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GASTONIA • NORTH CAROLINA
VOLUME XV-NUMBER 2
FEBRUARY • 1966
Tire$lon«
srsw
Your Symbol
of Quality
and Service
SEVENTH
FOR PLANT
Another UF Citizenship Citation
This is the seventh con
secutive year that Firestone
Textiles has received the
“outstanding citizenship”
award in recognition of em
ployee - company participa
tion in the Greater Gastonia
United Fund financial pro
gram.
The plant was among more
than two dozen industries and
businesses singled out for hon
ors at the 13th annual UF
luncheon awards meeting at
First Methodist Church, Jan. 28.
Recognition for exceptional
contribution brought plaques or
additional award bars to be at
tached to plaques presented in
previous years.
Firestone’s latest award is a
silver-embossed strip to add to
the wall plaque received two
years ago. The original UF
award plaque, earned seven
years ago, has attached to it
strips representing through the
fourth year of the honor. The
second plaque two years ago,
began the fifth year the plant
received the UF recognition.
AWARDS go to participating
Record Suggestions for Year
Many a Firestone man and
^voman with rural begin-
Hings can conjure up warm
Recollections of simple coun
try things. Maybe among
them would be the rich tex
ture of weathered boards and
pattern of commonplace
things clustering on a back-
Porch wall.
Could the lantern recall an
Exciting possum hunt, fox
*^hase or a trip to Grandma’s
^cross the ridge? Then the
^rawknife that helped to
t^shion a high chair for Baby
^ister long ago . . . the scale
that weighed the dried ap-
Since lilacs last
in the dooryard
bloomed FEBRUARY
THOUGHTS
pies . . . the trowel that built
the springhouse wall . . . the
hasp from the old barn door.
Or maybe if you look at it
with less sentiment, such
things as these suggest a
“primitive age of making-do”
replaced by things that sym
bolize change and easier liv
ing today.
Increasing participation by
55.7 per cent in 1964-65 over
the rate for 1963-64, Fire
stone employees helped the
company to the highest total
of suggestions adopted and
awards presented by the
company since the 1957-58
fiscal year.
During fiscal 1964-65 the Gas
tonia plant Suggestion Board
received 310 entries and adopted
93 of them. This approval rate
is close to 1 out of 4.
Total amount of awards the
company approved last year was
$60,948.34, an increase of more
than $10,000 over 1963-64’s fig
ure.
Since the system was started
47 years ago, some $1,570,000
has been paid to employees for
ideas.
Awards totaling $57,783.34
were presented by the Factory
Suggestion Board to employees
of the 28 domestic and foreign
plants taking part in the pro
gram. This is an increase of
more than $13,000 over the 1963-
Safety
CONTEST
Gastonia and Woodstock Win
“Congratulations to you,
^our safety committee, your
^^pervision and every em-
pOyee at the Gastonia plant
^ winning this trophy,”
^I’ote Richard M. Sawyer,
President of the company’s
^^tiles division.
His letter in January to Har-
‘d Mercer, Gastonia plant man-
announced that the plant
had become co-winner with
Woodstock, Canada plant in
® long-range safety contest
*^ong Firestone North Ameri-
textile facilities.
The recognition is for safety
^fformance at the two plants—
without a lost-time injury
the job during 1965 calendar
year. The latest win is repre
sented by another engraved bar
attached to the original plaque
awarded in 1959, when the Ben-
nettsville, S. C. and Woodstock
plants were joint recipients.
In 1960 the trophy went to all
three plants involved in the con
test: Bennettsville, Gastonia and
Woodstock. The following year
Bennettsville - Woodstock were
winners.
Gastonia won it separately in
1962, and for the next two years
Bennettsville - Woodstock again
were joint winners. Wrote Mr.
Sawyer;
"I sincerely hope you will con
tinue this fine safety record
through 19G6 so you will win
again at the end of the year.
This can be done only when
everyone in the plant is con
scious of safety and practices
that safety every moment on the
job."
The North American textiles
inter-plant safety rivalry, begun
in 1959, is intended to continue
for 12 succeeding years, each
year a separate contest.
Rules allow that the plant
which wins the plaque three
years in a row or wins it the
most times in the 12-year peri-
64 figure of $44,732.45. The Sales
and Office Suggestion Board
awarded $3,165.00.
FACTORY suggestions in
creased from 6,338 in 1964 to
10,622 in 1965, while suggestions
from sales and office personnel
increased from 404 to 568.
Rate of adoption per 1,000 em
ployees also showed marked in
crease.
H. B. Palmer, manager of the
company’s suggestion depart
ment, noted in his annual re
port:
“Improvement in operation of
the Suggestion System was a
direct result of the Zero Defects
program of quality, adopted by
the company’s manufacturing
facilities in May, 1965. This pro
gram has inspired greater in
terest and cooperation among
all employees to make the best
products possible.”
Employees Study
At Gaston College
Five Firestone people who
completed work in the fall se
mester are each continuing in
advanced work in their same
subjects at Gaston College. In
the spring semester which be
gan in late January, nine regu
lar courses are in progress in
the adult education program in
od, earns permanent possession
of it.
The newest engraved bar
added will grace the trophy dis
played here until July 1. It then
will be sent to Woodstock for
display the remainder of 1966.
firms which have 15 or more
employees and which have a
payroll system for UF contribu
tions with at least 80 per cent
of employees donating to the
fund and their giving averaging
at least $10 per employee in
volved.
Firestone’s averaged contribu
tion in last year’s UF plant so
licitation was a record $25,-
425.68, with an averaged gift
of $18.61 among employees.
☆ ☆ ☆
Galligan
Heads
United
Fund
At the January meeting, plant
production manager F. B. Gal
ligan was among volunteer
workers commended for his con
tribution to the UF financial
programs of past years. Mr.
Galligan last year was UF cam
paign chairman, leading the ef
fort to oversubscribe the $248,-
556 goal.
Mr. Galligan was advanced
from first vice president to
president of the Greater Gas
tonia United Fund.
Also at the recent meeting,
several other Firestone volun
teer workers were presented
honor certificates for their con
tributions to the UF campaign
last year.
its evening sessions, Monday
through Friday.
Enrolled for the current se
mester and their subjects: From
production scheduling, Connie
Carringer, English; main office
— Earlene Creasman and De-
lores Fritton, accounting; Mil
dred Redding, typing; Barbara
Galloway, shorthand.
Four others completed work
for the first semester: Josephine
Mills and Peggy Holder of ship
ping, Sandra Walker of main of
fice, and John Owens of sup
ply.
For employees who further
their education through academ
ic work which meets approval,
the Firestone company refunds
—more on page 2
^ports-Car Racing: COMPANY'S BEST YEAR
Winning the Nassau International Trophy Auto Race,
. Sharp of Houston, Texas rounded out Firestone’s best
ever in sports-car racing. In the 20 major sports-car
on the North American contin,ent in 1965, Firestotie
SEEING THAT IT’S RIGHT
tif
Were on the winning car in 18.
Skilled hands and eyes of an
inspector in weaving (synthet
ics) check for excellence in tire
fabric as it rolls from the loom.