Nickie Doelfs has friends all over the place.

Whether she’s sitting down for breakfast at McDonald’s, eating lunch at Olive Garden or riding her bike around Heath, she often hears “Hi, Nickie!” everywhere she goes.

Another place she’s well known is Covestro, where she’s worked for the last 13 years — originally through LICCO, and now as a contract employee through Belcan.

“They treat me really good,” she said. “I do a very good job!”

Although she lived in northern Ohio growing up, Nickie, 46, has called Licking County home for many years. 

She lives in her own apartment in Heath and works at Covestro on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

With support from LICCO, she worked a variety of jobs over the years. Covestro has been the best fit for her, she said. 

Covestro ships products all over the world in octagon-shaped boxes with custom-made lids. Nickie is a member of the team who builds these lids and her skills are well known. 

Her average output of lids per 5-hour shift is around 14 skids. (There are 20 lids per skid), said Tami Dunlap, Covestro’s Communication, Systems and Payroll Coordinator.  

“In 2021, Nickie built over 30,200 lids, more than doubling anyone else’s numbers,” she said. “She has always been fast and efficient at her duties.  When she is not here, our output of lids greatly suffers.  She takes great pride in what she does and has made many friends here through the years.”

Nickie is a valuable member of the team, but also a great coworker, said Suzanne Bell, Box Crew Supervisor. If one of her coworkers needs help, she doesn’t hesitate to step up.

“She is amazing,” Suzanne said. “It’s amazing to watch her building the box lids…and she’s always helping others.”

Despite how busy she is, she’s an expert at keeping in touch with people who have been important to her, including the team she’s worked with at LCBDD— including Chad Strohl, Lisa Miller and her current Service Coordinator Angela Lukander (pictured above) — her payee, former supervisors and coworkers. And that doesn’t even include her many, many friends. 

When she’s not working or visiting with friends, Nickie enjoys going out to eat, shopping and spending time with family. She’s saving up for a trip to Florida to visit her uncle and is looking forward to going to Kings Island later this year.