Being named July Employee of the Month by the Little Falls Area Chamber & Tourism came as a surprise to Tony Arnold, operations manager at DJ Products in Little Falls.
“It makes me feel humbled. I did not see it coming. It’s definitely an honor,” he said.
What made the notification of the recognition even more special was the fact that it was his mom, who once worked at the Chamber, delivered it to him.
That Arnold is well-deserving of the award is a certainty to his supervisor James Whaley.
“Tony was promoted to a new role a couple of years ago and he has really made it his own. His personal development has been very impressive,” Whaley said.
Arnold was nominated by Maddie Berg, who wrote:
“He always helps with every single situation, no matter what it is. He can bounce back and fourth between multiple projects. Any question I have, he can help answer and takes the time to show me how to answer the question on my own, so that the next time the question might arise, I can do it on my own.”
Berg also said Arnold “killed it with the SDMO implantation (a new software program). He was the calm in the storm when SDMO was getting set up. He is always willing to help with whatever is needed and always has a smile on his face. He greets everyone every day when he sees you. He makes it enjoyable to come to work.”
When SDMO was installed, Berg said Arnold was crucial in helping the employees understand the software program.
“He is a living, breathing SDMO man. He worked tirelessly to help all employees understand and use SDMO properly. If he did not know something, he would research until he had a solution to the problem. He was also so chipper, although that might be high eight cups of coffee regimen. He is well-deserving of the (Employee of the Month recognition).”
Arnold started working at DJ Products in November 2017. Initially, he said, he hadn’t planned to stay very long. In fact, what led him to start working there in the first place was being laid off for a month from his job at Prairie Restorations Inc in Princeton.
Reminiscing, Arnold said after he graduated from Little Falls Community High School in 2012, he didn’t know what field he wanted go into. That led him to study at University of North Dakota, undecided, for about a year and a half until he transferred to the University of Minnesota in Crookston. From there, he later graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in natural resource management.
“I’ve always had a passion for the outdoors, taking care of our land. That’s kind of what drove me to go that route,” he said. That’s why I was in restoration work right after college, restoring native landscapes, native prairies, which, I really did enjoy that job.”
However, working at DJ Products, Arnold had a taste of what working close to home was like. Living in Little Falls at the time, the 120-mile commute to and from work in Princeton was in the long run just a little too much.
“I wasn’t expecting to so abruptly change my field of work, but it just like what was right at that time. I was living in Little Falls.. It was five minutes to work, so that was one of the biggest factors at the time, and just that DJ was a great place. I was very comfortable there and I enjoyed it,” he said.
When Arnold isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Kristina, family and friends. He also likes being outdoors, fishing, hunting, golfing, attending sporting events, traveling and as an aviation enthusiast, watching planes.
As he and Cristina recently moved to a new house, Arnold said he really likes to take care of the lawn, garden and everything else that comes with caring for the exterior environment.
As Employee of the Month, Arnold received gift certificates from Kinship Soup and Chili Cook-off, Domino’s, Reality Roasters, Fresh Hair Professionals, Vacuum Cleaner Outlet and Service Center, Thielen Meats, Brenda’s Seasonal Specialties, St. Francis Health and Wellness Center, Pine Country Bank and Coborn’s. He also had a professional photo taken by Christina Johnson Photography.
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