“I have repaired just about everything on the farm at least once,” says Jay Illbeck about his work on our farm. He is the assistant maintenance manager at MacFarlane Pheasants and has been with us for six years. He has also delivered birds and helped with new construction projects, over the years. Jay is a self trained man who attributes his maintenance skills to being around other skilled people and extensive reading. He told me he loves the variety of his job.
Jay lives a balanced life, though. When he isn’t working, he spends time with his wife and four year old son. They also have two cats. One is a kitten he brought home from the farm and the other was found outside his home, as a kitten. So you might say, he has a thing for stray kittens! Jay also likes to work on his Mustangs, 3 wheelers and RC cars, when he isn’t playing with his son! What a great life! He tells me he still has time to dream about “traveling what’s left of Route 66.”
Jay says his grandparents have been most influential in his successes. His favorite quote is attributed to Bruce Lee and states quite simply, “Do or do not, there is no try.”
How can you not respect a guy with such a great attitude toward life? Jay’s contributions to the success of MacFarlane Pheasants are greatly appreciated. We hope he can take one of those Mustangs down Route 66, someday soon!
