Steve Cox with his wife Laura
Many American Caddy Vac customers have talked on the phone with a guy named “Steve”. He helps with the sale of new units, and he takes orders for parts and supplies. He also makes sure that orders are shipped out in a timely manner. That guy, “Steve”, is Steve Cox and he has put in about 26 years with American Caddy Vac and B & F Power Vac, the air duct cleaning business owned by the same folks who own American Caddy Vac, Mac and Donna Mattoon.
Steve was born in Cottonwood, Idaho, not far from the home of American Caddy Vac, Lewiston, Idaho. When he graduated from high school, he enlisted in the Navy and served as an Operations Specialist on the USS Midway during Operation Desert Storm. The Midway was the first ship to launch aircraft during Desert Storm, and Steve’s job was operating radar and tracking. During his time in the Navy, Steve also spent 2 years in Japan, and enjoyed that time immensely.
After leaving the Navy, Steve came back to Idaho. He was offered a two-week job as a helper on a B & F Power Vac truck and has been working for B & F and American Caddy Vac ever since! His time working in the Air Duct Cleaning business for and with Mac Mattoon at B & F is what makes him so knowledgable today. He started out working as a helper on the cleaning trucks, then moved up to running one of the trucks. Over time, he became office manager for both American Caddy Vac and B & F Power Vac. He schedules crews, helps with bids, quotes, orders, and manages payroll and timecards. He also take sales calls, and orders for parts and supplies.
Back in the day when he was working alongside Mac Mattoon, Steve remembers a time when they were cleaning the ducts in an old farm house that had been vacant for some time. The new owners were getting ready to restore it so they needed the ducts cleaned. Steve remembers that he and Mac could hear something pretty big clunking it’s way down the ducts toward the vacuum hose. Mac went up to inspect and reached in and made a few adjustments. When he was done he told Steve to go up and look into the duct work. When Steve climbed up and stuck his head in there he was greeted, face to face, by the largest rat he had ever seen! Of course the rat was dead, but Mac had turned the body so it’s face was looking Steve eye to eye when he took a peek. Steve laughs about it today, but it was a pretty good shock at the time.
Steve is a family man. He’s been married to wife, Laura, whom he met when he was stationed in San Diego. They have three children. His oldest daughter, Melody is 22 and has a daughter, Braylynn (yes, Steve is a grand-dad). His second daughter is Jolene, age 19, and his son Spencer will graduate from high school in a few weeks.
Steve is an avid outdoorsman. He fishes for trout, steelhead, and salmon. He bow-hunts for deer and elk, and also will hunt during muzzle-loading season. He takes part in 3D archery competitions in the region, using both compound and recurve bows. He’s also an avid hobby wood-worker, and does a lot of work on his CNC machine. And he loves to smoke food! Everything from meat snack sticks, to cheeses, butters… all the way up to prime rib and briskets.
When asked what he likes best about his job, Steve answered, “The biggest thing is the owners, Mac and Donna Mattoon. The kindness they show to their employees makes everyone feel like family. And it’s not just words. They treat their employees like family too… if someone has a sick kid at school, or if they need a day off for a family issue, Mac and Donna just make it work. They are truly caring people, and it’s a pleasure to work for them.”
American Caddy Vac is known for the loyalty that they have developed with their customers. But they have developed the same kind of loyalty with their employees. It’s part of the culture of the company: treat people the way you would want to be treated.
