As mentioned in my previous blog (ANOTHER MOVE?), rumors continued to circulate in the rumor mill re changes on the horizon. Armed with this information, dear wife and I talked again. This time I was more positive that my job situation could change, thus making the Washington offer more attractive.
The new job would be a major change for me in that I would no longer be in a line position but have a staff job, which would be somewhat of a relief. No more quotas to make, no need for the right people to hire, no worries about the people I occasionally had to fire (always a gut-wrenching decision for me), and so on.
Armed with all of these points, "we" decided that NOW was the time to move, so I called my manager with my decision. He called Washington and the deed was done. I then made a two-hour trip to Washington, met with my new bosses (2), and went over what they expected of me. I discovered that this was a brand new job, which meant to me that there was the opportunity to make a real "go" of it. I signed off and floated home on Cloud Nine as it were. Whoopie!
There was a small snag in moving quickly into the job. Dear wife and I had bought tickets for our first-ever trip to Europe. No problem, said my new bosses, go and enjoy, and we will see you when you return.
Soooooo, off to Europe we went, enjoyed it fully, and then came home to a new job, another house move and new friends.
More, later.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
ANOTHER MOVE
Early one spring morning, while at my desk in Harrisburg, I received a call from my district manager telling me that I was getting visitors from our Washington, D..C. regional office. They wanted some information about my office's relationship with the Pennsylvania state government.
Sure enough, two days later E_____and D_____ arrived. I spent some time explaining our government connections, and then took them on a visit of the State Department of Transportation where I knew the management group. They took me to lunch, thanked me, and left. It was a very pleasant visit.
Two days later I discovered the real purpose of their visit. My manager called me and told me that the visitors wanted to offer me a job in their Washington office. I was floored! I had so settled into the Harrisburg area that I fully expected to eventually retire there. I had one week to respond to the offer.
When I broke the news to dear wife, her response was quite negative, as was expected, for she loved the Harrisburg area as much as I did. I assured her that we would "talk it out" before I made a decision. Two days later I got the first in a number of rumors that some REALLY BIG moves were being contemplated by the Company. One of these rumors had to do with the closing of some branches. Although I felt that state capitols were safe, I felt quite uneasy about what I had heard.
More, later.
Sure enough, two days later E_____and D_____ arrived. I spent some time explaining our government connections, and then took them on a visit of the State Department of Transportation where I knew the management group. They took me to lunch, thanked me, and left. It was a very pleasant visit.
Two days later I discovered the real purpose of their visit. My manager called me and told me that the visitors wanted to offer me a job in their Washington office. I was floored! I had so settled into the Harrisburg area that I fully expected to eventually retire there. I had one week to respond to the offer.
When I broke the news to dear wife, her response was quite negative, as was expected, for she loved the Harrisburg area as much as I did. I assured her that we would "talk it out" before I made a decision. Two days later I got the first in a number of rumors that some REALLY BIG moves were being contemplated by the Company. One of these rumors had to do with the closing of some branches. Although I felt that state capitols were safe, I felt quite uneasy about what I had heard.
More, later.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
THE BEAUTIFUL HILLS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Living in Pennsylvania's central area was a pleasure. The beautiful topography, so different from the flatlands of Delaware and New Jersey, was delightful to behold. It seemed that the air was more pure, the seasons of the year more clearly defined, and the people were different from those of my previous associations; they were more friendly and more open to conversations.
I experienced the difference during my first November. About the second week of the month, I came into the office on a Monday morning, as usual. However, as the day wore on, it seemed to me that there was less activity than usual. I casually mentioned this to my secretary, and she said,"That's because some of the men are on their off." I guess I looked puzzled and she repeated her statement. I said, E____, I don't know what you mean." "Oh," she said, "It's hunting season (bear and deer), and about half of the staff is taking vacation to tramp in the woods right now." The branch supervisors had neglected to mention this to me, assuming that I knew about it.
While I was in Harrisburg, it was my pleasure to be in contact with numerous company representatives who represented other product lines. These men would come into the office to do some telephoning, or just to talk about business. We had a lot of camaraderie because we enjoyed so much working for the same company.
More,, later.
I experienced the difference during my first November. About the second week of the month, I came into the office on a Monday morning, as usual. However, as the day wore on, it seemed to me that there was less activity than usual. I casually mentioned this to my secretary, and she said,"That's because some of the men are on their off." I guess I looked puzzled and she repeated her statement. I said, E____, I don't know what you mean." "Oh," she said, "It's hunting season (bear and deer), and about half of the staff is taking vacation to tramp in the woods right now." The branch supervisors had neglected to mention this to me, assuming that I knew about it.
While I was in Harrisburg, it was my pleasure to be in contact with numerous company representatives who represented other product lines. These men would come into the office to do some telephoning, or just to talk about business. We had a lot of camaraderie because we enjoyed so much working for the same company.
More,, later.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
TRANSFER TIME
It seems that we barely got acclimated to Delaware and environs when I got the news that I was being transferred to the larger Harrisburg, Pennsylvania branch. Wow!
I began commuting from Wilmington to Harrisburg by train on Monday mornings, came home on Wednesday evenings, back to Harrisburg on Thursday morning and home, late, on Friday.
Dear wife and I took a different tack on housing in the Harrisburg area. We looked at partially-built "spec" houses that could be re-configured to meet our needs. We ended up in the suburb of Camp Hill, with a beautiful home that backed up to cornfields that were inhabited by deer, foxes and geese.
The Harrisburg branch covered fourteen counties in central Pennsylvania. The "hot spots" for business were the state government and Pennsylvania State University. During the six years I spent in the area, I ws twice awarded a President's Cup for outstanding performances. This meant week -long trips to a ranch in Santa Barbara, California, where golfing, horseback riding and plenty of food and drink - mostly drink, were available.
One year there was a disaster caused by the flooding Susquehanna River over its banks and into our offices. I was able to convince the Company to re-locate to higher ground. There I had the pleasure of leading a ribbon-cutting ceremony to our new building, which icluded a message from Pennsylvania's Secretary of State. It was a heady time.
More, later.
I began commuting from Wilmington to Harrisburg by train on Monday mornings, came home on Wednesday evenings, back to Harrisburg on Thursday morning and home, late, on Friday.
Dear wife and I took a different tack on housing in the Harrisburg area. We looked at partially-built "spec" houses that could be re-configured to meet our needs. We ended up in the suburb of Camp Hill, with a beautiful home that backed up to cornfields that were inhabited by deer, foxes and geese.
The Harrisburg branch covered fourteen counties in central Pennsylvania. The "hot spots" for business were the state government and Pennsylvania State University. During the six years I spent in the area, I ws twice awarded a President's Cup for outstanding performances. This meant week -long trips to a ranch in Santa Barbara, California, where golfing, horseback riding and plenty of food and drink - mostly drink, were available.
One year there was a disaster caused by the flooding Susquehanna River over its banks and into our offices. I was able to convince the Company to re-locate to higher ground. There I had the pleasure of leading a ribbon-cutting ceremony to our new building, which icluded a message from Pennsylvania's Secretary of State. It was a heady time.
More, later.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
ANOTHER UPWARD MOVE
After two years as the 3M Wilmington branch sales supervisor, I was promoted to branch manager. Manager status was an important position in our company and I felt proud to be at that level.
With the promotion, a family move was approved, so dear wife, Ruth, began house hunting in Wilmington. It didn't take her long to find a brand new house, a larger house and lot than our current one, with a small stream running at the foot of the property. SOLD!
The question now was how long would it take us to sell our New Jersey home? It was accomplished in record time. The Anderson Family, sans dear daughter who was away at school, moved excitedly into Delaware. Dear son opted to spend his senior year in a Wilmington high school. Oh, yes, the dog and cats came along!
It was a relief to drive one mile to the office instead of 35 miles which I had previously traveled. It also made my time as a manager more efficient, as I could cultivate our key accounts in Delaware - such as the DuPont and Hercules Powder Companies and the Dover Air Force Base.
One year after our move, dear son was accepted for study at the University of Delaware. Another family highlight.
More, later.
With the promotion, a family move was approved, so dear wife, Ruth, began house hunting in Wilmington. It didn't take her long to find a brand new house, a larger house and lot than our current one, with a small stream running at the foot of the property. SOLD!
The question now was how long would it take us to sell our New Jersey home? It was accomplished in record time. The Anderson Family, sans dear daughter who was away at school, moved excitedly into Delaware. Dear son opted to spend his senior year in a Wilmington high school. Oh, yes, the dog and cats came along!
It was a relief to drive one mile to the office instead of 35 miles which I had previously traveled. It also made my time as a manager more efficient, as I could cultivate our key accounts in Delaware - such as the DuPont and Hercules Powder Companies and the Dover Air Force Base.
One year after our move, dear son was accepted for study at the University of Delaware. Another family highlight.
More, later.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)