After a remarkable 25-year career, Bob Condon, a cornerstone of the Excalibur Seasoning sales team, has retired.

Bob’s journey with the company began in its early days, and his last meat convention earlier this year in Michigan was a bittersweet farewell.

“It was sad,” Bob shared. “You build relationships and many friendships, and I’m going to miss those people. I got a lot of hugs.”

Bob’s career in the seasoning business was built on a foundation of trust and personal connection. Before joining Excalibur, he was a meat cutter, then worked for a food broker and Tennessee Pride Sausage. It was during this time that he met Excalibur’s founder, Jerry Hall, a man he came to admire as a great friend. Jerry initially hired Bob to cover the Chicago territory, which eventually evolved into the Chicago suburbs, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, and a few accounts in Wisconsin.

“Jerry must have liked something in me,” Bob recalls. “Early on, I would meet with him every Friday to review each account. He would ask me what I did with this one and that one because Jerry worked that territory before I did.  It’s a testament to the personalized approach that defined the company then and still does today.”

Reflecting on his quarter-century commitment to the family-owned business, Bob notes that Excalibur has always prioritized its people.

“You were a person, not a number, and that still stands today.”

He remembers when the company had just 30 employees, a number that has since grown to 130. This growth was fueled by a service-oriented mindset, where Bob would sometimes personally drive products from Pekin to Chicago one day and deliver them the next.

One of his most memorable sales came from a fast-food restaurant’s new pepper bacon sandwich, which led to thousands of pounds of pepper being sold over two and a half years. For the next generation of salespeople, Bob offers a timeless piece of advice.

“Never promise more than you can do, and always do what you say. It’s a principle I’ve lived by and learned from an Oscar Meyer salesman the week before I started in sales.”

When asked about his favorite Excalibur product, Bob doesn’t hesitate.

“Without a doubt, it’s Smokehouse BBQ. I love its sweetness and use it on everything from pork and chicken to mixing it into burgers.”

In retirement, Bob looks forward to hunting, golfing, spending winters in Florida, and summers in Illinois to visit his grandchildren. As he closes this chapter, Bob emphasizes that “the work was always enjoyable because it was at Excalibur.”

Congratulations on a fantastic career, Bob! Your contributions have been invaluable. We wish you all the best in your well-deserved retirement.