News

The LA Cancer Challenge is coming up again soon and for the seventh consecutive year AMS is stepping up to the challenge. October 29th is the date of the 20th Annual run, UCLA is the location, and registration can be done on the event’s website, or in person at the event.

Since 1998, the LA Cancer Challenge has raised more than $7.3 million to benefit the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. The Foundation was established 13 years ago by Agi Hirshberg in honor of her husband, Ronald Hirshberg. Her desire was to fund much needed research on a disease that continues to be one of the most fatal and least funded of all cancer types.

A few years ago the event grew too large for the organizers to assemble the gift bags, and Teri Fox of the Hughes Family Foundation brought their concern to AMS President Jay Catlin. AMS responded immediately, offering to open the facility on the weekend and provide space for their volunteers as well as assistance from AMS.

This year AMS employees have taken contributing to an even greater level, asking if they could volunteer their time, come in an hour early and stay an hour late as their donation to the cancer challenge. Betty-Lou Wiseman, Executive VP of Client Services at AMS, said, “We are often proud of the way our employees contribute to the community. The response of the AMS family to this event is heartwarming and so appreciated. We’re very proud of our employees.”

In addition to building the gift bags, AMS management and a number of employees bring their families to take part in the 5K, 10K and 15K runs and be a part of the fun. Included in the LA Cancer Challenge is a giant Fit Family Expo with music and entertainment, food and beverages, as well as health and fitness booths.

The event also features a run for the littlest runners (2-4 years and 5-7 years) where children follow “The Bee” around the Expo and participate in the Children’s Costume Parade. There are costume prizes in various categories including Best Adult, Best Team and Best Volunteer, and of course there are gift bags for everyone.

In appreciation of employees, Bettty-Lou offered: “We’ve all been affected by cancer in some way, even here at AMS where we lost a co-worker who was very dear to our hearts. As we participate in these events we honor the memory of our friends and family members who have fought this battle.”

Please consider joining AMS at this event: visit the LA Cancer Challenge website, register, and participate. It is a fun day and a meaningful day for all participants, benefiting a Foundation that is doing a very great work on behalf of pancreatic cancer patients and their families.

AMS CEO, Ken Wiseman, has long been involved in community service, in particular Search & Rescue volunteering and support of the SCV Sheriff’s Foundation. Recently co-workers and friends of AMS, and of the Sheriff’s Foundation, joined him in a fundraising event that broke records.

On September 18th, 112 golfers took to Valencia’s Tournament Player’s Club (TPC) golf course in The SCV Sheriff’s Foundation & Search and Rescue 11th Annual Golf Tournament.

The tournament has become quite an AMS Fulfillment tradition as many of their key vendors, associates and clients participate in the event, while the AMS associates also play an important role in gathering raffle gifts, arranging the sign printing, making the gift bags and so on.

At the event, golfers were treated to a full breakfast, BBQ Lunch, and Dinner along with an Opportunity Drawing. The greens at TPC were in perfect shape on what turned out to be a beautiful day for golf. To top it off, the Laker Girls once again joined the group at the award ceremony.

But the biggest award for everyone is that a record $33,000 will now go to our local Sheriff Station for the purchase of lifesaving, law enforcement and search and rescue equipment and training.

The SCV Sheriff’s Foundation, currently chaired by AMS Fulfillment’s CEO Ken Wiseman, was formed in 1984 by local citizens. Their intention was to assist local law enforcement and station volunteers in a tangible way, purchasing equipment and crime prevention materials as well as raising funds to help community service programs at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

The Santa Clarita Valley Search & Rescue Team is a volunteer group formed to assist the Sheriff of Los Angeles County in search and rescue operations or any other governmental agency, upon request. They also promote wilderness recreation safety for the people of the community. The SCV Search & Rescue Team works under the direction of the SCV Sheriff’s Station.

Regarding the success of the tournament, Ken said, “This event goes a long way in showing our Deputies and SAR volunteers just how important they are to this community.”

Significantly, the event gave tribute to LASD Sergeant Steve Owen, who was killed in the line of duty on October 5, 2016. In his honor and memory, a $2,000 scholarship was presented to the Hart Union High School District representative, Susan Reynolds, to be shared with 4-excelling students that are pursuing a law enforcement career.

AMS joins the organizations in offering thanks to the major sponsors, listed below, the long list of support sponsors and the many, many others who have lent their support to the success of the tournament. Many of the major sponsors of the event have been supporters for all eleven years.

For participation in this event next year, either as a sponsor or a golfer, please contact Ken Wiseman, SCV Sheriff’s Foundation President, at [email protected].

Thank You to Sponsors: Global Trade Marketing/Ziglift, Sun Valley Paper Stock, Inc., Six Flags Magic Mountain, AMS Fulfillment, Vance Wealth, Coyle Reproductions, Numatic Engineering, Santa Clarita Studios, Pape Material Handling, California Resources Corporation, Auto Dealers Association of Santa Clarita Valley, Merchants Bancard Network, Wintrust Mortgage, Galpin Motors, Global Protective Services, Accurate Freight, International Airport Centers, PPOA (Professional Peace Officers Association), Chiquita Canyon, City of Santa Clarita, Exact Staff, The Signal, The Magazine of Santa Clarita, KHTS AM 1220.

AMS Fulfillment CEO Ken Wiseman would like to announce one of our favorite events of the year! The SCV Sheriff’s Foundation & Search and Rescue 11th Annual Golf Tournament has been scheduled to take place on Monday, September 18th at TPC Valencia, 26550 Heritage View Lane, Valencia, CA 91381.

The SCV Sheriff’s Foundation & Search and Rescue Golf Tournament has been honoring fallen officers since 2014. The officer to be honored this year is the late LASD Officer, Sergeant Steven C. Owen.

Ken Wiseman has been a long-time member of the Search & Rescue Team, and he has also served as President of the Sheriffs Foundation since 2011. Ken created the golf tournament eleven years ago as a fundraiser and has been putting it on and managing it ever since.

Tournament proceeds will go toward supporting our local Sheriff Station’s purchase of state-of-the-art lifesaving and law enforcement equipment, training for professional and volunteer staff, and for the Search and Rescue Team’s equipment and training.

A $2,000 scholarship is also granted to four local, deserving students who have been selected by the William S. Hart Union High School District Board.

The proceeds of the Golf Tournament are in excess of $200,000. Ken states: “Early on, when I joined the team, I found that in addition to the incredible amount of time that our volunteers were providing to our community, there were also a fair amount of costs that our team incurred to support their participation. I really felt that we could cover those costs, and also make sure that our team had access to cutting edge safety and technical resources.”

AMS Fulfillment has been a Diamond Sponsor of the event for nearly eleven years. Most of the sponsors of the event have also been involved since the inception including: Arrow Recycling, California Resources Corp, Chiquita Canyon, City of Santa Clarita, Coyle Reproductions, Global Protective Services, Global Trade Marketing/Ziglift, Merchants Bancard Network, Numatic Engineering, Paul A. Hughes Family Foundation, Santa Clarita Studios, SCV Auto Dealers, Six Flags Magic Mountain, The Laker Girls, Sun Valley Paper Stock.

Ken, Jay and the AMS team would like to thank all past participants, and welcome and invite new participants to this very enjoyable event benefiting our local Sheriff’s Station.

For details on the Golf Tournament and registration, you are invited to call Ken or Margie at 661-775-0611, or email Margie Melendez: [email protected].

The AMS commitment to retaining, educating, training and advancing employees was established from the start. And yet, for the past three years, AMS has taken its family culture to another level by creating some unique and groundbreaking partnerships with businesses and organizations the community.

Several years ago AMS CEO, Ken Wiseman met with educators and administrators from Santa Clarita’s College of the Canyons (COC) with the aim of establishing an education and job-training partnership that would have a broad benefit. Describing their efforts Ken said, “The business and the college have been working together to explore educational opportunities and funding initiatives.” The AMS-COC partnership is now several years old, and has been a great success.

AMS provides classroom space within one of the AMS buildings; a space that employees have named the “Advance My Skills Learning Center.” Included in the space is a 25-person computer lab. In addition to this classroom, AMS provides books and materials, and offers the classes free of charge. College of the Canyons provides the instructors, coursework and registration of students. This partnership works extremely well as it meets the needs of AMS, the employees, the College and the community.

Among the courses offered is English as a Second Language (ESL 1), and May 2017 is the one-year anniversary of the first ESL course. This course is one that employees have been eager to take advantage of. By studying English through a respected school, without having to leave the workplace, they are more able to write and respond to emails, letters and so on, and possibly pursue more skilled positions at AMS or elsewhere.

Recently a group of AMS employees who had completed their fourth segment of ESL were presented with certificates of achievement at a COC ceremony, attended by more than 300 people. Ken was the guest speaker at this event, where he was able to express his pride in the students and the program and talk about the significance of their achievement.

Ken said, “Although these certificates symbolize a finish line, they really are the starting line for something new and something greater.” He encouraged the students to continue making commitments and working hard to achieve a goal.

Some of the other courses taught in the AMS classroom are the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Green Belt course, Microsoft Excel, Clerk Mentoring, Supervisor training, Hazardous Material Handling, CPR, AMS Safety Certification, OSHA Certification, and a first of its kind Apprenticeship Program. The benefit of these classes to AMS is apparent. A large fulfillment company needs trained staff. Well-trained employees are happier, and happier people do a better job for the clients.

Congratulations to all of graduates!

Congratulations to the AMS Employees of the Month for May 2017! We are very grateful for your efforts! Thank you Terrance N., Natalia A., David B., Ramiro R., Marlen L.

Every month the supervisors in our various facilities nominate a team member who has provided outstanding service to the AMS clients. The nominations and comments demonstrate that the individual being recognized deserves to be thanked and appreciated for not only doing a job well, but for caring enough to go above and beyond. Nominations are listed according to the facility that the employee represents. All of the AMS facilities are located in Valencia, CA, City of Santa Clarita.

Terrance N., Account Manager (March 2016)
HQ Administration, 29010 Commerce Center Drive

Terrance has the extremely difficult job of doing collections. He must call customers who are in arrears and ask them to please send payment now. I sit near Terrance and I hear his conversations and I am constantly amazed at his demeanor when speaking with customers. He is always calm, polite and always professional; even when the person the other end of the line is angry he does his very best to calm the situation. He is a true Southern Gentleman (from Louisiana), always addressing the caller as Ma’am or Sir. I have told him many times that in my opinion he’s the perfect person for this, at times, extremely frustrating position. He is always very friendly to everyone on or off the phone. Terrance is an extremely professional and polished representative and a great asset to AMS.

Natalia A., General Warehouse III (April 2014)
HQ Warehouse, 29010 Commerce Center Drive

Natalia is always willing to take on any workload in any job. I have never given her something she could not handle with accuracy and speed. She works very well with the entire team and we depend on her to do the more detailed jobs that require much care and accuracy such as UCC labeling and shipping. Natalia is a hard worker, very intelligent and works in a very efficient way.

David B., General Warehouse II (March 2017)
SCO3: 27801 Avenue Scott

David is a great worker with a great attitude. He is always here, always on time and willing to do whatever is necessary to get the work done. He has recently taken on the responsibility of not only picking his orders, but due the recent spike in orders he has also learned how to scan and ship the orders as well. David is a perfect addition to the team.

Ramiro R., General Warehouse I (July 2011)
WILL/WIT: 28936 Avenue Williams, 28624 Witherspoon Parkway

Ramiro is a BEAST when it comes to unloading containers or loading trailers. He always has a positive attitude and gets his tasks done quickly and accurately. Ramiro is always willing to come in early, stay late, or work the weekend if needed. He is a true team player helping out any area or client that is in need of assistance. No matter what building or client he is helping with or what task he is assigned we can always count on Ramiro to get any job done.

Marlen L., Inventory Clerk (August 2016)
IND1: 28220 Industry Drive

Marlen is an excellent worker. She has 100% commitment to do the job in the correct and efficient way. Without her help we would not have been able to perform the tasks that were assigned to her in previous months and bring this warehouse into great shape. She can easily be trained to be one of the leaders in the company. Marlen is respectful to all people and can guide others in any tasks knowing the job will be finished in a good way. We have a diamond in her!

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As you can see from the supervisor comments, AMS has nurtured a culture that depends upon and places great value in employees. We call it an ‘AMS Family’ culture that takes note of and cares about the people who work here, their wellbeing, and their job satisfaction. No matter which department they work in, which task they do, or which location we find them in, our employees are the reason that AMS succeeds so well and continues to grow.

Employees of the Month recognition is meant to be a sincere Thank You from the entire AMS Fulfillment Family! You are the reason for our success!