We sat down with Eric Floyhar, LACOSTA Payroll Supervisor, and John Stewart, LACOSTA District Manager, in honor of Veterans Day to ask a few questions about their time in service.
John Stewart
Q. What was your Rank and role in which branch of the military?
Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. I served primarily as a pilot and also as a special operations officer.
Q. How long were you in service?
I served for 11 years
Q. What made you decide to join?
I wanted to fly and fly off of ships
Q. Where have you been in active duty?
Iraq, Africa, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Alaska, Hawaii, Japan and many other places.
Q. Tell me a little about your time in boot camp.
As with all Marine Corps officers my career started with 10 weeks of “officer candidate school” followed by 6 more months of training at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, VA which is also the home of the FBI academy.
Q. Tell us about some of the special people you met.
I’ve met NFL QB John Elway, comedian Robin Williams, and hung out all night with wrestler Rick Flair(whooo)!
Q. Tell me a funny story you experienced that could only happen in the military.
I was deployed to Africa where the temperatures routinely hit over 120 degrees during the day. We happen to be fortunate enough to have lobster and Baskin Robbins ice cream most Sundays as a treat. The lobster was not the best & the ice creams selection wasn’t that broad but it was ice cream and lobster in Africa! We were able to leave comment cards about the food and service and they were posted in the facility along with the replies. One of the comments posted was that “sometimes the ice cream is a little soft”. Let me first say that I happen to be serving alongside the Air Force. Only could the Air Force pull off having lobster and ice cream in Africa AND only the Air Force would complain about it!
Q. How does your military experience affect your life today?
My military experience and training is still very instrumental daily with multi tasking, compartmentalization and being able to work effectively in stressful environments.
Q. Who is your personal inspiration?
My personal inspiration is my daughter Harmony who I lost 4 years ago. I try not to waste too many days because her short life shows me that tomorrow isn’t promised so get it done today!
Q. Do you have any favorite books or movies you look to for motivation/inspiration?
My favorite movie is easily Top Gun and I have been anxiously awaiting Top Gun 2. My favorite book is “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.
Q. Please list your best or favorite military accomplishments:
My favorite accomplishment is having the honor and privilege to serve alongside the men and women of the u.s. Military (especially the Marine Corps); and having the rare distinction of leading those in combat in the air and on the ground!
Q. As a veteran, you have a lot of options, why did you choose LACOSTA?
I had been working in the industry but honestly didn’t know much about LACOSTA. I learned about the growth of the company and the professional opportunities and thought it was a good fit for both.
Q. What’s the best part about working at LACOSTA and why?
The best part of working for Lacosta is that it’s a company that has many of the strengths and perks of a large corporation without the cold “antiseptic” feel. It’s a good company to work for!
Eric Floyhar
Q. What was your Rank and role in which branch of the military?
US Navy, MM3/SS (third class petty officer Machinists Mate, Submarine Service Qualified).
Q. How long were you in service?
4 years.
Q. What made you decide to join?
My family has history in the military — grandfather was Army during the Korean war, my stepfather was in the Army during the Vietnam war, so I decided it would be a good start for a career choice right out of high school.
Q. Where have you been in active duty?
Great Lakes, IL for boot camp; Grotton, CT for submarine school, was stationed in Bangor, WA for submarine duty (USS Alabama SSBN 731 Blue Crew), had also been to Pearl Harbor, HI, Orlando, FL, and San Diego, CA.
Q. Tell me a little about your time in boot camp.
It went by faster than expected. 10 weeks, most of it now was a blur. A LOT of mandatory push-ups and workouts, rifle and handgun training, damage control fire fighting training, gas mask training (that was always the worst for everyone — it proved how well the gas masks issued truly worked, and we were all grateful that they did!) — but all of this, I do truly believe, helped to mold me from a child right out of high school into a man very quickly. Teaches you the values of respect for others, teamwork, camaraderie, and self worth and respect. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Q. Tell us about some of the special people you met.
The shipmates on the submarine are a special breed of people. I served onboard the sub from 1994 – 1997, and I am still friends with over 25 of the guys on Facebook to this day, and we actively talk and support each other still to this day. While in the service with each other, it’s one big friendly hazing fest, but afterwards when people are going through tough times in their daily “real” lives, everyone is always there to talk or to be there, it’s a very special bond you make with them all. I look at the guys as my true brothers, not as men I simply served with.
Q. Tell me a funny story you experienced that could only happen in the military.
In boot camp, each company had 2 company commanders — most people know them as drill instructors. The first one was a stout little man with a big, booming voice that naturally put the fear of everything into the recruits. However, the second commander we had was the super athlete, very quiet, stout disciplinarian — but when he had to pass out the discipline, you knew it. In boot camp, they make everyone wear the full uniform daily — and he had a large pin above his ribbons that (at the time) we didn’t know what it symbolized — we found out in week 9 (out of 10) that the pin is actually a Navy Seals pin — we had a Navy Seal for a boot camp instructor! Nice guy, but not one to ever cross!
Q. How does your military experience affect your life today?
As stated above, it teaches you the life lessons of self discipline, respect for self and others, and teaches the importance of seeing a job through to the end. The military builds a work ethic like no other, it is a very reassuring feeling at the end of the day.
Q. Who is your personal inspiration and/or mentor?
in life right now, my personal inspiration is my wife, Crissy. She is a stay at home mom with a side business that she is always busy with, but with everything going on with Covid at the moment, she issues the e-learning for my two wonderful children, she deals with the issues that happen at home, and this all frees up my time to be able to go into the office daily to focus on my work.
Military wise, I think my mentor and personal inspiration was my first Master Chief of the boat, Mike Allen, and my very first division Chief, Pat Sheridan. Both men knew I was a young man coming out of boot camp and specialist school without a clue of what I was doing, and they helped to take me in and ensure I had the proper training and motivation to be able to grow and do my job with my teammates to be successful. They were also beneficial to me because if there were ever a problem or ever needed to discuss issues, their doors were always open to talk and to help with great ideas or motivation. Truly class act gentlemen to this day.
Q. Do you have any favorite books or movies you look to for motivation/inspiration?
Remember the Titans is a great movie, teaching about overcoming obstacles that life can throw at you, camaraderie, and respect. I have also been a huge fan of the movie The Crimson Tide with Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington — but that one is because I served on the real USS Alabama submarine, so it will always hold somewhat of a special place in my heart.
Q. Please list your best or favorite military accomplishments:
Qualifying for submarines was special for me because, even though it’s mandatory for all submarine sailors, it still shows that you learned every system on the boat and can help with any situation that can be thrown your way. The other, even though it’s not an “accomplishment” or an “accolade”, is developing the brethren I have with the guys I had the honor of serving with. Again, they are some very special people that become a part of your life and I am glad we never lost touch over the years.
Q. As a veteran, you have a lot of options, why did you choose LACOSTA?
I haven’t been with LACOSTA very long, but I saw they were looking for a payroll supervisor position and thought it was time for a change from my last position — and I am very glad they gave me the opportunity. Great company to work for, fantastic owners, fantastic team to work with, and there seems to be a ton of opportunities to grow personally and professionally with this organization.
Q. What’s the best part about working at LACOSTA and why?
The owners and the team. Everyone here is a great group of people, and it starts with the culture displayed by Rob and Karla. No one here has the attitude that they’re better than others, everyone believes in the success and failure as one team concept, it’s refreshing in today’s world. The people I work with and am developing friendships with always make it easier to want to come in daily to get the job done.