Retiring After 50 Years At Audiosears

Yvonne DeWitt is pictured with her husband, Al DeWitt, and son, Steve DeWitt, who were helping her celebrate her retirement from Audiosears in December. She worked for the corporation for a total of 50 years.

 Darby Hartwell (left) and Shawn Hartwell (right) present a special gift to Yvonne DeWitt on her retirement at Audiosears after 50 years. She received an engraved clock.

STAMFORD -  Some people can't imagine a half-century of employment at the same company, especially these days when it is so hard to find help. Yvonne DeWitt would return to work tomorrow if winter was a little kinder. She recently retired from Audiosears Corporation in Stamford after 50 years.

"I wouldn't have retired now, except for my knee surgeries and the fact I don't like going out in this type of weather," she said.

She does like to keep busy and is currently working on a difficult jigsaw puzzle.

She first started working at Audiosears in 1967. "I worked for a year and a half and then left to have a couple of babies," she said. She returned full-time in 1974, intending to work just until all of their 10 children were out of school. She and her husband, Al, have 10 children between them. 

"Once the kids were out of school, I decided to stay on and after I was there for 40 years, I thought to myself, maybe I can make it to 50 years."

Over that time she has worked in every department, including the mic line, the prep line, circuit boards, the machine shop, and with the engineers.

"I enjoyed doing the circuit boards the most," she said. She likes soldering and she likes working on her own. She explained that when you work with a group and there is a mistake, you can't always figure out who made the mistake. When you work on your own, you know exactly who made the mistake.

She said she also enjoyed the many people she worked with over the years at Audiosears. Over her tenure she had five or six different bosses and worked with hundreds of people. Every once in a while, she will run into one of the older former employees who left long ago and they will reminisce.

She has worked in every department and almost every member of her family, including her children and stepchildren, has worked there at one time or another. Her son, Steve DeWitt, is a 30-year employee and she has worked with him in his department, "I have worked next to him, but not a lot. Only if they needed someone to fill in on the line where he works now." A stepdaughter also works there. "At least nine of the 10 children have worked there," she said.

And Shawn Hartwell might want to hang on to her phone number because in the nicer weather, she might be willing to fill in or work part-time.

"When I was getting ready to retire, Shawn Hartwell was teasing me that I had the fattest folder on the plant."

The only other person who has been there and who received a 50-year recognition is Dave Hartwell, who is still involved in the company with his two sons, Darby and Shawn. He is an owner and consultant, receiving his 50-year pin in 2019.

In December, term of service awards were presented to the following employees: Patrick Funk, 10 years; Diana Tryon, 15 years; Deborah Dymond, 25 years; Seve DeWitt, 30 years; Diane Riordan, 20 years; David Fox, 40 years and Yvonne DeWitt, 50 years.

Yvonne's bosses say they will miss her.

“I am very fortunate to have hard-working dedicated employees here at Audiosears. I am very proud of the work we do here. We all work together to supply the Transportation Industry, Fire and Safety Industry, etc.. with high-quality custom communication equipment. Our products can be found worldwide and it is our employees that make that possible.”

“I congratulate Yvonne on 50 years of Service. We wish her a long, Happy Retirement. She will truly be missed”.

In acknowledging her retirement, they presented her with an engraved clock.

Audiosears is a manufacturer and supplier of handsets, headsets, and components for the telecommunications industry. They produce handsets, cradles, headsets, hand-held microphones, acoustic elements and a variety of components including cord sets, switches, and custom circuitry, according to their website.. They can customize equipment and have engineering, fabricating, and assembly capabilities. Audiosears employs 43 people. The company was founded in 1956 by Sterling Sears in Roxbury, NY.