Sure, professional runners like Dave McGillvray are fun to learn from, but at Rainier Fruit, we’re also ready to champion everyday runners like our Quality Control Manager, Sam Gaenz.
Sam has worked for our company for 16 years and not only is he responsible for evaluating the quality of every apple that goes in and out the door at Rainier Fruit, he’s an avid runner, family man and community volunteer.
When we kicked off our sponsorship of the Boston Marathon in 2016, Sam was one of the first to volunteer to make the trek to Boston to do the heavy lifting that came with our behind the scenes work. Sam is one of those guys that’s always ready to volunteer for any job, but for Sam, a devoted runner, he also wanted to soak up the energy that is Boston and experience a little part of that running legacy. Sam also told us he wanted to run Boston someday. So we said – sure, why not next year.
And low and behold – that’s exactly what Sam is doing. Between the daily grind of apple, pear, cherry and blueberry harvest, Sam is out hitting the pavement and backroads putting in the daily miles necessary to train for Boston and working through the aches and pains and even injury setbacks that come with marathon training. But the thing is, his road to Boston is not even the most interesting thing about Sam, and we think he’s someone you should get to know.
Like many people on our staff, Sam has grown up in this region and lived in the shadow of Mount Rainer his whole life, taking advantage of a variety of outdoor activities including camping, rock collecting and running. Today, Sam has many races under his belt from 5K’s and half marathons to multi-leg team relays. Sam is a natural runner that admits running comes pretty easily, but Sam wasn’t always a runner, nor was he living a healthy lifestyle.
In fact, running wasn’t even the healthiest lifestyle choice Sam has made. Back in 2000, Sam recognized he had a problem with drugs and alcohol and he needed help. He asked for help, committed to sobriety and accepted change. The good news is, 16 years later, Sam is still clean and sober and he’s even quit smoking. The healthy lifestyle changes became more and more important to him as he aged and he realized his own battles helped him empathize with others who shared similar struggles, but also the healthier lifestyle guaranteed that he would be around longer to spend more quality time with those he loves most – like his kids, his grandchildren and his family and friends.
Today Sam continues to work on his recovery but he also helps others on their own journey to recovery, as well as spending time working with various homeless shelter programs in the region. When we asked Sam about his work he said, “My volunteer work has a way of helping me to never forget that sometimes my problems aren’t really very big in the scope of the picture of life.”
Sam like so many of our employees is dedicated to not only his job, but his family and his community. For us as a company, we can’t wait to support Sam on his road to Boston and cheer him on as he runs the storied roads of Boston like so many before him.
Stay tuned for updates on Sam’s Road to Boston because we have some good stuff to share like how he’s preparing, the best advice he got from Boston Race Director Dave McGillivray and what Sam thinks was his most inspiring run to date.
Friends – remember to #EatWholesome & #BeWholesome and let’s all be a little more #WholesomeToTheCore.