Last Saturday morning, we got up early and had the dogs dropped of the doggy daycare by 7am. Todd and I packed a quick overnight bag, ate breakfast and then jumped in my truck to head for Houston. We made a quick pitstop to vote for our local board
and then we were on our way. One of my most cherished coworkers (Dudley) retired a few weeks ago and one of our sales reps ( Nicole) was hosting a surprise retirement party for him. Dudley is the man who took a gamble and hired me 22
years ago. I was in my late 20’s and my experience was mostly in retail and restaurant management. He was concerned for me taking a desk job and losing the freedom of always being on my feet and moving around. I KNEW I was ready for a life change
and he saw it in my eyes. Dudley was my customer service manager for 2 years and then he went in a different direction and got into our operations and transferred to Houston to be warehouse manager. We would stay in touch often and he would
come into Dallas for meetings and it was always such a joy to see him. Many years ago ( I was on training team by then) we were doing a conversion in Southborough Massachusetts and Dudley was there to share his expertise. It was sooo fun
to work with him.
Dudley is from South Africa and was in the British army for several years as he was younger. He has the best accent! He cracked me up because he would always say Bloody Hell!! Sometimes when he was inside the office he would say Bloody H.
E. Double Hockey Sticks!! I had to stop and think about that one after I first heard it . LOL
The party started around 4 and we got checked into our hotel around 2 so we had time to change clothes and freshen up. Dudley was so surprised that I drove in from Dallas. How could I NOT go and celebrate his retirement?!!
I am very glad we made the effort and didn’t just send a gift and stay at home. Sometimes its so easy to just be lazy and not drive 4.5 hours one way but then other times calls for loyalty and will to show respect.
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| Dudley and i in Southborough,Mass around 8 years ago |
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| Did you know you can rent signs for your yard? A truck will come pick up after party. So cool |
