growing, and the sky is the limit!” Billy Cook, Director of Sales
“Coming up on 18 years of service with CICB, I realize that an unseen element of this unique organizational business model allows team members the flexibility to use their creativity to adjust to changing situations. Communication is most important when faced with a new or unfamiliar situation; the team members know they really are not alone. So, supportive advice or encouragement is always a phone call, text or email away. Our communication link is not the common top / down, but a communication circuit which goes around, which makes CICB nimble in our ever-changing business activities. Team CICB is encouraged to and does an excellent job at conferring with other team members to help sort some things out. I like to think of CICB as being exceptional at our people-to-people skills whether each other or our clients. I’m grateful each day to have this opportunity provided to myself to make a significant contribution to the goals of the company and my small part to provide a service to our industry.” Jerry Longtin, General Manager
“I’ve had the opportunity and privilege of working for CICB since 2006 and being part of the team. During my tenure, I have learned the value and advantages of working as a team player. One of the best parts of working for CICB and the Eppersons is how much they emphasize we are a family and that explains why we have many employees that have been part of the CICB family for more than 14 years. For me personally, they have given me more responsibilities that have allowed me to grow personally and in my job. CICB’s importance to the crane and rigging industry is seen every day when we help people in the industry with their needs.” John O’Connor, Houston Operations Director
“Very quickly, in my more than 15-year tenure with CICB, I realized that CICB is different than every other organization in business. My opinion matters and I have grown with this great organization. CICB has made me one of the best in the field and, while I realize that I still have a lot to learn, CICB allows me the opportunity for further development and growth. The CICB team has allowed me to be as good as I want to be, and this is often the best type of reward. I am looking forward to what the next 50 years will bring.” Larry Kime, Senior Instructor/Inspector/Technical Advisor