Lance Averett

Lance Averett has come a long way with Blue Rock, from mowing lawns to Vice President and general sales manager. He started in 1967, working part-time through high school mowing, trimming trees and loading trucks. After graduating from college in 1975, he became assistant manager at the sales center in Plentywood for a few months, then manager for 4 ½ years. He relocated to Sidney in 1979 as sales manager.

“I can’t imagine working for better people than John and his family,” Averett said. “It’s a lot of fun. John has made it fun.” He recalled that when he first started, John spent most of his time selling and delivering cases of product, sometimes until 9:30 at night. Averett would help load and deliver around town. “We had a lot of fun throwing cases to each other,” he said, laughing. “John could throw them faster than I could catch them. When I would finally miss one, we’d clean up the mess and go back to work. It was a lot of fun!”

Averett has seen Blue Rock grow from seven full-time employees to over 100; and from one building in Sidney to sales centers in Williston, Plentywood, Glasgow and Miles City. “There’s been a lot of building and a lot of growth. The current building has been added onto three times since it was built in 1978.”

Averett has had the pleasure of dealing with a lot of good people over the years. “There have been a lot of good customers, associates and employees,” he said. One particular associate that Averett misses is Tim Feeley. “Tim was a big part of working here until he retired. We had a good relationship. It’s a credit to John’s leadership and training, allowing us to make decisions and backing us up.”

Blue Rock started as a soft drink company, producing flavors such as strawberry and cream soda in small bottles. They also produced 32 ounce bottles of Teem, ginger ale, club soda and a couple more. Everything was in returnable glass bottles. When Averett started with Blue Rock, single cans were just getting started. Most beverages were still in 10 or 16 ounce bottles. Driven by consumer demand, all beverages now come in cans or plastic resealable bottles.

Although Blue Rock has had the current portfolio for quite some time, Averett has seen many brands come and go. Schmidt’s, Hamms, Lucky Draft and Grain Belt are a few beers that are no longer available through Blue Rock. And the soft drinks? “Too many to mention,” Averett said.

Averett has seen an increase in wine sales over the past few years. He credits the Foundation for Community Care’s Wine & Food Festival for increasing awareness in this area. “People are more receptive to wines now and willing to sample them. We’re glad to be a sponsor. It’s terrific for the community and the health care system. It’s well managed and well promoted. I was on the hospital board for six years and know how important support from the Foundation is to the hospital.” Averett also commended Reese & Ray’s IGA, Reynolds Market and Millers’ Corner for doing a nice job of increasing their wine displays.

Averett is proud of Blue Rock and his career with them. “Blue Rock was in pretty tough condition when John purchased it,” Averett said. “He worked hard and invested heavily in the communities we serve to build the business. There is a sense of pride in everything we do, and we learned that from John.”