Meet Jill, Head of Shipping
The holidays are an especially busy time for the employees of the Shullsburg Creamery Cheese Store as they work extra hard to fulfill the thousands of gift box orders that are placed during this time, and there’s one person in particular who handles each and every package. Meet Jill Patrow in the Shipping department, a special member of the Shullsburg Creamery family who will soon be “shipping out” for retirement.
Hailing from Northern Wisconsin, Jill Patrow has been with Shullsburg Creamery for the past 12 years. And in those years, Jill has assumed the roles of Dishwasher, Gift Box Assembler, Retail Clerk, and most recently, head of the Shipping department for the store. The Shullsburg Creamery Cheese Store handles orders placed in person and online, and as you might imagine, the orders for our deliciously good cheeses surge around the holidays.
Up until a couple years ago, Jill was the only person assembling gift boxes and packing items to ship, but due to an increase in demand for our cheeses, Jill was thankfully able to expand her team and make the department even more efficient. During Jill’s tenure, the shipping area was also remodeled to allow for a smoother process. The entire shipping area was relocated to a larger space, and part of the gift shop was walled off to be a dedicated gift box assembly area. A larger staging cooler was brought in, and the carrier pickup station was moved to the back of the store.
Jill’s always got the customer in mind when she’s doing her job, striving to ensure orders ship out accurately and on time. Jill says what makes her job enjoyable is that her fellow employees are equally hardworking and easy to get along with. Jill’s co-workers describe her as “spunky,” “sharp-witted,” and “a joy to be around.” That’s what makes this holiday shipping season bittersweet, for it will be Jill’s last one at Shullsburg Creamery. She will be retiring January 4th, 2025, and she looks forward to catching up on life with her children, grandchildren, cats and housework.
Perhaps the part Jill will miss the most about her job is the game she and her co-workers would play at the end of every holiday season – tallying up how many gift boxes they packed to see if they’ve surpassed the previous year’s record. Last year, they broke their record, logging a total of 7,205 gift boxes packed and shipped out. It is yet to be determined if they will break that record this year.
If you’d like to send Jill a retirement gift, consider Shullsburg Creamery Colby Jack, her personal favorite. Thank you Jill for your years of dedicated service! You made each and every Shullsburg Creamery gift box a special one.
