A Proposal in Paradise

Paradise burned in November, last year. Luke and Cassie lost their home and everything in it. So did all of their neighbors. Eighty six lost their lives. It was historic in a way no one wants to be a part of history. Healing had to begin before the fire was even out.

And so it did. In the ash and soot and rubble of what had been their home Lukas Schnoor got down on a knee and asked Cassie to marry him. In April they shared their vows and made plans to start anew.

With a small grin on his face when asked of the experience, Luke said that one thing about losing everything is that there’s not much to pack. His personal values statement, “Its only stuff”, tells you all you need to know about how well he understands the difference between really important things, and those things that can be replaced.

After high school Lukas Schnoor left the family farm in Chowchilla, California to work for Tractor Supply Company. He became a manager when he was 22 and worked for a time in Chico and Carson City. With experience under his belt and leadership ability an obvious asset, the 28 year old Tractor Supply Company manager accepted the manager’s position of the newly opened store in Sutherlin.

Tractor Supply Company has arrived in Sutherlin and so has Mr. and Mrs. Lukas Schnoor. The new community will soon learn what a fortunate thing it is. The FFA and the 4H groups have been invited to the Grand Opening on July 20th. You can’t get more appropriate than that.

To read the Mission & Values statements of Tractor Supply Company is to read the words you wouldn’t mind seeing in every business’ explanation of who they are. They mention honesty, integrity and mutual respect in their mission. Subheadings of the values are Ethics, Respect, Balance, Winning Attitude, Communication, and Development. Sounds like a place we would all like to work. The newly opened store in Sutherlin lies halfway between the stores in Grants Pass and Creswell. A strategic location with the small-town lifestyle of people who have traded with the company since its beginning 80 years ago in Tennessee. Today, Tractor Supply Company is located in 49 states at 1,775 locations.

A publicly traded company ((NASDAQ: TSCO) Tractor Supply has been recognized as #76 on Barron’s top 100 most sustainable companies. The company states in its self-introduction it is the largest rural, lifestyles retailer in the United States.

The 29,000 team members of the company have added to that number with thirteen employees in the Sutherlin location, five full time and eight part time.

Lukas mentioned the goals of the team members joining him in Sutherlin, among them “Tractor Supply is going to be the Go-To Place” in the region. He promises they will be providing “legendary customer service”.

A small banner displayed in the employee breakroom instructs, “Do whatever it takes”. On the west side of interstate five at Exit 36 is Tractor Supply Company. You can see it in the large building once occupied by Rays supermarket. You owe it to yourself to stop by and check it out.