New Beginnings

My career with Charles River Laboratories is winding down quickly. Today would have been my very last day; however, I've been extended until the end of August. I know my departure date, I know my severence and bonus amounts. It's as if I'm sitting in prison on death row waiting for my turn to be terminated. We arrive for work, do our duty, knowing that the only reward and motivation will be our untimely dismissal. My journey here began on August 2, 1999. I started as a Research Technician working an average of 60 hours per week. The work was nasty. There were certain smells to get used to. I accepted the job knowing that I had to be responsible and start working to repay student loans and "start my life". I didn't know anyone here. The only people I knew were the ones I worked with. I sank into a dark place, but didn't give up. I married. I started my family. I moved closer to work to save from commuting while pregnant and with kids. I accumulated debt. I bought a house. The dream. I was promoted. I knew the earning potential and knew that I was not satisfied with my current position. I had dreams. I achieved them. My position as Study Coordinator satisfied a goal. With new goals, a positive outlook, more time with my family, less time at work, more job satisfaction (did I mention church?) I was ready to start 2009 full force. Watch out world! Then, suddenly, rudely, unexpectedly, without warning, my world was turned upside down. I no longer have a job. Our lab is not a core lab. The 18 million dollars in revenue that we generated in 2008 and our faithful clientel were meaningless to "Corporate". One hundred and twenty individuals (some married couples who rely solely on CRL income) found ourselves without employment, insurance, benefits, security, purpose, job satisfaction. Our "family" had been ripped apart one person at a time on 10 February 2009. (I will forever write dates in this manner.) There was no announcement, there was no respect. This was holocaustic. A day of reverence and tears for those packing their boxes to their cars. They were not able to retrieve contacts from their computers or business phones. They were watched as they packed. They were not at fault. These were valued co-workers. Global schedulers, Study Directors, Managers, family. We trusted them in the day to day operation of our facility, yet they weren't trusted to leave with dignity. Sixty days notice. Individual departure dates. Retention lists. We say good-bye to several more family members today and on Tuesday. More at the end of July. I will pull through the gate for the last time......one of thousands over the past ten years. In September, I will pass the lab while driving in Redfield and suddenly think that I should be at work. My van will automatically try to turn and wonder curiously why I didn't let it. No more late nights. No more security code. No more badge. No more desk full of data books. This is the end of a fantastic and exhausting adventure. I know that I did my best. I know that I am wiser for the next adventure. Politics? Personalities? I can take it. I just don't know where that will be yet. Good-bye to those that taught me how to perservere. Not just in business, but in life. The world can be cold and heartless. The world can also be warm and sincere. I have found joy and pity for those who have none. I suppose that there will always be those that wish people well, and those that wish people harm. Those that are jealous and miserable, and those that are generous and supportive. If you keep your nose clean, do your job to the best of your ability, hold yourself accountable for your own actions, be upfront with those around you, and keep a smile on your face nothing can hurt you. Live to encourage others, serve others, love others. Perceptions are reality to those who perceive them. Give them something good to perceive. As it is, all people are good. All people love. All people need.





I spent the week prior to my date of hire playing guitar in Brownsville, Texas for about 80 youth from a Monroe, Louisiana Presbyterian church youth group. We built a house (suitable for my lawnmower) for a family in Mexico just across the border from the ground up. I remember laying the concrete cinder blocks and hammering nails into the walls prior to raising them and attaching them to the foundation. I remember the bright green/blue paint that stained my clothes, skin, and hammer. What will I do the week following my departure? Will I make an impact somewhere else? What opportunity will I have to serve others? The possibilities are endless if I just keep my faith.