Norris Kytle, Kansas City, MO, was inducted into the USCHI "Hall of Fame." He has worked on the harvest, traveling with the AGCO Techvan for the past 20 years.

It is 7:00 A.M. as Norris opens the door to the AGCO trailer. The phone is already ringing. He picks it up and talks to one of the hundreds of Gleaner combine customers who have come to depend on him when they have a problem. This cutter had a belt that failed last night and can't find a replacement. Does Norris happen to have one on the Techvan trailer? He does have the belt and he arranges for the customer to pick it up. Sometimes if the customer is a long way form the trailer Norris will arrange to meet him half way with the part.

Norris barely hangs up the phone, when it rings again. This time a combine is broke down and the customer needs help getting it running again. After getting all the details of the failure and directions to the combine, Norris dispatches two technicians with a servise truck and the parts he anticipates they will need to help the customer-in-need.

This is the way the day goes for Norris until 7:00 P.M. when he officially closes for the day. Sometimes he doesn't even have time to stop for lunch. After supper he heads for his motel room for a well-deserved rest. About 11:00 P.M. the phone in his room rings. It is a customer who just has to have a part. "I have to finish tonight because there is a storm coming in!" Norris agrees to meet the customer at the Techvan and get the part he needs.

Norris started with Allis Chalmers, as a paint dipper, in 1964. He moved to spot welding, building rotary screen baskets, and on up the ladder to assembly line supervisor and quality auditor. In 1978 he started spending his summers with the Gleaner Caravan helping to keep Gleaner combines running. In 1990 AGCO asked Norris to become supervisor of the Gleaner Techvan. He has successfully guided it since then.

There are two things that drive Norris: his pride in Gleaner combines and his desire to keep their owners happy. He gets his greatest satisfaction form "getting someone going" when they are broke down. He has 35 years of service with the Gleaner combines and has made many friends on the harvest run.

We are pleased to induct Norris into the USCHI Hall of Fame.