This employee spotlight has been long overdue! We actually interviewed Kristi Kovash this summer, as part of her 28th anniversary celebration, but we’re just now sharing the FULL transcript. Take a read! 

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So, tell me about when you got hired. What was your starting position? And what was the state of Baranko Companies?

I got hired in the summer of 1996. They just had one guy in the office doing accounts payable, and I did Billing. At the time, Glenn was doing Payroll.

Glenn was?

Yep. His dad was running the company, and his older brother was running projects, estimating, and bidding. So, back then, there were only two people in the office besides Glenn’s family. They had just moved from Fairfield to Dickinson when I got hired.

So, this was like a new building then. How different did it look back then? Or is it still the same?

It wasn’t a brand-new building; they bought it from someone else.*  It was pretty small… there were like five offices, maybe. The shop was pretty much the same. But we’ve added on several times since then – like the upstairs, that’s all new.

*Editor’s Note: Baranko bought the Dickinson building from Royal Oak, the largest U.S. producer of natural lump charcoal and charcoal briquets.

Cool. So then, you started doing Billing. And then, I heard that it was literally just you handling all the financial needs at one point.

Yep, I believe so. It was for a short time, probably in the late 1990s or early 2000s. The guy that was doing Accounts Payable – his name was Jim – had left. Eventually, Glenn moved from Payroll to managing the shop, and then I started doing Payroll. I was also in charge of job costing when Baranko first implemented it — maybe 5 or 6 years after my start date.

And what is job costing?  

For example, for the BBI jobs, whether they’re bid jobs or hourly jobs. I put together a report to see if we made or lost money. It’s like a financial summary for management to compare what they bid versus how the job turned out. I still do the job costing today.

Oh, awesome. That actually brings me to my next question. What do your tasks and responsibilities look like today?

Now, I no longer have anything to do with Payroll. I still do the Job Costing, but now for both Baranko Environmental and Baranko Brothers. I also do the Billing for Center Coal Company and 95% of the Billing for BBI.

So, with what you do now… what is something that most people find surprising about your job?

I think, right now, it’s more the sheer volume – how many different things you have to manage, like putting together all the financial statements and reports. I guess not many people realize all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into each project.  

Oh, right. That makes sense. And so, you’re usually in the office on Mondays? Of course, it’s still full-time with us.  

Yes, usually Mondays. So, here’s the backstory behind my work schedule: when I moved to Bismarck years ago, I actually took a different job. My husband, his dad, and another owner had a sporting goods store here in Dickinson. When they sold it, we looked into moving to Bismarck or back to Minneapolis, where my family was from. Well, we decided to move to Bismarck because we liked living in North Dakota. So, when I moved to Bismarck, nobody really… liked nobody worked from home then, and I don’t think that thought crossed anyone’s mind or my mind. So, after moving, I worked for a safety and insurance company for about six months. Well, my husband ran into Glenn one day. Glenn asked if I would be interested in returning to Baranko, coming into the office one day a week, and working from my home the other four days.

So that’s how that came about. So, of course, I came back… I didn’t really like my other job. *laughs*

What a fun history! That’s funny. Basically, moving to Bismarck was the reason you though you had to quit.

Yes – only because I thought I had to. Not because I wanted to.

Oh, for sure! Bismarck is a long commute! So, what is something that you really enjoy about your job?

I like seeing how jobs turn out and how everything is constantly changing.

I also like how there’s no rigid schedule that you have to follow, and they trust you to get what you need done. For example, when I worked at the other company for six months, everything was so… you didn’t do anything from start to finish. One person would select the checks, and another person had to do the next task.

Oh, like… Baranko allows you to take ownership of your role and responsibilities?

Yeah, like seeing things completely through — from start to finish. And like at my old job, I can tell you what I was doing on Tuesday morning at 10:00AM. It was super structured. Here, it’s different. So, I guess, having that freedom, too.

Oh, definitely. A company’s trust in its employees is so important. So, I have two more questions left. The first one – what advice would you give to someone looking to apply here? It could be in your department or just Baranko, in general.

I would say… you’ll want to be well-rounded and flexible. And be eager to learn because things are always changing. For example, we like to adapt to technology, so we’ve been looking to change to an AI Accounts Payable system soon.  

That’s cool! I did not know that! And that actually brings us to my second question. What have you seen changed the most in your time here?

Probably embracing technology. I look back to when I first started working here compared to now, and it’s just mind-blowing how much we can get down with so few people. And how much the company has grown because when I started, there were about 6 scrapers and probably under 50 machinery at the peak. Now, we have nearly 675 pieces of heavy equipment!

So, things are always changing. If you don’t like change, you won’t like this job. *laughs*

For comparison, what were some tools used when you were first hired on?

We used to write on ledger paper. Like every single check, we’d write out the check number. And our timecards were all handwritten.

Payroll would take almost a whole week for somebody – just because of the quantity of cards. We also had to manually enter equipment hours into the computer after we did Payroll.

Ohh… So did you have to send paper checks?

Oh, yeah, we used to do paper checks, instead of direct deposit. And now, we still cut paper checks, but not so much for Payroll.

That’s right – we do, here and there. So, is there anything that you would like to share? Any last words?

I don’t know… I guess Baranko is kind of like a big family. And Glenn, his brother, and his dad – everybody, I mean –  they’ve always been very good to work for.  

Oh, and a really funny story: my husband is from Dickinson, and we met while attending school in Grand Forks. He’s older than me by a year, so when he moved back here to take a job at his dad’s sporting goods store, we got married. I still had half a year left of school, so I transferred to DSU and finished here. But when I was looking for a job right after college, I couldn’t find a job. I ended up working for United Airlines here for four years, and then I worked for a fuel company for six months. And while I was working there, I heard a radio ad for a job opening at Baranko Brothers. I never heard of Baranko Brothers before, but I was like, “this job sounds interesting. Sounds like something I’d like to do.”

Well, my father-in-law… he used to be a CPA, and the Baranko brothers were his clients. So, before my father-in-law went on vacation, I told him, “Yeah, I think I’m going to apply for a job with Baranko Brothers.” My father-in-law told me, “Oh, I don’t think you’ll like working for them…” He recommended not to apply.

As you know…. I did apply, and by the time he got back, I had gotten the job. *laughs*

And what did he say when you told him about it?

He just laughed. BUT, I’ve been here ever since! Well, except for that minor stint when I moved to Bismarck. 

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Well, Kristi. We’re so glad you listened to the radio— and even more grateful you didn’t listen to your father-in-law! Thank you for being such an integral part of Baranko Companies for over 28 years. We truly appreciate everything you’ve done!