Before the establishment of The Behr Paint Company Scholarship at the Newark Campus Development Fund and the selection of a location on the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority’s Central Ohio Aerospace and Technology Center campus as the home of Behr Paint Company’s newest state-of-the-art Manufacturing & Distribution Facility, Eva Vega was working as a Behr Pro Specialist assigned to a Home Depot in California.
As the pandemic kept people home in 2020, busying themselves with projects, Behr’s e-commerce business boomed, leading to a call-out to any of their in-store reps interested in helping fulfill orders at their distribution center. Eva happily answered the call, her first introduction to the operations side of the business. That opportunity quickly led to a promotion as a shift supervisor in the warehouse, a role she held for about a year before Behr announced they would be opening a Midwest distribution center.
“As soon as they said they were going to open a new facility, I wanted in,” Eva shared. “I love working for Behr. They are a great company, so there wasn’t a lot of turnover in my building. I knew if I didn’t leave [California], there would be less opportunity for growth.”
As she made it known of her desire to move with the company, her supervisors began training her for her eventual role at the Heath distribution center. As the only internal Behr team member to transfer to the new site, Eva was very involved in getting the facility up and running. That experience serves her well in her current role as Regional Distribution Assistant Manager.
What has been a great move for Eva professionally, has also paid off personally. Eva, her husband, and two sons have fully embraced the small-town feel they’ve experienced moving from California to Newark. She is surprised to find how connected people are and how everyone seems to know each other! As one of the first Behr employees in the area, Eva was able to help establish Behr’s local connection, as well.
“Coming into the community, Behr really looked at how they could help. That is why we did the scholarship,” she said. “We gave a grant to and just did a volunteer day with Together We Grow gardens, and we also helped give a grant to the Food Pantry Network of Licking County. When I got here, I loved being introduced to the community through involvement that Behr wanted to do, and everyone is so connected."
Those local connections continue as Eva’s oldest son, a recent high school graduate, has enrolled at Central Ohio Technical College for the fall semester, taking full advantage of one of the local institutions that The Behr Paint Company Scholarship helps support!
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The Behr Paint Company Scholarship was formally established in 2023 to support military service members, single parents, students enrolled in OSU’s Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology (BSET) program, and students with financial need at The Ohio State University at Newark or Central Ohio Technical College. The inaugural scholarships will be awarded to students for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Founded in 1947, Behr Paint Company is one of the largest manufacturers of paints, primers, decorative finishes, stains, surface preparation and application products for do-it-yourselfers and professionals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Behr Paint Company is in the process of constructing a state-of-the-art, modern manufacturing and distribution operation in Heath, Ohio to serve the Midwest region to meet the growing, long-term market demand for home improvement and construction supplies.
Photo cutline: Eva and her sons in downtown Newark
