William Todd Jenkins

I've known Bill since I was a little kid. I grew up watching him build and fabricate product while working for my Dad. My dad often told me how irreplaceable Bill was. As a little kid that didn't mean much. Flash forward 30 years, and I now realize exactly what he meant by irreplaceable. Bill didn’t miss days of work. Bill didn’t come in late. Bill didn’t complain about anything. Bill worked, period. If he was on the clock, Bill was doing productive work. There was absolutely no question about it. He was as loyal and honest an employee as there has ever been. How honest? Well, since his time card never varied by more than 1 minute in terms of punch in/punch out times, I told him to quit using it. I told him I know exactly when he gets here and exactly when he leaves. And that there really was no need for him to punch everyday. Some might see that as a chance to start coming in a little late and/or leaving a little early. Not so with Bill. There were times he would still come to my office to let me know that he needed to leave 7 minutes early today but that he would be sure to make it up in the morning… I always laughed and told him that, not only did he not need to tell me that but he didn’t need to arrive 7 minutes early the next morning either. But, guess who came in at exactly 6:53am instead of 7am the next morning? That’s who Bill was. He did great work too. Really great work. There are houses and buildings all over West Michigan and across the US with an exterior that is enhanced by the products Bill spent the last 30 years fabricating. His work area is still filled with notes, scribbles, dimensions, and various writings that helped him remember exactly how to assemble the thousands of products we threw his way. He was very, very good at his job. He has been and will continue to be sorely missed here at Arctel. He made in immeasurable contribution to this company and to me, personally. Betsy, your husband was one of a kind. Our thoughts will be with you this week and in the days and weeks to come.

- Kurt Bouma