Aloha from Jay Rutledge: Hawaii Native and Sales Associate Extraordinaire

If you’ve been inside our Crozet store, you may know Jay Rutledge. Over the past twelve years, Jay has worked his way from delivery driver to yard manager to his current role in sales for the past five years. Over that long journey with Cardinal, Jay has become well acquainted with our employees and customer. He had an exciting childhood, growing up in Kona, Hawaii, and moving to Atlanta and Sedro Wolley, Washington, before returning to Hawaii. When settling roots in Central Virginia, he says he was blessed to have his home built by customers who have become friends.

“I feel lucky to be a daily part of so many people’s lives and help them with projects, support their companies, and get to know them. Being part of the Crozet community is the best thing to happen to my family. Our customers are my kids’ coaches and teachers, our neighbors, and the people we run into hiking,” says Jay.

Jay’s Day-to-Day Role

In his day-to-day role, Jay primarily works with larger contractors and builders but is always willing to lend a hand to fellow co-workers and homeowners working on their projects. Jay develops strong relationships with these customers, knowing the most important thing is that they want to be heard and known. We asked Jay if he could give us a behind-the-scenes perspective of what goes into a large order placement, particularly when working with a builder or contractor. Typically, once a contractor brings Jay a set of plans, he will go through them, finding the best and most economical options for that particular project and sourcing the best materials. After that, he provides the contractor with all of the options, each with their specifics, prices, and lead times. Jay will then work with the contractor to review everything to ensure the selected materials fit the customer’s style and budget; from there, it’s on to ordering and setting up delivery.

Outside of Jay’s busy days (including some of the Saturdays he does work), he loves to spend time with his family and fish early in the morning (that’s the best time to get fish!). They also spend a lot of time on the ballfield with Peachtree Baseball and Softball. This spring, he built a new Chicken Palace for his daughter’s flock, forcing him to work under a time crunch with a cranky and lazy crew (his children). He also built his home, which was a huge undertaking!

When he goes home at the end of the day, Jay is happiest when customers thank him for things he has helped with outside of work. We are so grateful to have Jay as a part of our Cardinal family and for all he does to help our customers.

Are you interested in a role at Cardinal Home Center? From sales roles to yard assistants and more, check out our job opportunities page for a complete list of job openings!