Salute to the Hard Working People of America, & People I Worked With! Part 1 of 2

So on my way home from working Monday night, I was listening to a radio show on 94.1 WJJO in Madison WI called Hard Drive They read an email about a guy who was totally pissed off at his job and felt unappreciated, and his boss always took the credit for his hard work. The host went on a rant himself about how it sucks about the people who do the dirtiest grungiest jobs, to only great treated like crap, and pushed around by someone behind a desk who takes all the credit, and doesn't give credit where credit is due & gets all the kudos.

This got me thinking alot about my current situation. Alot of you already know my frustrations & anger (Especially my 38hrs in 3days, and abandonment on Tuesday, dysfunctional department, etc). But it got me thinking that Ive worked with alot of awesome people in my 11years of work. So I wanted to take the time to thank them. Not just co-workers, but also supervisors I have worked with over the years. Working with these people have taught me many lessons in life, to work as a team, to have fun at work, and to be productive. They have also given me alot of interesting quotes and teachings that I still live by at all jobs, and with life.

High School

Well before I thank bosses I wanted to thank some old teachers.

Mr Daniel Davis over at Milwaukee Hamilton. My old Algebra teacher. Aside from his strange grading system M* (Completed the work and showed the steps) * R* (Completed the work but no steps shown to get an answer), and Fee*s (didn't do the work at all), and casta rules, he was an overall great teacher. I still refuse to call him Dan, though he said we all could when we were over 21 & saw him in a bar, and a few of us could after graduation. I have too much respect for a man who pretty much told everyone that High School is the time to knock off the goofing off and be on time, because real life is just around the corner, and they wont permit irresponsible, and people who are always late. My favorite quote from him was "Work smarter not harder. Its Easier". Something I still live by to this day.

Mr Zagorski, my old Geometry teacher. Though I don't care for Geometry He would still be proud I remember what CPCTC means: Corresponding Parts of Congruent Triangles are Congruent! Thanks for your patience with me.

Mr Johnny Meyers my biology teacher. At age 16 when I was being lazy and cutting class and hanging around with the group of people, he stopped me on one of the 4 days I actually went to his class (Out of 44days), and left me with a quote that still haunts me to this day. Man do you want to work at Mc Donalds for the rest of your life flipping hamburgers, or do you want to be somebody? To that day I am thankful I for this advice and glad the one time I ran in to him was at Mc Donalds after I graduated, I was working at a grocery store and accepted to a college.

Mr Backus shop teacher. Always use the right tool for the right job. Otherwise if hes around you better wear a hard hat and ear plugs. I was lucky the one time I was using an angle grinder with no eye protection to see a block of wood fly over my head and him pulling the plug calling me an idiot. Other kids weren't so lucky. Poor Steve always got the wrath of Backus!

Rupenas Foods

One of the owners, John A Rupena: He mentioned to one of the baggers I worked with once was: All it takes to do this job is a little common sense! He was right, and I still use this quote when training new employees at every job I work at, and its so true. Every supervisor I have worked for says its one of my strengths (SO starting a chainsaw on my leg, spray painting on an unprotected floor or licking 2 phone wires to see if they were live, or dancing on a stop sign singing Oops I did i again at State Fair after drinking when the fair closed aren't the best examples).

Bob Harritz deserves a bode of thanks for training me at Rupenas, Joe Socolick for trying to corrupt my work ethic there, Adam J, Mike Bertie, and Lisa and Julie Q I thank you all for the great times we had there, and memories. Mike I still have to say you were defiantly one of the strangest people I worked with, but your work ethic and dedication was incredible. Plus we made a great team when we worked!

Rozman True Value.

This ones going to be long as so many people here taught me alot!

I have always said this store is what made me who I am today. Not only was it a hell of a fun job, it taught me alot (Even how to operate heavy machinery like a Bobcat, and how to crash a forklift into a garage door!). It never seemed like going to work, but hanging out with your friends for 8hrs or more and getting paid for it!

Sherry: Where do I begin... You took a shot on a guy who only knew how NOT to use power tools like Tim Allen, & had no prior experience in hardware! The FISH program is still something I still use everyday not just at work but for everything else. The teacher of teamwork! Its amazing at the comparison of working for a company that says they work in a team environment and everyone is divided, and one that shows they work as a team in an environment. I always say working in a team prevents has a control on chaos! I still remember your team building session of telling us we were on a bus, and we were on a journey, and it was to make the business successful as a team working together. If we didn't want to participate, here's your stop and get off the bus! I always wonder how I can try to be a successful leader, teammate, and making our department successful in the company. I still have the books Good to Great and Its Your Ship.

Nissa..... I'm at a loss for words...... Thank you boss #2!! Only quote I remember from you is "Your a punk ass"! LOL

Steve: Aside from the knowledge I learned from you in regards to hardware, and making the rental department successful (Service tags service tags service tags!), whenever I need a good laugh I think of the several simpson and movie quotes we have recited to prove points, make fun of customers, and to overall have a good time! That and dead celebrity memorial in the backroom.

Chuck: Had one of the best quote when I started working there. "Hardware isn't just fixing stuff or building something, think of it as you need hardware as a tool to survival". Hell yea look at cavemen! Seriously though just knowing alot of the common household repairs, and upgrades will save you a ton of money instead of hiring a handyman who will charge you a ton. Replacing an outlet, toilet repair, replacing a sink or pipes, gas lines, lawn and garden work Ive done it all. Ladies I am a handyman that's husband material!.

Rich. I still live by your quote: "It takes one awww shit to screw up a bunch of that a boys, but you move on and learn from your mistakes."

Brandon & Daniel I have to give thanks to the 2 hardest working team members that bent over backwards every weekend we worked! Not only did you offer top notch customer service, took care of any task given out, and we all bent over backwards for each other! The Rozman True Value Weekend A team. Plus we had the best food every weekend!

Finally Jim Rozman. Threes alot of quotes, and lots of knowledge you gave me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work at the store, and giving me a jump start in my IT career when I was there.

Theres more in part 2 including my final thoughts!