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FIRST THINGS FIRST

By JIM MORGAN

As odd as the analogy might seem at first blush, it's not that far-fetched to think of Rose Rhodes as a manufacturing midwife.

"I guess you could say that," she concedes with a laugh. "My job is to help my customers go from a first inquiry about a new product - such as a custom-molded part or a rubber hose - to approval of first articles. In that sense, I guess I am a midwife. It's just that, instead of helping to bring babies into the world, I'm helping to deliver rubber parts!"

And though her official title here at RL Hudson is project manager, Rose is also like a devoted midwife in one other important respect: she gets a warm feeling in her heart knowing that she has helped people. Surprising as it may be, however, warmth has not always been Rose's closest companion.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE "The coldest I ever remember it being was 72 degrees below zero," she says, recalling the 13 years she spent in Alaska. "It stayed like that for an entire month. But you get used to it, and once it gets down to about 30 below, it's just plain cold anyway. You learn to dress for it, in lots and lots of layers."

The eldest of three children born to a gas field roughneck, Rose spent her pre-school years in Erie, Pennsylvania, before the family relocated to Ravenna, Ohio. That's where Rose graduated high school, and that's also where, in the mid-70s, she enlisted in the Air Force. After basic training in San Antonio and technical school in Biloxi, Rose was assigned to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado in a clerical capacity. Much as she enjoyed her role, she longed to travel.

"You fill out what's called a 'dream sheet,'" she explains, "and I put in for every place in the world you can possibly imagine for an overseas tour. I got Anchorage, Alaska. Mind you - Anchorage had not been anywhere on my list, but it turned out to be what was best for me. It was, without a doubt, the most incredible place that I have ever been in my life. The scenery, the people.it's amazing. Often cold, but amazing."

Of course, Rose wasn't just sightseeing. She was also working for the Air Force's postal squadron by traveling to radar sites and filling in for personnel doing their remote tours of duty. Not an especially glamorous gig, but one that did get her plenty of attention.

"I went to places where the only way in or out was by air," Rose recalls. "And I had the mail with me, so I became the most popular person at the post as soon as I arrived. Plus, there was a big disparity between the number of men and women on those sites, so I was treated like a queen!"

HOMEWARD BOUND Wrapping up her military service in the early 80s, Rose stayed in Alaska but joined a company representing houseware, hardware, and automotive aftermarket manufacturers who could not afford to send their own sales force that far north. Her role was initially clerical but later evolved into sales. It was great training, and it also afforded her the chance to go back to school and earn an Associates Degree in Business Administration.

"Plus, I met my husband!" Rose exclaims. "He was in the Army and was stationed near where I was. He's the sweetest guy in the world. He finished his term of service after Desert Storm, and we eventually decided to move back to Ohio. I lost some family members, and it was hard to be 6,000 miles away and not be able to go to a funeral. It finally struck me that I'd been gone too long, and it was time to go back."

Resettled in Ohio with her husband and two children, Rose went to work for a fastener manufacturer and, later, a company that applied fastener coatings for first-tier suppliers to the Big 3 automakers. She worked her way through a variety of responsibilities, including customer service manager, inside sales manager, and purchasing manager.

"I love people," says Rose, "and I love challenges. I love to make something happen against all odds. If you tackle a big project, and you make it work, there's no better feeling."

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Unbeknownst to Rose, her biggest projects - and challenges - were still ahead. She and her family relocated to Tulsa, and she joined RL Hudson in late 2002. She didn't know much about the local terrain, and even less about the rubber industry. Fortunately, her previous work experiences filled the void.

"Even though I didn't know anything about seals or hoses," she muses, "what I did know - sales, purchasing, and inventory management - was very applicable in any industry. Plus, I was, and still am, very eager to learn."

And learn she did, starting out as an account manager entering orders and tracking inventory for territory manager Janice Moreau. But with RL Hudson growing by leaps and bounds, by the spring of this year it became evident to the powers-that-be that a division of labor was in order. A new role - project manager - was born, and with that new role came a focusing of Rose's responsibilities.

"With the growth we've seen," she explains, "it became clear that asking one person to help develop a territory manager's new projects and take care of existing parts could sometimes be too much. So the role of project manager was created. Now I focus on helping both Janice and territory manager Craig Wagner develop projects from first inquiries to approved first articles. Once established, I turn those parts over to an account manager - who will oversee inventory, expediting, and maintenance - while I work on other new projects. It's good for our customers because they can count on having their projects nurtured at every phase, and it's exciting for me because there's always something creative happening."

INTO THE STONE AGE Should Rose crave an additional creative outlet, she can always turn to her hobbies, which, over the years, have included quilting and needlework. Her current passion: designing and making jewelry.

"My mother-in-law got me started beading about six years ago," Rose says with a mischievous grin. "Back then, I just made things from my own imagination. But lately I've had people asking for custom projects."

Having initially produced only bracelets, Rose has more recently expanded her accessory arsenal to include other items as well. A few months ago, she transformed some pieces of jade that had been handed down in Janice's family into a complete set of jewelry: bracelet, earrings, and necklace.

"The best part of that project was taking things that were already beautiful - those terrific jade pieces - and actually adding to their appeal," says Rose. "I want to do more of that, and maybe even get into tumbling and cutting my own stones. As a little girl, I wish I had paid more attention to my dad. After years as a driller, he could pick up a rock and immediately know exactly what was in it. That expertise would come in handy now!"