First Half of 2023 Employee of the Month Honorees Then & Now
Compass Precision has high expectations for its employees at all nine operating companies. When those expectations are met and even exceeded, those workers become eligible for the Compass employee of the month award.
Since March 2020, Compass has named 66 employees of the month. Quality Products & Machine’s Al Farrar held the honor first about five and a half years ago. R&D Machine’s Mike Shupe was the most recent recipient of the award in September 2025.
But an employee’s journey doesn’t end when they receive the Compass employee of the month honor. It’s just one milestone among many for most of the Compass employees who receive the award.
Therefore, it’s always worth taking a look back at previous employee of the month recipients. Let’s revisit the winners of the honor from the first half of 2023.
Minh Hong – January
Minh remains one of the most advanced and dependable CNC machinists at Quality Products and Compass overall. He played a key role in the successful completion of an incredibly difficult, fast-track project for a brand new customer at Quality in early 2024. The aerospace company involved has grown to become one of the operating company’s largest customers.
Jeremiah Aversa – February
Over the past two and a half years, Jeremiah has learned more programming to assist Chris Adkins, who was the very first Gray Manufacturing Employee of the Month for Compass in Oct. 2020. Jeremiah also plays an intricate role in keeping Gray’s automation running lights-out and around the clock.
Shane Kriedermacher – March
Shane has added assisting the relatively new second shift at Douglas Machining to his list of responsibilities. He answers questions after hours to ensure the shift runs smoothly, which is something that co-general manager Ben Kubis greatly appreciates. Shane also helps train new employees and co-workers with less experience.
Joel Gonzalez – April
Since his Employee of the Month honor, Joel has assumed the responsibility of running Strom Manufacturing’s automated tool system. Joel has also learned more programming and become more proficient on nearly every machine on the shop floor. Whenever Strom VP/GM Keith Wenzel needs someone to step up and do something extra, Joel is always one of the first in line.
Kalee Porter – May
Kalee has become one of the most versatile employees at any Compass operating company. As Tri-Tec Industries’ office manager, she has mastered helping every single department for the machine shop. Her many skills and can-do attitude make everyone else’s job easier. President Rick Loyd said she is well liked by everyone.
Toby Russel – June
As R&D Machine’s second-shift supervisor, Toby has continued to flourish. His leadership and technical knowledge of machining has enabled him to handle nearly every issue on the company’s second shift. Without its two-shift operation, R&D would struggle keeping up with the rising backlog. Toby is a very valuable asset to the company.