Richard told me a story about something that happened several months ago, when the hydroponic lettuces were new and he asked Susie White—at the time, she was the Hamakua Springs tomato packing house supervisor—to come see what they were doing with lettuce.

“I could tell that she really wanted to get her hands on the lettuces,” he said. “The clincher was when I handed her one. She held it really gently, like it was a baby bird, and I thought to myself, ‘She’s the one.’”

He asked her if she was interested in taking on the lettuce project and she said she couldn’t wait. Susie is now Lettuce Production Supervisor at Hamakua Springs Country Farms.

Susie says that she used to drive by the farm and see the greenhouses. She wondered what was growing in there, and when she saw a job opening she applied.

“I really needed full-time and benefits, and that’s what they were offering. I thought, I don’t want to work on a banana farm. But it turned out to be so much more than I expected. I just love it.”

She was hired to work in the greenhouse, pruning tomatoes. Less than two weeks later she was put in charge of the packing house, becoming the first tomato packing house supervisor. Together, says Richard, they developed the processes they use today.

She says it’s great fun learning about hydroponics and greenhouses. “Plus it’s all new—his greenhouse operation is new and he’s cutting edge. We’re learning as we go. I’ve never been bored since I worked here. Plus it’s close to my house; I live just up the road. And I get to use all my experience.”

Her experience is extensive and fitting. She studied at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo’s Department of Agriculture, and also used to grow vegetables at home—lettuce, herbs, corn, asparagus and watercress—for restaurants (Rosie’s Boathouse, Harrington’s) where she worked as a bartender.

Before coming to work at Hamakua Springs in early 2004, the self-described “aggie” worked for the Hawai‘i Agriculture Research Center, and for the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai‘i, doing forestry research for both.

“I use all that research in the job now. For instance, with the tomato yield it was a lot of data collection, and out here in the lettuce it was how to set up little trials, spacing, how many seeds. We were doing a lot of Alan Wong research, trying to get all the lettuces the right size and shape for him, and how long it takes to the time of harvest, different times of year….”

She says Richard’s fun to work for because he “tries things that people don’t think can be done, mostly because they just haven’t been done before.”

“And he’s always trying new things and is open to new ideas,” she says. “He asks all of us, wherever we’re working. He’s always looking for feedback.”

She speaks highly of both Richard and June, who she says “approach things very business-like, but are very down to earth. For instance, all Richard cared about working with tomatoes is how they tasted, not the yields. And Kimo and Tracy, too. They are making very thought-out decisions, plans, and everything they do they have a reason for. You might not know what it is at first but after awhile you see it.”

“I like working for all of them,” she says. “I trust them.”

Richard speaks equally highly of Susie. “The thing that first got my attention,” he says, “was how Susie cared for her fellow workers, especially the ones who could possibly get overlooked because of not understanding the language as well as others. She was like a mother hen to all those workers and we appreciated that very much.”

He says he saw that she noticed if somebody—especially someone new, who didn’t know the routine yet—didn’t know it was break time.

“Or if there’s a meeting,” he says, “some of the new people might not feel comfortable and they’ll hang back. She’ll bring them to the middle and make them feel welcome. That’s what we want to do here at Hamakua Springs—take care of the most defenseless. And that’s what she does.”

Susie says her job has kept her “challenged beyond belief”—in a good way. “We went from six greenhouses of tomatoes to over 100,” she says. “Now I’m challenging my way back up over here in the lettuce. It’s kept me on my toes a hundred percent. This job just turned out to be the dream job I never knew it would be.”

“I love it,” she says. “I’m having a ball.” — posted by Leslie Lang