Give a warm welcome to Darnell Clark — a brand-new Simpson Strong-Tie employee who recently joined our Columbus branch’s Human Resources team. In this post, he discusses his previous familiarity with our company and some of his adventures at our annual Global HR Summit. 

What a start to my career with Simpson Strong-Tie! Since I joined the company, I’ve already participated in a fun and exciting whirlwind of activities. But let me back up and first introduce myself. My name is Darnell Clark, and I’m the new HR Coordinator at Simpson Strong-Tie in Columbus, Ohio.

I’ve been with the team for all of 19 days officially. My first week consisted of onboarding and a meet-and-greet with the team here at the Simpson Strong-Tie Columbus branch where I will be working out of. As it happens, I was already quite familiar with Simpson Strong-Tie before coming here. Working through a recruitment agency, I’ve been responsible for placing several members of the Simpson Strong-Tie family over the last four and a half years — many of whom still work at our Columbus Branch! Prior to my interview here, some familiar faces I previously worked alongside (Ali Brinkman, Kayla Wells, and Madison Lockhart) had introduced me to the opportunity and I was VERY intrigued as each of them all shared the same sentiment about Simpson Strong-Tie and the inviting culture and environment.

My second week at Simpson Strong-Tie kicked off with a bang as I attended the Global HR Summit in Pleasanton, California, for several days. It was an event to remember — one for the books, as they say! I had an opportunity to meet my peers and leaders at our corporate home office. Those few days were jam-packed with excitement and activities to help us form partnerships with others in the HR team that we may not have had the opportunity to connect with in person.

I brag about my experience to my whole family because I had the opportunity to go on my first cruise and visit the hometown of the best team in the NFL — the San Francisco 49ers! During the summit, we also had the honor of showing our charitable side by packaging food with Kids Against Hunger on day two. Did I mention this was the first time the team had got together in person since the beginning of the global pandemic? That made this event even more special and further highlighted the theme of the event — our fifth company value, “Everybody Matters.”   

I’ve never walked into a job that has been so inviting, accommodating and structured. Having been thrown to the wolves quite a bit in my professional career, I was relieved that Simpson Strong-Tie employees Stacy Chinn, Kayla Wells and recently retired Carl Moore were not willing to allow that to happen and I am incredibly grateful. Simpson Strong-Tie offers more than just the inviting culture and environment that I previously mentioned, they offer growth and development, they offer that high touch and focused approach, and they offer that Christmas morning feeling you get when you’re with family. This journey is just the beginning, and I can’t wait for the next Global HR Summit so I can talk with everyone about what I learn and experience between now and then. Is it too far in advance to book my flight?