Kevin and his youngest daughter, Raylee Kate, celebrating her Mississippi State 4H Barrell Racing championship.
Even though Kevin Kirby is still relatively new to the company — he started at our lumber mill in Bruce, Mississippi, just two years ago —he’s already making his mark as dryside superintendent.
“Kevin has made a huge impact during his short time with us,” Benjy Herrin, Bruce unit manager, said during the 2023 Wood Products Awards presentation in May. “He’s passionate about people at all levels. He works hard to develop everyone to help them achieve their goals — whether they want to become a leader or just want to get really solid in their role.”
For this commitment to empowering people, Kevin was recognized with a 2023 Wood Products Award for People Excellence.
Kevin and his son Kalor doing what they love at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
ADJUSTING TO A CULTURE CHANGE
Kevin came to Weyerhaeuser from the furniture industry. After graduation from William Penn College in Iowa, he began working for HON Office Furniture and soon transferred with them to Mississippi. Over the years, he served as an operations manager, general manager and director of operations at various firms. He even had an ownership stake in one of the furniture companies he worked with.
So Kevin had some familiarity with wood from all his time working in furniture, but the overall lumber process at Bruce — including our major focus on safety — was brand-new to him.
“I've been managing people for 25 years,” Kevin says. “But the technical side of what we do here — running the planer mill and drying lumber, as well as the safety side of the business — is all new to me, and a big adjustment. In the furniture industry, safety was important, but the chances of going home if you did something wrong were much higher than they are here. The intensity of what we do has also been a culture change for me.”
Kevin and his family: Daughter Raylee Kate, wife Reagan, Kevin, daughter Rheanna and son Kalor.
BUILDING PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Kevin supervises about 65 people who work two shifts on the dry side at Bruce. He spends 60 to 70 percent of his day interacting with his team.
“I think it's important to spend time with my team,” he says. “While I do a lot of that by walking around the floor, another tool I use is to break bread with people and sit down to have lunch with them. I build relationships by finding time to talk about more than just work. Of course, their job is important, and I want to hear about any concerns, but at the same time, I want to know more about them personally. I intentionally spend time in the break room to eat, talk football, see what peoples’ kids did last weekend, or just generally see how they're doing. It helps me connect.”
Another people management technique Kevin uses is never sitting across the desk from anyone on his team. He feels a desk acts as a barrier that divides a boss from the people he works with.
“I prefer to just sit down to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got some problems, so tell me about them,’" he says. “I work hard to get to know a person as much as I can, which helps me better understand what motivates them or what's causing an issue. Sometimes it can be stuff that’s not even work related. Once you understand them, then comes the fun part: watching them grow.”
Kalor’s senior night playing high school football at North Pontotoc.
TREATING PEOPLE LIKE PEOPLE
Kevin remembers being inspired by a manager at HON Office Furniture who taught him an important lesson early in his career.
“At the time, I was super motivated by work,” he says. “Honestly, I was a bit aggressive about getting things done. I was single, I didn't have a family, and I didn't understand why others didn't want to work all the time. My manager pointed out that I needed to learn how to care about people. I needed to treat people like people. That lesson stuck with me.”
Kevin further developed his sense of caring for and empowering people a few years later when he hired Lance, the son of his old high school baseball coach. He says Lance was an intelligent young man with a knack for hard work, and Kevin mentored Lance as he moved up the ladder in the furniture business. When Kevin left the company, Lance was promoted into his old position.
“I was thrilled,” Kevin says. “Lance is a 35-year-old director of operations at Ashley Furniture managing several plants. Another young man I mentored, Aaron, is now vice president of supply chain for the company. The experience I had managing these two young men motivated me to help people of their generation grow. My favorite things are helping young people grow and finding ways to prepare my team for their next steps.”
Kevin and Rheanna at the 4H Regional Barrel Racing championships.
BEING A COACH, MENTOR AND LEADER
Kevin says that both Lance and Aaron still call him to bounce ideas around.
“It’s pretty rewarding to have guys who are now vice presidents call me, just a little dryside superintendent, wanting to talk about things,” he says. “It’s equally rewarding to see successes right here in Bruce. For example, Jacob James, who’s been here for 10-plus years, has a ton of ability — the guy is sharp. We gave him an opportunity, and now he’s one of the best production supervisors we have. He’s really done a lot with our second shift.”
Part of Kevin’s team-centric approach comes from his experiences playing football in college. He went on to coach football in Iowa, Tennessee and Mississippi.
“I love to help young people learn how to work together as a team,” he says. “People are a big part of what happens at Bruce. We are very blessed to have good leaders, a great team and people who are willing to step up and learn.”
