Black Belt Discipline Wins

* Employee Spotlight *

Meet Albert Soucy, AFT Purchasing Coordinator, and his young son Thomas who recently achieved his black belt in karate. Thomas started karate in January 2013 at the age of six and became a black belt in August of this year. He has participated in numerous competitions over the years in Quebec and New York and has won several medals.

Thomas - what does it take to be a Black Belt in karate and what’s next for you?

“Everything I have learned in karate will be helpful in my future career. The physical training, determination, social values, self-discipline, and self-control will help me become a firefighter… that’s my goal in life”, says Thomas.  “In the meantime, I would like to focus on competitions and maybe eventually go to a tournament in Japan.”

Albert - what have you learned from your son’s experience?

It is a long road before reaching black belt! To achieve goals like this, you must surround yourself with people who believe in you and support you when you face challenges.

The same is true for our team at AFT – we strive for excellence while working together and supporting each other.  Like my son, I focus on my training and talents to be my best, always valuing the importance of support from others.

I have been working for AFT for 28 years, beginning in the manufacturing plant for 8 years. From there I transitioned to writing our manufacturing procedures, and eventually moved into Purchasing which gave me a chance to travel in Europe. What I like most is that we are a big family where each of us is given diverse opportunities to grow and fulfill our ambitions.