Whiting Door was a name I was familiar with since I could read. Though I never knew what it was, I read their sign on the bus almost every day on my way to school. In middle school, I knew of an Allie Whiting and eventually made the connection that she was a family member to this local company.
Whiting Door, which started in 1953 is the original manufacturer of roll-up doors for the transportation industry. They are known for designing doors that are easy to install, operate, and maintain. Seventy-two years later, while still operating and manufacturing in the small town I grew up in of Akron, NY, they have remained the leading supplier of roll-up doors in the transportation industry.
It wasn't until after high school that I got to know Allie, her mom, Marybeth, and sister-in-law, Amanda when we all went to Bible study together at a mutual friends house. I adored Allie. She was so funny, so delightful, and so smart.
I had no idea what kinds of doors Whiting Door made for many years until Ralph pointed one out to me on the back of a tractor trailer while traveling. Ever since then, I have enjoyed looking for their name on the bottom left side when I pass by tractor trailers all over the country, including in Florida. They were wise to put them on the left seeing as they are often passed. ;)
God has been pretty intentional with connecting me to this family over the years. In 2016, we moved into our first house next door to Allie's brother, Phil and his sweetheart of a wife, Amanda, who also went to the Bible study. We loved having them as neighbors in the year and a half before they moved into their long awaited, beautiful new build.
Over the years, in addition to spending personal time with her, I have also been given the gift of photographing Allie and her family (see "The Sattelberg Family" and "Baby Tucker" at the bottom of this page). My husband, Ralph and I have always enjoyed talking with many of the Whiting's every time we had an opportunity to see them. They are a hard working, kind, and generous family.
This past October, I went back to Western New York to do some photography jobs. Photos of Allie and her sweet family were one of them. After receiving them while we were still in town, Allie reached out to me and asked if I would be open to doing public relations photos for her families company, too. Not once in all the years I have been a photographer and known this family did it ever cross my mind to do public relations photos for them. Having done dozens of weddings however, I knew I could do them and so did Allie.
We scheduled a two hour slot to cover their "smaller" plant which makes laminated panels and doors servicing a variety of companies . How wonderful it was to see a small town company that is operating and manufacturing all their parts in house still thriving in America. Well done, Whiting family!!
I was pumped to see the inside of the plant. Allie, their plant manager, Scott, and I walked through the plant together while my creative juices went haywire seeing all of the industrial equipment, pops of color, and logos hidden on many of their parts.
I LOVED making connections with their employees, seeing what they did, and hearing how long they had been with this wonderful family owned company. They were all so kind and hard working. Honorable mention goes out to the woman who flung hinges behind her into a bin without looking every couple of seconds. That was SO amusing to watch and try to capture!
But, really, everyone was so fun! They not only seemed to be enjoying themselves while working, but were so efficient at their jobs, which they rotate through. I loved briefly chatting with the man from West Africa about my time as a photographer in Sierra Leone. It was warming to my heart to see a father and son working together. I was encouraged by a beautiful young lady who said within seconds of coming up to her, "you're good at this!" I even loved getting the perceptive supervisor who despised photos. ;)
So many smiles. So welcoming. It is evident that the people at Whiting Door are well cared for. When we walked out of the plant, Allie encouraged me saying, "Court, you've got to get into doing more of these!" She was thrilled by my ability to connect quickly with the employees and finish earlier than planned. In the corporate world, she said that those two things are big!
After seeing the photos, I was so grateful for more of Allie's encouraging words that she emailed to me. It was so sweet that I thought she had written it up as testimonial for me, but it turned out that it was just something that just flowed out of her out of gratitude towards me and love for what she does at her families company.
This is what she said:
"You do a great job at capturing people in their element, while being quick and painless to work with from the business owner’s perspective. Our employees are really proud of what they do and the products we make, but getting high quality photos of them “in action” is easier said than done. You really captured the spirit of American manufacturing in 2024 here. I love these photos today, but as someone that is in it for the long haul, I know I will be even more appreciative of them in 10, 20, and 30 years from now. Thank you!! 😊"
I never take the opportunities given to me lightly. I am deeply grateful and humbled every time I am hired. I am thankful that God has given me a sensitivity to special moments, the creative eyes to see cool things within the mundane, and the genuine love for people.
Thank you Allie and the fun crew at Whiting Door! You were a blessing to me! Below are more of the photos taken that day. May they properly depict what I described in words.
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