PROFILE: Joel Midkiff

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jun 13, 2005 by JIM BAINBRIDGE THE GAZETTE

Joel Midkiff has worked at Sinton Dairy for so many years that he no longer remembers when he started thinking that "the job isn't what you do, but who you are." It was the moment he became a Sinton lifer. A part of the family.

"I started here in 1970 driving a milk truck," said Midkiff, the dairy's general manager. "I've gone from employee to owner to employee, and I still love it."

It is a minor point that he is not a Sinton by bloodline. Midkiff has embraced the corporate traditions of stability, loyalty and service that have allowed the dairy to flourish from the earliest days of Colorado Springs' history.

Melvin Sinton started the dairy in 1880 with funding from his father. Brother George came onboard in 1881, and it remained in family hands for 100 years. At least one family member was employed at the dairy through 1997.

The current work force of 225 includes about 30 employees who have been with the company for 25 years or longer. Midkiff's operations manager, Bill Keating, has been at Sinton for 27 years, and his late father, John Keating, was there for 46, serving as general manager when Midkiff was a sales manager.

The average tenure at the plant is 13 to 14 years.

"Joel has told me a few times that the company's been around for 125 years, and he's determined not to mess things up on his watch," Bill Keating said. "We still have a family atmosphere here. Our success is based on taking care of people and relying on each other."

The tradition of community service began with Melvin Sinton, who funded a firefighting company in the early days of the town and served on the county commission and the city council.

Midkiff says he got the picture early on when longtime customers told him how the dairy had carried their family's bills for several months during hard times. He never wanted to take that community bond for granted.

The Dairy Farmers of America knew enough to leave things alone when it purchased full ownership from Midkiff and partner Larry Losasso in 2003. The farmers' group made it clear from the start of negotiations that it wanted Midkiff and his management team in place.

During his years at Sinton, Midkiff has been through one merger, six acquisitions of smaller dairies, the sale of majority stock to Associated Grocers of Colorado and then the big one -- AGC's bankruptcy and the subsequent sale of the dairy to Midkiff, Losasso, John Haberkorn and Jack Warner of the Sinton management team in 1987.

As co-owner, Midkiff was vice president of sales and kept that job after becoming general manager -- the man in charge -- in 2003. He never has strayed far from his roots, those who work with him say.

"Joel is a very hard-working person, both here at the plant and out talking to customers," Keating said.

"He came from the sales side, that's his background, and he's committed to keeping a personal connection with our major customers. These are people who can change your life if they are unhappy. He's out there finding out if they like our products and what we can do to help them out."

With gross sales of $70 million annually, there is a lot at stake. Sinton Dairy produces about 220 million pounds of milk each year, which accounts for about 60 percent of its sales, followed by its culture products (cottage cheese, sour cream) at about 20 percent and growing, with sales in eight Western states.

In 2003, Sinton was presented the Irving B. Weber Award, the industry's highest acknowledgment of quality. The dairy had been a finalist five times before.

Midkiff also has made sure Sinton did its part to foster a better community. He's just finishing a one-year term as chairman of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry and has served a term on the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce board.

Sinton has made contributions to more than 40 nonprofit organizations in the Pikes Peak region, prompting Mayor Lionel Rivera to present Midkiff with a plaque of appreciation last month.

It's been a long, improbable run since Midkiff, fresh out of the University of Iowa, arrived in Colorado "with my wife, a 1966 Corvette, a dog and all our belongings."

He had no job waiting. No prospects. Just a desire to live in the Rocky Mountains and escape Iowa winters. Well, Iowa summers, too.

Midkiff started in Sinton's Denver operation as a driver, moving to the Springs after about 18 months. He stacked 65-pound cases in the cooler before becoming a supervisor, first in the cooler, then in the ice cream vault, then with the drivers.

In 1976 he moved to street sales and found his niche.

"I didn't miss the fact that there were not a lot of guys in the dairy business with a college degree," Midkiff said.

"I could see there would be opportunities if I worked at it. Western Electric offered me a job, but I held off to see if something might work out with Sinton."

He moved up quickly in sales, going from sales manager to general sales manager, then to vice president of sales in 1981 and finally to the top spot.