Hopeton resident Juanita Cropp considers number 13 as a good luck charm. Twenty years ago, Cropp became the 13th employee hired by Value Added Products (VAP). Today she celebrates 20 years working for the company and intends to continue working for as long in the future as possible.

Cropp was originally recruited to VAP by her niece, Paula Fuqua, who served as VAPs first office manager. She was working for a health care provider at the time but her niece was persistent and told her she must come to work for VAP. Cropp received the call from her niece on Jan. 31, was hired on Feb. 2, and starte...