Joe Paquette A Purpose Along with a Career D uring his first summer job in college, Joe
Paquette built swimming pools, a strenuous job that involved heavy lifting and manual labor under the scorching Oklahoma sun. At the end of that summer, Joe vowed to avoid construction as his life’s work. When he returned to college in the fall, Joe declared business as his major and it was a true turning point in his life.
In an interesting parallel, Express Employment Professionals was growing and maturing during those same years. Joe had a friend who interned at an Express office, and he knew several other people who found temporary jobs through the staffing company. In addition, Express had an office less than a mile away from the house Joe had grown up in, so he passed it almost every day. However, it was at Oklahoma Baptist University during the fall semester that Joe began to connect with people from Express.
In 2000, Joe took a course called Intro to Business. His professor, David Gillogly, had retired from serving as president of Express, but still served as company director. David became Joe’s favorite teacher and mentor.
Coincidentally, the next summer, Joe worked at the Express Angus Ranch in Shawnee, feeding cattle and taking care of livestock. The ranch’s owner is Bob Funk, who is also the CEO of Express. With connections like these, it is no wonder that Joe was hired right after college graduation for a temporary job in the accounting department at Express International Headquarters.
A few months later, Joe moved to an Express office in Oklahoma City to work as a staffing consultant, helping connect people with the right jobs. From there, Joe was assigned to a
team of young professionals opening a new office in downtown Oklahoma City.
Early in his career with Express, Joe had an encounter with Bob Funk that he says will always stick in his mind. Joe and several of his co-workers were celebrating a milestone. They decided to spend some of their bonus checks on a fancy breakfast at a nearby restaurant. To everyone’s surprise, there across the way sat Bob Funk. “Since I remembered him from the year I worked at the ranch, I urged my buddies to all go chat with him and tell him about hitting our big goal, so they did,” Joe said. “Then Bob asked what we’d want if we managed to reach an even bigger sales goal. Usually, I’m sort of shy, but something came over me, and I said I’d want a cowboy hat like his.
“He laughed and wrote it down but none of us thought much about the conversation. A few months later, the office achieved its goal. And I’ll be darned if there was a hat just like Bob’s sitting on my desk the next day,” he said. “That was pretty neat.”
Joe has been with Express for more than five years and is now back at headquarters, working with several of the people he actually helped hire years ago.
“I’ve worn lots of different hats in my years here at Express,” Joe said. “And through it all, I have loved my job. We’re always helping people. I get to see lives changed. I have a purpose along with a career.”
And, Joe still cherishes that cowboy hat Bob Funk gave him.
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