Guntersville, Ala.— Exciting changes are coming to AlaTrade as Deborah Brown takes on the role of Plant Manager at the Phenix City facility. With a wealth of experience and an unwavering dedication, Brown transitions from her position as the Night Shift Manager in Albertville to lead the Phenix City plant into a new era of success.
Brown’s journey in the poultry industry began after earning a degree in HR and Communications from Birmingham-Southern College. Her career took off when she joined a poultry plant in Gadsden, where John Pittard, a key figure in her professional development, hired her for the plant’s Supervisor Trainee Program. Under Pittard’s mentorship, Brown learned the ins and outs of the industry, a foundation that has been instrumental throughout her career. Upon graduating from the Supervisor Trainee Program, Deborah became the Hand Portioning Supervisor.
Beyond this first plant, Deborah’s extensive experience spans various roles and locations, from her first Superintendent position in Hope, Arkansas, to managing a plant in Kansas City, Missouri, where she paved the way for a transition from BAADER auto-deboning to hand deboning through a cone line.
Brown’s career is marked by a series of significant opportunities, each contributing to her growth and expertise in the industry, and her path eventually led to AlaTrade in 2019. Brown’s interest was piqued by all the connections between herself and the company. Deborah remarks that Davis Lee was “the guy that everybody knew in poultry” and she had spent time working with his son early on in her career. Initially skeptical of the position, she was convinced to interview when she discovered that her mentor from the first plant she’d worked at, John Pittard, was the AlaTrade President at the time. Although hesitant to leave a Shift Manager position, she had in Russellville, Alabama, she knew she had to explore this opportunity, even if it was only to see Pittard again and show him how far she had come since they’d worked together in Gadsden, Alabama.
On August 5th, 2019, Brown was hired to be Albertville AlaTrade’s Night Shift Manager. Brown’s time at AlaTrade has been characterized by resilience and a commitment to improvement. Her diverse experience and philosophy of turning challenges into opportunities has positioned her perfectly for the new role in Phenix City.
Since starting at AlaTrade, Brown has viewed the Phenix City plant as a place of potential. She spent two weeks there three years ago and saw beyond its challenges. Brown saw possibilities. Now, as the new Plant Manager, she is determined to bring positive change and drive the plant to new heights. Brown believes that a Plant Manager’s role is not just about obligation but about a genuine desire to make things better. She emphasizes the importance of people in poultry processing, saying, “It’s the people that truly count.”
As the new Phenix City Plant Manager, Deborah Brown is excited about the future and the impact a thriving Phenix City plant will have on the entire company and each employee-owner as an individual. She challenges, “If Phenix City performs at the level I know it’s capable of, think of what that does for AlaTrade as a whole and for each of us employee-owners.”
Deborah Ann Brown is not just a dedicated professional but also a loving mother and grandmother. She has two grown sons and adores her grandson and granddaughter. Her motivation is deeply personal, as she wants her grandchildren to see that they can achieve anything they set their minds to. “I do what I do because I want [my grandchildren] to know that you can do whatever you want to do. I want them to see that in me,” she shares.
As Deborah Brown steps into her new role, AlaTrade looks forward to a bright future for the Phenix City plant and the company as a whole. Her leadership, experience, and passion are sure to bring about positive changes and continued growth.
About AlaTrade Foods: AlaTrade is a 100% employee-owned company that works within the poultry industry to provide services for its customers that choose to outsource a part of their process. The relationship can be as simple as a fee for service (toll processing), or more complex to include co-packing of products for direct distribution. AlaTrade plants have approvals from many national account foodservice companies to produce products for their restaurants. As a team working together for the same goal, the employee-owners of AlaTrade continue the culture of putting each other and their customer first. Processing poultry is what they do. Promoting people and pursuing profitability for themselves and their customers is who they are. To learn more about or contact AlaTrade, please visit https://www.alatrade.com/ or follow them on Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/alatradealbertville, https://www.facebook.com/alatradeboaz, or https://www.facebook.com/alatradephenixcity; LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/alatrade-foods/