Callie Yates runs a tight ship in her role as a Human Resources officer at Polo. She’s a no nonsense-type, and she is known for calling a situation as she sees it. Yates may talk tough, but underneath is a heart of gold. She is known for her giving back, particularly organizing events to help benefit those in need. She’s organized numerous fundraisers for those going through tough times, and while she won’t brag on herself, those around her sing her praises for the things she has selflessly done for them. Yates is no stranger to hard work. She graduated from Nanih Waiya High School in 1972 with honors and attended Mary Holmes College for one year. She would then transfer to East Central Junior College (as it was known at the time). However, she maintains that it was her on-the-job experience that truly prepared her for the work world. Those who have lived in Winston County for decades will remember when Taylor Logistics was Spartus, a clock factory. Yates would work here in her very first professional job. She worked for a short time on the floor before her diligence and work ethic was noticed. She would soon garner the attention of management – namely Otto Schildt, who moved her from that floor position to one in the Spartus offices. “He gave me a good start,” remembers Yates. Yates is no stranger to shake-ups in the work environment. While she worked in the office for some time, eventually layoffs forced her to take a job at Choctaw Glove in Noxapater. She worked there approximately one year before a position at TRW came open. Yates worked under Carol Turnipseed and Betty Glass, whom she credits for taking her under their collective wings and teaching her so much about Human Resources. “I will forever be grateful for them, although they are now gone,” says Yates. “I always put in 100% and that’s what I got back,” Yates remarked. She enjoyed learning all about her job role no matter where she worked, and she soaked in everything she could from more experienced mentors. Yates was even given an opportunity to go work in Louisiana – for more pay – but she decided that she needed to be here, in Winston County, near her family. In fact, family is a top priority for Yates. “I have a strong dedication to my mother,” she reminisced. Yates spent much of her time taking care of her parents, and she drew much of her strength from the example of her mother. Her father passed away a little over a decade ago, so she ramped up spending time with mom after that. She took care of her mother for ten years before the matriarch passed away in October last year. Yates is no stranger to loss, and maybe this is one reason why she is insistent on helping those around her. She lost her son Kendrick in a car accident in 2000; her husband passed away in 2022, and, she lost her father in between. She looks back fondly on her family’s legacy, and she recalls, “From a family standpoint, we never had a lot, but we had necessary things and we had lots of love for each other.” Yates has two other children, of whom she is quite proud – her daughter, Courtney Gentry; and her son, Desmond Smith. She was married to Roy Yates.
