This past October, Pine Island welcomed new Accounting Manager Mike Vitale to our team!
Mike has been here for three months now and seems to have settled in well. A lifelong resident of Manahawkin, Mike graduated from Stockton University, obtaining his accounting degree in 2013 and following that with a finance degree in 2017. “I first heard about the job via a recruiting firm,” he says. “I had family in Warren Grove who were cranberry growers a long time ago; working in the field piqued my interest and the position seemed to fit where I was at my professional career.”
He’s been greatly enjoying the position so far. “it’s a good environment here,” he says. “I never feel stressed out. The people here are great, and there’s never a problem asking questions. It’s been a good place to learn, especially for my first real job out of college. I can ask anyone here anything and it all feels pretty open.” Starting a new job in this industry in the middle of harvest can be tough, but Mike only noticed that in retrospect. “I didn’t realize how hectic things were until they quieted down!” he says. “But that’s good; it kept me busy, and it was interesting to learn about the process and see what goes into it.”
“Every week we work on something new,” says CFO Joann Martin, Mike’s immediate supervisor. “Because it’s yearend time we’re doing lots of different things besides our normal everyday tasks. Hopefully I’m being a good teacher!” She says Mike did very well getting thrown into the deep end at harvest time. “It always takes a little time to get all the people right, working out travel and vacation times and stuff like that. But Mike did fine, and he’s understanding the system well. He went through a little bit of QuickBooks training too, which shows his willingness to learn. Right now it’s all about learning the activities that we do at different times of year, and he’s actually done a lot to help us streamline some of our processes. He’s doing well for his first job out of college.”
We’re sure Mike will continue to be a great fit with our Pine Island team!