YOUTH MOVEMENT

One of the largest private employers in Mariposa County has a new leader.

In addition, a familiar Mariposa County face is now in a key leadership role at the same company.

Adam Schmaus, 36, is the new president of Tavis Corporation, a company founded in the 1960s that is a key player in the space industry.

Scott Fiester, 38, the familiar local name, is now heading up finance, accounting and human resources for the company.

Schmaus took over as president on May 1 and Fiester, after some deep reflection, joined the company about eight months ago.

“Excited,” said Schmaus, who admitted there was a “healthy amount of anxiety for the change” but added he “knows the company well.”

Schmaus took over the helm of the company from Marty Kudela, who served as president for 10 years and has been with the company for 36 years. He remains at Tavis as a senior adviser and will be officially retiring at the end of this year.

Tavis is a company famous for its transducers, key instruments that monitor critical systems aboard spacecraft, submarines, satellites and more.

Moving forward

Schmaus said one of his goals as the new president is to “start looking at our core product, the heritage design,” and see how they can improve upon that as well as expand its offerings.

“I want to capitalize on the last 57 years,” he said. “To build upon that and not remain static.”

However, Schmaus noted he is “not one to make quick, rapid changes” and will analyze every aspect of Tavis as he moves forward leading the company.

Schmaus first worked at Tavis in the summer of 2004 as an intern. He spent time there off and on over the next 12 years before coming on full time in 2016.

“I was involved in many milestone events with the company,” he said.

In many ways, he’s a true success story starting as an intern and now sitting in the top leadership role of an international company.

Company owner John Tavis, he said, “taught me the fundamentals of the product. It gave me a comfort level.”

A lot of contemplation

Fiester, whose family name adorns the auditorium at Mariposa County High School, certainly took a different path in getting to Tavis.

An employee of the international company Intuit, Fiester moved back to Mariposa several years ago to take on the role of leading the local chamber of commerce. However, he then went back to Intuit but was able to remain in Mariposa.

Fiester said he had the opportunity to take on a “bigger role” with the company but it would have meant leaving Mariposa.

He took a six month sabbatical.

After lengthy discussions with his family, Fiester decided he would rather remain in his hometown.

“We couldn’t do it,” he said. “This is my home.”

But how?

He was looking at various remote positions and trying to figure out the next move.

He then saw the open position at Tavis.

“I knew it was here,” he said of the company. “I was not aware of the significant impact on the community.”

Schmaus said the company was attracted to Fiester because he is a “Jack of all trades.” He then noted that Fiester “learned the accounting system quicker than anyone had before.”

What is Fiester’s conclusion after eight months at Tavis?

“It’s the best place to work in Mariposa,” he said.

He also said that he concluded if he was going to work in Mariposa, it would “have to be for a company like this.”

And he readily admits, it’s been quite the ride.

“I have never drank from a bigger fire hose,” he said.

He has adapted, said Fiester, and feels he is getting the “team to buy into my leadership style.”

Maxine Chance, brand manager for the company, said she appreciates Fiester helping her “build up my skills.”

Fiester said the HR role is new to his portfolio, but noted he “has experience leading large-scale teams” at Intuit.

“I am very excited,” he said.

Onward … and upward

Schmaus said “one of the biggest changes I hope to improve upon is to elevate the workforce … making them more valuable. It benefits all of us.”

Tavis currently has more than 50 employees, ranging from engineers to sales to everything else involved in a corporation.

That’s a significant payroll in Mariposa County, something not lost on Schmaus.

“The culture needs to be good,” said Schmaus.

That’s an area where he said the company has always been strong.

“I do like the culture here,” he said. “I love the people who work here.”

He added: “We’re a pretty cool team here.”

Just last week, Schmaus conducted a roundtable with the various departments to get input and feedback about the company. He felt it was a good exercise to hear what the employees had to say about the working environment and the company in general.

Personally, Schmaus said one of his biggest goals is to “have better engagement with the schools.”

He noted Tavis has a “full suite” of the manufacturing process and he wants local students to know the company is there and it could even be in their future.

“We want to grow ourselves and have people who want to stay here,” said Schmaus.

As a fifth grade student at Woodland Elementary, Schmaus said he was on a field trip to Tavis, his introduction to the company. That has remained in his mind as he as ascended the ranks.

“It is very meaningful to me to be involved in the community and the schools,” added Fiester.

He said whether it is internships or exposure to outside events, all of it is critical in the continued growth of Tavis.

At a recent remote operated vehicle event in Oakhurst, Fiester heard some people excitedly saying “Tavis is here to judge,” and that struck a chord.

“That was really cool,” he said.

As an MCHS graduate, he noted opportunities for local students “can be limited,” but he thinks Tavis can play a role in opening up those opportunities for local young people.

“It gives an option of something different,” he said.

Fiester also stressed that “every single aspect” of business is performed at Tavis, so not matter the interest, there is something for everyone.

To boldly go …

The recent worldwide attention drawn to space exploration because of the Artemis II mission to the Moon was certainly not lost on those at Tavis.

In fact, they were right in the thick of things. Schmaus said when the spaceship launched, he noted there were hundreds of Tavis transducers onboard, monitoring critical systems.

The same was true when the ship returned, as a nervous world watched closely to make sure the heat shield on the ship would hold. There was also the critical moment when the parachutes had to function to slow the craft down so it could splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

“We watched until they (the astronauts) were on the ship,” said Schmaus, referring to the ships that carried the crews that got them out of the capsule and back aboard the ocean vessels.

Schmaus called it a “proud moment” for the people at Tavis, noting the role they had played in the most successful space mission in decades.

Fiester, who admitted he wasn’t a “space guy” but “I am now,” reflected on the atmosphere around Tavis during the Artemis mission.

“There was so much pride,” he said. “It showed the impact we can make. It keeps us all going.”

That, he hopes, can translate into the future of the company.

Schmaus said he is focusing on how to grow the company and expand the products to a wider market.

With the warp speed advancement in technologies and the ever growing expansion of space companies and space exploration in general, it would appear Tavis is in a strong position to be a part of that future.

“We will keep an eye on where the market is going,” he said.

For everyone involved with Tavis, that’s almost certainly music to their ears as the company has new leadership with a focus not only on the future, but the employees who make it all happen.