Carlos Baez officially retired this month, and we’re going to miss him!
Carlos started at Pine Island in the early 80s as a seasonal crew member and eventually came on board full time working his way to Equipment Supervisor. He left for a while in the early 2000s but came back in 2008.
His colleagues at the shop are going to miss him, uniformly calling him a “nice guy” (Larry) and “a good guy and a hard worker” (Coco). Maury, one of newest team members, adds: “I didn’t know him long, but he went out of his way to make me feel comfortable when I started here.”
“Carlos was an extremely dedicated worker, doing whatever it took to grow quality cranberries,” says Bryan. “He often went the extra mile to help out. He was easy to work with and got along with anyone. Carlos will be missed on the farm and we look forward to him visiting us in the future.”
The office staff will miss him as well! “Our Carlos, better known at the office as ‘Guest Services Director’,” says Debra. “We miss him so much already! He was always available to help with anything that was needed. It’s a pretty rare quality anymore and much appreciated. He was instrumental in assisting with the arrival of our seasonal employees. From picking them up from the airport, to bringing them shopping, to sitting with me while we went over all the necessary paperwork they needed to fill out. He would always act as the liaison for any questions they might have had and I’m sure they relied on Carlos as much as we did. He will truly be missed but we were certainly blessed to have him on the farm as long as we did. I wish him and his family a wonderful retirement filled with great health and lots of grandchildren play time!”
“We’re going to miss him!” Bill Haines says. “Carlos has been part of the team for a very long time. He’d do anything anybody asked; he was very loyal. Never missed a frost night, whether he was running sprinklers or just on call as a mechanic. We could depend on him any time we needed him.” Bill’s going to miss one thing in particular: “I’m going to miss his jokes that were so awful that they were funny!”
Enjoy retirement, Carlos!