Featured Personality – Russ Geary

Who isn’t a sucker for love stories?!! At Bishop’s we don’t prohibit dating amongst co-workers because we are a family run business. You never know when cupid might strike you! Yes, it maybe just be a bee sting in the orchard, but sometimes employees find love in the simplest of environments! Let us tell you about a love story from back in the day at Bishop’s Orchards. It all started in 1984…

As a young college student, he was doing what most kids his age were doing that summer, looking for a summer job! Between his kind heart and charm, he managed to land a position as a stock clerk for that summer. At first, Russ didn’t think he would be here long, but low and behold a beautiful young lady came walking in! Lisa was her name and boy was Russ smitten! Employee relationships have never been prohibited at Bishop’s, being a family owned business and all. So after 4 years of being at Bishop’s Orchards, Russ began dating Lisa! Hands down this has been his proudest moment at Bishop’s, now having been married to Lisa for ## years!! It all started with two employees in love and now many many years later, they are both STILL valued employees. They have two beautiful children, Rusty a certified accountant and Linnea a college student studying Pathology at UCONN.

Falling for Lisa wasn’t the only love Russ found. He fell in love with our family company, and seeing its growth throughout the years. Since then, Russ has been the Produce Team Manager here at Bishop’s, now going on 30 years! Russ enjoys engaging with the customers when he is on the floor. “One of the best parts of my job is interacting with the customers on the floor,” says Russ. “I sometimes see familiar faces that have been shopping at Bishop’s since I first started in 1984! Engaging with them makes me feel like our department is holding up to our company’s mission statement and making the customer’s happiness our number one priority.”

Russ’ day to day responsibilities are divided up into two sections; purchased produce and Bishop’s own produce. January through May is mainly focused on outsourced purchased produce. Then, once June hits, Bishop’s own produce, as well as other local farms’ produce, starts coming in. “This starts to be a very exciting time on the farm,” says Russ. “Some things you will see are berries and squash from our own farm field, as well as tomatoes, lettuce, corn and more from local farms like Anderson Farm, March Farms, and Cecarelli Farms.”

Multiple times a week, Russ is responsible for researching prices, placing all orders and checking inventory upon arrival in the Produce Department (bulk items included). “To help ensure our customers are getting the best and most fresh produce, we do an extensive quality control check. We have exceptional staff who goes through every pea pod, green bean, brussels sprouts… you name it! There is no “bad egg” to be found when you have this hands-on technique.” Russ expresses the importance of this process so the customers are getting the most for their money, with the quality they deserve.

As the business continues to grow, Russ hopes to see the Produce Department expand in many different ways. He sees the potential for our farm to increase available land made for produce that we currently grow. “At times some of our produce, such as our strawberries and blueberries, is limited during the early parts of their season. We then have to resort to purchasing from other farms to keep up with demand. It would be great to find more space for growing more, therefore increasing our on-hand supply for customers.”