Sally Herr: a HERSHEY'S CHOCOLATE WORLD Legacy

Sure, we’re super proud to be celebrating our 50th anniversary. But we’re even more humbled by the people who have made HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE WORLD such a special place over the years. And one has made her own mark by working with us since the day our doors opened in 1973.

Sally Herr is our longest-running employee, but it turns out that her Hershey story began the same way as our building – long before it actually opened, just down the road at the original Hershey Factory. She has served in a variety of roles over the years, yet perhaps her favorite job? Serving as a guide for the factory tour that inspired HERSHEY CHOCOLATE WORLD’S very existence.

It's only fitting that Sally would find a work home at the factory. Having grown up in the greater Hershey area, her mother and father both worked there, and her family has fond memories of encounters with Milton Hershey himself. After graduating college, she sought business/administrative employment at the factory, but when such positions were not available, she took a role as a tour guide in 1966 to get her foot in the door. And it turns out she loved it…and stayed.

“We had more fun being tour guides,” she recalls. “It was such a fun job. I met people from all over the world.”

During their shifts, guides would rotate between different roles as they took turns giving tours, including distributing souvenir packets at the “candy counter” and responding to “educational mail” inquiries via typewriters.

Seven years later, Sally transferred to HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE WORLD when it opened. She began as a clerk typist and over the years was promoted to senior secretary and executive secretary for a series of leaders. She also spent some time with the marketing team conducting guest survey research, as well as with Hershey Gifts, the company’s mail order business. She then transferred to the Human Resources team, where she still works today.

Talent and skill notwithstanding, Sally is also a natural fit at HERSHEY'S CHOCOLATE WORLD simply because of her sweet tooth. A chocolate lover at heart, she learned from her mother how to experiment with desserts. So, it comes as no surprise that our shelves and shelves of baking chips are some of Sally’s favorites as she tries new recipes. However, she claims to have perfected her own version of a signature chocolate cake using HERSHEY’S Cocoa.

Sally introduced her family young to sweets as well, laughing as she recalls having spent breaks enjoying HERSHEY’S hot fudge sundaes when she was pregnant. Today, her two grown sons and five grandchildren love to visit her at HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE WORLD and are proud to claim it’s where their “Nana” works.

As for Sally’s future plans? She feels blessed for her daily health and as long as it sustains her, has no specific retirement timeline.“I enjoy my job so that’s why I keep working. There’s always something going on. It’s always fun, upbeat and exciting, and I love that type of atmosphere.”