Wayne Hale began his career at McCann Machining Company on July 23, 1971, soon after returning from his service in Vietnam as part of the 11th Calvary Regiment. Hale was 21 years old when he started with McCann Machine Company and he Hale fondly remembers the very first machine he worked on, a Bridgeport knee mill. “You know, I still have that first part I worked on. It didn’t pass inspection,” he recalls.  Hale started out nearly forty-four years ago at McCann as a machine operator while attending night classes at Athens Tech using the G.I. Bill to earn his degree in Machine Tool Technology and eventually worked his way up to Senior Quality Engineer.

“When I first started there were only 6 of us. Now we have over 200 employees. Over the years there have been so many changes. The machines used to be manual and now everything is powered computerized.  Our designs were created on drawing boards with a pencil and a slide rule. We didn’t even have calculators. Not even a pocket calculator in the whole company! Now we have computers that calculate it all.”

When asked why he has been with McCann for 44 years, he jokingly said, “It’s the insurance. No, really all the changes I have seen over the years have been exciting. The job foreman that hired me told me, ‘If you want a skill you can learn and make something you are proud of then you should work here.’ And it’s true. If you see an airplane flying overhead chances are there is a McCann part on it somewhere and I helped make it. It is not an easy job because there is a lot of responsibility. If somebody’s carburetor on their car breaks down the car just stops and they can pull off the road. An airplane has a bit bigger problem if something malfunctions. But I can honestly say that I have never shipped a part out of this shop that would prevent me or my family from flying on that airplane.”

“I appreciate the opportunity Bill and June McCann gave to me for a career and not just a job” Mr. Hale said.  He shared that he has plans to retire eventually, but not anytime too soon.