Aces of Trades: Growing business and developing people are his forte
ZANESVILLE – It was during his time in the military he discovered a career – in the food industry.
“When I was in fifth grade,” recalled Tony Collins, “I made a statement I would join the Navy like both my grandfathers had. My dream was to travel the world, which during my 11 years of military service I was very blessed to do.
“I was a ship’s serviceman,” he added. “Job responsibilities included running all retail outlets, vending machines, inventory control, cash handling, etc.
“While in the Navy, I was recruited by Herr’s Snack Foods,” he continued. “I decided to start a new career in route sales in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area. My military discipline, experiences, training and hard work propelled me through several promotions and landed me as the zone manager that covered Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.”
Collins eventually moved to Zanesville to cover his territory. Joey Seal worked with Collins at Herr’s.
“I was just graduating high school and heading to play college baseball,” recalled Seal. “Tony taught me a ton about what hard work was in the work force, not just by telling me, but by showing me. I’ve had a handful of bosses in my life, but none quite like Tony. He took a tough love approach with me, teaching me that punctuality, attention to detail, and how you treat others are the most important aspects to success. I’m now a teacher and a coach, mostly because of Tony. If I can have half the impact he had on me with my students and players, I would consider it a success.”
After 22 years of traveling with Herr’s, Collins joined US Foods as a new business manager.
“During my time with US Foods, I developed a relationship with The Barn team,” he said. “I was part of helping The Barn adjust to the hard COVID times and was very impressed with the way The Barn adapted for the local community. This forged the relationship with me and owner Jim Watson.”
Today, Collins is general manager at The Barn.
“This was an obvious next step for us,” Collins said.
Collins grew up in southern Ohio, graduated from Vinton County High School in 1985, and joined the US Navy when he was 17. Collins started at The Barn in January 2022.
“My entire working career,” he summed, “has been focused on helping others, growing business and development of people while managing cost as well as finding quality cost effective ways to operate a business. Relationship development is my strength and passion. The Barn enables me to do all of this and stay closer to home where I can enjoy my granddaughter.”
The Barn is located at 1947 Linden Ave. For more information, call 740-455-2276 or log on www.thebarnzanesville.com.
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at trnews@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com.
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Growing business and developing people are his forte
