By Suzanne Hensell, OPACE

Consumer Safety Inspector Vincent E. Daniel, who also serves as Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) of a small patrol in Rogers, Arkansas, began his 40-year career in federal service on December 12, 1982. His current assignment, where he has served since 2013, includes two raw poultry deboning/processing establishments and one voluntary export facility.

He enjoys working for FSIS because he can see how his job is essential to making food safe in the community, state and world. “I have been lucky to work with some great inspectors and have had some knowledgeable supervisors who helped me learn and obtain experience that helped further my career. I have to say working in an environment where your coworkers are happy to help, your supervisors will give you guidance and your job lets you feel like you are making a difference are some of the reasons I have stayed with FSIS,” said Daniel.

Daniel’s supervisor, Dr. Ricky Couch, said “He is the type of employee that most supervisors can only hope to get to supervise. He is dependable, independent, self-motivated, very knowledgeable and takes minimal supervisory time. He comes to work every day, does his job, has good relationships with his plants while still holding them accountable, helps other inspectors in the area when asked, and doesn’t ask for help unless he’s exhausted his own research on the issue first. He is also looked upon by other inspectors for help when they have issues due to his years of knowledge and experience.”

Dr. Don Dowdle, Daniel’s former supervisor and Deputy District Manager of the Springdale District recalls, “CSI Daniel was a food inspector at the establishment where I attended public health veterinarian training 33 years ago. He helped train me in traditional online poultry inspection procedures and was instrumental in shaping the foundation of my FSIS career. He was then and is still, to this day, a model employee. He is professional, engaged, responsible and respected by industry and in-plant personnel(IPP). Vincent is always eager to help anyone and has trained many IPP to be successful in various inspection methodologies. His contributions to the mission of the agency are worthy of recognition.”

Daniel grew up in Lamar, Arkansas, and started college at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Arkansas. After completing the 1979-1980 academic year at Arkansas Tech, he got married and had to find a job. He went to work for a poultry slaughter facility in Clarksville, Arkansas. It was there that Daniel started working with USDA inspectors who convinced him to go to the Post Office to take the test to become an inspector. He passed the test and accepted a position as a line inspector at a poultry slaughter facility in Hope, Arkansas, then transferred a year later to an establishment in Fayetteville. In 1990, Daniel received a promotion to a relief position which he worked for over five years. In 1996, he was promoted and became IIC at the largest federal rabbit slaughter facility in the nation. While performing his FSIS at the establishment, he also served as the grader there for USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) through an FSIS-AMS agreement. He worked at the Rogers, Arkansas, establishment for 17 years.

Concurrent with his FSIS service, Daniel spent seven years in the Arkansas National Guard, starting as a bridge crewman in 1982. After he was promoted to the rank of sergeant, he became a squad leader. Daniel and Beth, his wife of 33 years, have 6 children and 7 grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys camping, reading, four-wheeling and spending time with family.

Photo by Daniel.