Front - AZ Teambuilding sro

PUSHING TO THE FRONT
Joe informed me that he was going to drive me to the test site just to
make sure that I didn’t go the other way. Well, he drove me and I said
“Don’t worry, this won’t take long, you don’t need to hang around.”
After the test was over and it was being graded, I felt that I might just
have passed it. The instructor came back into the room and started calling
names and mine wasn’t one of them, and I thought for sure I had
failed the test. Then he said “Good luck, try again” and dismissed all
the people whose names he had just called. A good feeling overcame
me and I realized that I did pass! Not only did I pass, but also I had
the second highest score! Joe taught me to believe in myself. Several
months went by, and I was called up to start the apprenticeship for
electrician, a small party was held and off I went. Four years later, I
graduated and went back to see Joe to tell him how much it meant that
he had believed in me and all that I could achieve, but he retired several
months before I got there to see him.
Joe was just one of the many memorable people I met while working
at the historic Ford Rouge complex. I met characters who will always
be subjects for stories to tell my grandchildren (whenever they arrive).
My work experience at the Rouge complex was one of many. I was on
the start-up team for two new plants, I worked on the renovation of the
WHQ Board Room, and I was even a part of the complete renovation
of the World Headquarters building.
Another memorable experience at Ford was working in the Research
and Engineering Center the year the east coast power grid failed. I was
given a unique job assignment by my Supervisor, Jim, to keep two large
generators running. They powered the portable air conditioners in the
design studios, which was home to clay model cars. If the temperature
was to exceed 75 degrees, the clay would start to fall off the models.
We had to work quickly to save the hard work that the modelers had
done. At the time, I didn’t realize the importance of this assignment, but
Jim knew that I had the knowledge to get the job done quickly. Because
of making sure the clay models kept cool and didn’t fall apart, many of
the Ford vehicles you see on the road are there now because of Jim’s
leadership and my knowledge to keep them cool.
I spent my last few years at Ford working with Jim as my supervisor,
and he left a huge impression on me. During my long stint at Ford, I
was getting older and more independent. I thought I knew it all. One
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