June 2023 – Tracy Tucker
A hardworking mother who perseveres
Tracy Tucker is the Operations Procurement Manager for both our Anaheim and West Sacramento locations. Tracy has persevered through every hardship in her life and worked hard to achieve her goals. Tracy has been part of the Nor-Cal Beverage family for more than 25 years and a key contributor to the Procurement department. For this month’s Employee Highlight, we wanted to share Tracy’s story with her co-workers and friends.
Tracy was born and raised in Cameron Park, California. She is the youngest of five children and has three brothers and one sister. During her time at Oak Ridge High School, Tracy was interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. From her sophomore year to her senior year, Tracy was employed in a nursing home working in home health care. She even thought about becoming a nurse, but life didn’t turn out as planned. Upon graduating from high school, Tracy began working for a distribution company in Woodland, California. She married at a young age and in 1989 when she was 22 years old, she had her daughter. Tracy took some time off to be with her baby and moved to Cool, California. She then worked as a receptionist at a doctor’s office in Georgetown, California. Tracy enjoyed the job and was there for a few years. Tracy decided she wanted to find a better paying job and began looking for new opportunities in her area.
In 1995, Tracy found an advertisement in the newspaper for a forklift operator position at Nor-Cal Beverage. Tracy had forklift experience from her time at the distribution company and decided to apply. Tracy was hired in March 1995. Tracy was the first woman ever hired at the Loomis warehouse location. She started off as a Forklift Operator and was responsible for the bar accounts and loading and unloading the beer trucks. In 2010, Tim Deary, former Executive Vice President of Transportation and Logistics, recommended she get her Class A License because she would have more opportunities to move up in the company. Tracy took the advice and got her commercial license. By January 2011, Tracy received a promotion and became the Warehouse Supervisor. Tracy oversaw all the forecasting for beer and ran the warehouse. A year later, she received another promotion and became the graveyard shift Distribution Center Manager at the Loomis location.
In 2014, Nor-Cal Beverage’s beer division in Loomis was sold and Tracy was offered the position of Procurement Analyst, working under the supervision of Tim Wilbanks, Procurement Manager in West Sacramento. Tracy managed to completely transform the parts room in West Sacramento. Shannon then asked Tracy if she could also assist the Anaheim team. Tracy went to the Anaheim facility and came back with recommendations and suggestions on how to improve the parts room. In 2017, because of her hard work and support, Tracy became a Parts Manager overseeing both the Anaheim and West Sacramento parts departments. Tracy said she enjoys working with her team and her department because no two days are the same. “I like that it’s not boring, between the personalities and the job.”, she said. In 2022, Tracy became the Operations Procurement Manager and holds this position today.
Tracy continuously tries to better herself for her family. Tracy’s Aunt Jo always motivated and encouraged her to better herself. Being a single mother, it was difficult for Tracy to continue her education. In 2010, Tracy took a risk and decided to pursue her bachelor’s degree. Tracy recalls it was a difficult time as she was taking care of her Aunt Jo who was suffering from a terminal illness. Tracy was also working 60 hours a week, while raising her daughter, and going to school full time. “I have worked hard to get where I am at, nothing has ever been handed to me and everything I have done, I have done it myself.”, she said. Tracy received her degree in 2014 from the University of Phoenix. Tracy’s Aunt Jo saw her walk the stage before passing a week later. Tracy was very close to her Aunt Jo, who was like a mother to her. “She was the one who pushed me to go to college and the importance of having an education.”, Tracy said. Tracy’s Aunt Jo was well educated and was a teacher at American River College. Tracy said her Aunt Jo was her biggest inspiration as well as her daughter. “I couldn’t be prouder of my daughter.”, Tracy said. Her daughter is a forensic psychologist and is working on getting her doctorate degree. Tracy loves spending time with her family in her free time. She also likes taking care of her house and swimming in her pool. “Life is too short. I appreciate my family and like spending time with them.”, she said.
Nor-Cal Beverage is fortunate to have employees like Tracy Tucker who are tenacious and dedicated in everything they do in their personal life as well as their career. She is not only a hard-working mother, but also driven and passionate about what she does. Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication to Nor-Cal Beverage!