When dealers or consumers place a call to Empire Comfort Systems in Belleville, Illinois, and Carol Burtz answers, some callers say, a bit in awe, “The Carol Rose?”

Carol Burtz is still a bit in awe as well, but in her case it’s because she was, and still is, surprised that Empire named a collection of outdoor products after her. (The Carol Rose Coastal Collection launched in 2009 and features a variety of outdoor fireplaces, including linear models.)

In 1959 Carol Seibert was a mere 17 years of age, recently graduated from high school and in search of a job. She recalls that, “The state employment office sent me to Empire (Empire Stove Company, at the time) for a job interview. It was my first interview and I was shy.” Nevertheless, the company took a chance on the teen, and hired her to type invoices.

That gamble paid off and, 58 years later, Carol Burtz (she married a few years after starting at Empire) is still employed with the same company and has no plans to retire.

Over the years, she moved up the ranks and found herself in the sales department. She grew into the job, learned about the various parts and products, and now is something of a powerhouse when it comes to customer service. Today, she is Sales associate manager at Empire.

When asked how Empire has changed over her 58 years with the company, she says, “The growth has been tremendous. We have more products, of course. New space heaters and fireplaces.”

She recalls back in 1974 when central furnaces were “dying out.” There was a gas shortage at the time and Empire made a wood-burning stove and then fireplaces. She also recalls former Empire president John Hart working with a company in Spain to import vent-free heaters.

Burtz certainly knows Empire’s products inside and out. “When I started I knew nothing,” she says. “I typed checks and invoices. Eventually, as secretary to the vice president, I wore a lot of hats.”

While some secretaries expected to just type and answer the phone, Burtz was different. Perhaps the key to her success is her willingness to do whatever is needed to get the job done. According to the Empire History Book, “Beginning as a clerk typist, then a secretary in the Sales department, Carol Burtz became a customer service representative in 1970, Sales Administration supervisor in 1987, and she began working in Marketing Services in 1992.

Burtz also has served as unofficial administrative assistant to presidents Robert Bauer and John Hart. (An Empire employee newsletter reported that Carol even modeled in 1974 for an Associated Press article on wood-burning stoves; see photo.)

These days, Burtz, with her “encyclopedic knowledge of products and parts,” moves about the office with a Bluetooth earpiece, or she can be found researching parts on the computer.

Her years with the company and her work ethic led to a line of products being named the Carol Rose Coastal Collection in 2009.

To say she was humbled and surprised would be putting it mildly. Company president Nick Bauer says, “Every year we have a big sales meeting to introduce new products. During the meeting, we introduced the Carol Rose Coastal Collection.” Carol was sitting in the back of the room taking notes and was very surprised when she realized the company had named the collection for her.

The Carol Rose Coastal Collection includes a variety of products, some with logs and some with other media. Burtz names model OLP 36 as one of her favorites, and says she likes the big linear fireplaces as well.

Customers who call and realize they are talking to the one and only Carol Rose have reason to be surprised that an employee who is featured in company literature is fielding questions on the phone.

But with no plans to retire, Carol Burtz wouldn’t have it any other way.

Carol Burtz standing beside a Carol Rose Outdoor Fireplace.

www.empirecomfortsystems.com