Coworker Anniversary: Brian Keogh’s 30th Year at OGC

As of March, Brian Keogh (BK) has been an OGC coworker for 30 years! Over his time at OGC, he’s worked as a driver, warehouser, quality control coordinator, salesperson and buyer.

BK grew up on the north side of Chicago and his first job was at Jewel grocery stores where, over time, he worked his way up to assistant manager. But he wasn’t ready to settle down there, so he moved to Oregon in the 1980s to attend the University of Oregon.

When he learned about OGC, he realized it was the place for him. “I visited Organically Grown Co-op twice,” he begins. “One of those times, there were two long-haired guys coming out of the cooler, excitedly talking about produce. I’d always worked in food, so that resonated with me. And I liked what I learned about OGC’s culture, about the co-op structure. They hired me in 1994 to work in the warehouse. It turns out that my experience at Jewel helped, because Kurt Jacobs, OGC’s Operations Manager who hired me, also had grown up in the Chicago area and had worked in the produce department of another Jewel store. He knew how well Jewel trained people, so he had faith that I’d work hard and smart.” 

Reminiscing about days gone by, BK shared that when he started, a small Eugene warehouse was OGC’s primary facility, as the company had just started to have an initial foothold in Portland. Back then, everyone did everything – coworkers were responsible for many business functions at once like driving, shipping, receiving, and more.

In 1998, BK became OGC’s second Quality Assurance Coordinator. He stayed in that position until 2002. “I loved that job more than any other I’ve had at OGC,” he says. “I was paid to taste and rate the quality of everything that came in, on a one-to-five scale. I also got to play with a refractometer (to test the Brix level), and to put produce on my desk and see how long it would take to ripen. As a foodie, it was fun!”  

Today, BK is on the purchasing team at OGC, buying pears, stone fruit, apples, mushrooms, specialty fruit, and more. He enjoys working with existing growers and finding new ones. He’s also co-chair of the Stakeholder Giving Committee – a committee he created back in 2006.

What’s your favorite produce?

“I’m very varietal specific. Spring flame peaches are one of the things I live for. Honey Royale is a nectarine that I really adore but Spice Zee Nectaplum is my favorite produce of all time. It makes sense for me to be the stone fruit buyer, because I absolutely love stone fruit.”

30 years! What keeps you here?

“The people – the consistent caring culture makes it a special place to be,” shared BK. “I’ve seen this company grow from 20 coworkers to about 275. It’s incredible and it really started with a vision of trying to do things differently and better – it’s basically the same company it used to be in many ways, just bigger. It’s also amazing to see the evolution of the produce industry. We used to go six months without apples, nine months without bananas – there were way bigger gaps in the food chain.”

“OGC has forever changed my paradigm of thinking, and it keeps my activism going at the same time.” BK continued. “I really owe a lot to OGC in many ways - my home, my family, my lifestyle, my ability to be in Eugene and to have a healthy, prosperous, dignified job. Those are all very important to me. I love it honestly, I don't even know how else to say it.”