Field Services Manager, Big Ass Fans
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Photo by Mick Jeffries
As the 13th original employee of Big Ass Fans, field services manager Melissa Chesser spends each day celebrating a coup. Not only did she get in on the ground floor of a successful company, but she happens to love her job.
“I love coming to work,” Chesser said. “I can’t believe I actually have a place of employment where I love what I do and who I work with the way that I do here.”
Before finding her position at Big Ass Fans, Chesser was a single mother with modest career expectations. She sought out temporary work following graduation and was hired by Robert Half. This position turned out to be fortuitous.
“I worked for the company that programmed the phone systems that Big Ass Fans had purchased when they moved into their new building on Winchester Road,” Chesser explained. “In the paper, I saw an ad for a receptionist and decided to apply. I think I only got the job because I was very familiar with the phone systems.”
After starting her new position, Chesser’s career expectations blossomed. She found herself not just answering phones but working with the marketing and sales departments. After three years in sales, a position opened in the new department of field services. Chesser moved into that position and within four years became a manager.
Chesser has found that her ability to have a conversation with anyone has been an important part of her success. According to Chesser, she is just as comfortable talking with the fan installation team as she is chatting with the president of Walmart. Her secret to communication? Humor.
“I like to add humor to everything,” she said. “I’m taken very seriously, but at the same time, you kind of have to liven it up a little bit, make your day exciting.”
At home, Chesser’s commitment to her two children also keeps her life exciting. Her son, Trevor, just turned 17 and her daughter, Leigha, is 13. Chesser considers Big Ass Fans to be a family-friendly work environment and, therefore, has found it relatively easy to manage life as a single mother while maintaining a career.
Chesser said maintaining a strong home life has also meant getting involved in the community in a way that’s close to her heart.
“As a young, unwed mother, I volunteered for a nonprofit organization know as Step by Step that was organized through my church, Crossroads Christian,” she said. “This organization was not only helpful for myself, but I found great pleasure watching and assisting other young mothers find their way through a very difficult stage of their life. It was humbling to be involved in the lives of these young women and watch them blossom into wonderful mothers and role models for their children.”
Ultimately, Chesser is grateful for the path her life has taken.
“Most of the time, Big Ass Fans doesn’t feel like work,” she admitted. “There’s a lot of humor; there’s a lot of laughter; there’s a lot of laid-back people.”
But she does have some advice for other young women looking to excel.
“You just have to be driven, you have to be ambitious; and you have to let others know,” she said. “Especially the ones who sign your paycheck — [let them know] that you want more for yourself. A lot of times, I think that people are overlooked –– the ones who want to succeed and excel in their careers –– because they don’t have the backbone to step up to the plate and let it be known. Being a strong, outspoken person is the key.”