16
| March/April 2016
Jamie Sanders, UVM Technician at PG&E, made a Davey connection when she decided
to pay-it-forward in a Starbucks drive-thru.
Like many of us on a Monday morning, Jamie Sanders, Davey UVM Technician
for PG&E, in Kern County, California, needed coffee to start the work week.
So she hopped in her Davey truck and steered towards the nearest Starbucks.
While waiting in the drive-thru, Sanders saw an opportunity to pay it forward
by paying for the coffee of the driver in line behind her.
"I was trying to do something nice for someone to make their Monday more
enjoyable," Sanders says.
Sanders is no stranger to the paying-it-forward concept. She tries to do little acts
of kindness whenever she can. But this was her first time buying someone's
coffee. Little did she know the impact one free cup of coffee would make – or
the Davey connection that was brewing.
The unexpected receiver of Sanders' good will turned out to be Bakersfield,
California, resident Kristi Bean.
"I told the Starbucks employee that I had a reward on my card and she said
the Davey Tree truck in front of me bought my drink," Bean says. "I immediately
started to cry."
Bean's late grandfather, Jeff Sutton, a Davey retiree, had passed away just one
week before this serendipitous encounter. The timing could not have been more
right, Bean says.
"It was like my grandpa bought my coffee for me that day," Bean says. "He just
wanted to check in and make sure I was having a great day."
Sutton started his 12-plus year career at Davey in 1983 and worked his way up to
become an area supervisor for the Kings/Kern division for PG&E. Bean said her
grandfather talked fondly of his Davey career, which affected his life in many ways.
"I didn't realize that buying her coffee would mean so much," Sanders says. "I
just wanted to do something nice for someone who wasn't expecting it."
STARBUCKS SERENDIPITY
Pictured back row left to right, Tom (Bean's
husband), Kristi Bean, Cody (Bean's brother-
in-law), and front row left to right, Lilly (Bean's
daughter), Nancy Sutton (Bean's grandmother),
and Jeff Sutton (Bean's grandfather and
Davey retiree).
Late Davey retiree Jeff Sutton (left in Davey
Tree hat) and his son Cory talk after work.
Grandpa,
You were always there to give
me words of wisdom, encour-
agement, and endless amounts
of love. Those memories I will
hold on to and cherish for the
rest of my life. I love you and
will miss you every day.
P.S. Thanks for the coffee!
Love Always,
Your granddaughter
Kristi
MY DAVEY
