Chapter 21: The Next Step

I got a particularly nice welcome home party with Mom, Naomi, Walt and Vonda Voight. My diploma had been sent by UPS and it was there on Saturday just before our two guests arrived for the party. It was a hot August day and Mom wisely decided we’d have the dinner after six on the shaded back porch to avoid the worst of the heat. Casual wear was the order of the day. I had on a pair of cargo shorts, a polo shirt and flip flops. The others were dressed similarly, although Naomi stole the show with a snug pair of white shorts and a pale blue sleeveless top. White sandals finished her ensemble. I couldn’t stop admiring her beauty. There was little doubt our guests were equally impressed.

Mom was also in casual wear with a short sleeved blouse and knee length shorts. Again, sandals were the footwear for the women. Walt had a short sleeved shirt and lightweight slacks over sock-less deck shoes. It was great to hear laughter now and then as Naomi, Walt, and I traded stories about our college experiences and the high jinks that we and others got up to. Mom and Vonda swapped some stories about their youthful tomfoolery as well. I felt like Mom was close to being back to her old self. I was sure she had her moments when she missed Dad, but they seemed to be kept in the background.

The party broke up just before ten that evening. As he was leaving, Walt asked me if I could find some time to drop into the office next week. I said I would, probably on Tuesday afternoon, if that was okay. He said that would be great and he would look forward to seeing me then. I wasn’t sure what he wanted, but I suspect it may have something to do with my future career. That’s the career that I hadn’t yet decided upon.

I headed over to East Cascades just after lunch on Tuesday. I had no idea exactly what Walt wanted to talk to me about, but I guessed that it might be asking if I wanted to start working there. I’d have to think it over and for the most part it would be asking about which job and what were the future prospects like. It would probably be a good stop-gap for now, since I didn’t have any alternative and I wasn’t about to sit around and do nothing to contribute toward the household.

I parked the truck in the employee lot and noticed a fancy looking car with California plates. On closer examination I realized it was a late model Mercedes AMG E series sedan. That was one hot sedan, I thought. I wouldn’t mind owning one of those I thought, assuming I could stand the price tag. On the other hand, I was a Porsche fan ... in my dreams.

The first person I encountered when I walked into the office was Sheila Fowler.

“Hey Sheila. How are you?”

“I’m great, thanks Joel. What brings you here today?” she smiled.

“I’ve got a meeting with Walt. I figured he’d be done with lunch by now.”

“Yes, I’ll let him know you’re here,” she said and headed toward Walt’s office.

A few seconds later, Walt appeared with Sheila following along. “Hi, Joel. Thanks for making time for me. Why don’t we go into the conference room? I’ve got a couple of gentlemen I’d like you to meet.”

I followed Walt and entered the conference room to find two gentlemen already there. They stood as Walt looked after the introductions.

“Gentlemen, I’d like you to meet Joel Timmins. Joel is a recent graduate of Eastern Oregon University in Business Administration. He’s also been a part time employee here for several years since his family moved out here from Iowa. Joel, I’d like you to meet Mr. Carl Heisler, a senior partner at Shelter Ridge, and Mr. Emil Maynard, our acting General Manager.”

The two men approached and we shook hands before we were directed to our seats.

“Joel, you’ve been more than a little familiar with this operation over the last five years, so you shouldn’t be surprised that we’ve been keeping an eye on your progress,” Walt began. “I think it was your late father’s fondest wish that you join him here to continue the growth of the business in the future. Unfortunately, your father can’t be here to guide you to a successful career.

“I’ve been a big supporter of you since you showed us just how bright you are and how hard you are willing to work. You’ve made a lot of friends and supporters at East Cascades and I hope we can help you make a decision about joining this firm. Naturally, we had had to find a person to fill in for your father, but our longer term view is to develop our leadership from within. To that end, Mr. Carl Heisler has asked that he lay out what we have in mind for you if you decide to join us on a permanent basis.”

Carl Heisler was middle-aged, trim with a tanned complexion and a full head of blonde hair. He had a friendly look about him and I waited for him to speak.

“Joel, your father has left a formidable challenge for us. He was an excellent manager and promoter of this business. Although he’d barely been here a year before we acquired the business, he was already showing us how he proposed to grow it. Over the next few years, he proved he was as good as his word. I know from talking to Walter, and many of the other people here that you are cut from the same cloth as your father.

“My friend Emil is here to help Walter keep the ship righted while we develop the next permanent General Manager. Every company needs a succession plan. That’s particularly true of smaller operations like East Cascades where the loss of one key person can have a serious effect on the operation. Unfortunately, the untimely death of your father left us without that successor.

“What we propose is to put you into a management training program here. Emil and Walter will be your mentors, and I will be watching how you progress as well. We have no intention of putting you into a situation you are not prepared for. However, from what I have heard from the employees here, no one is better prepared to be that next candidate than you. You should be very proud of how much the people in this plant respect you. So ... I suppose the first question ... and the most important one is ... are you interested?”

It didn’t take me long to make up my mind. “Yes, sir, I definitely am. I liked working here, no matter what job I was assigned. I like the people too. But, I guess I need to know just how this management training program will work.”

Heisler nodded and pointed to Emil Maynard. “Emil is one of our most experienced managers of production based companies. You would report to him or Walter, depending on the circumstances. Emil will be responsible for walking you through the day by day steps to the management of this plant. That will also include employee relations and customer and supplier interaction. Walter will review with you our accounting procedures and financial management. Naturally, I will be watching your progress with great interest.”

I looked over at Emil Maynard. He was a big man with a shock of white hair and a neat goatee. He had a ready smile and lively blue eyes. I liked the look of him even though he hadn’t said a word yet. I had no idea if he would be good to work with, but on the surface, he seemed pleased to have me agree to the opportunity. I thought Walt could probably fill me in on him if I found it necessary.

“Uhhm, Mr. Voight already knows this, but I’m engaged to be married although the date is sometime in the future. This opportunity for a career here could move that time. My fiancée is also looking for a career, so that may have some effect on when our wedding will take place. Naturally, I’d like a week off for a honeymoon when that occurs.”

“Walt has already informed me of your impending marriage, Joel,” Emil said. “I don’t see it as a problem at all. I have a feeling that we’ll work well together. By the way, what type of work is your fiancée looking for?”

“She’s a recent graduate from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. She has a master’s degree in computer science.”

“Is this the young lady who worked with you on that college scheduling program you developed?” Carl asked.

“Yes. She was the lead and I was the support person. We actually ended up leasing the shell of a program from Geary Polytechnic in San Francisco.”

“Geary is a very prestigious institution, but I wasn’t aware they leased software,” Carl said.

“Well, they didn’t until we suggested it with the promise that it wouldn’t be distributed any further than Crook College without their permission. We drew up a memorandum of agreement on that.”

“And you were a student at that time?” he wondered.

“Actually, I was still a high school student when we started on the project,” I said.

“Remarkable,” Carl said with Emil nodding in agreement. “It looks like we’ve may have chosen very well for our candidate,” he smiled.

“What does your fiancée plan to do?” Emil asked.

“Undecided,” I grinned. “We have a lot to discuss yet. We’ll work something out, I’m sure.”

The three men stood and Carl Heisler held out his hand. “Welcome to East Cascades once more, Joel,” he grinned. “I’m looking forward to following your progress. Good luck to you,” he said as we shook hands.

Emil followed and I said, “I’m looking forward to working with you, Sir. I’ll be able to start at your convenience.”