BURN OUT

Margaret was one of the Company inspectors at Rockwell and when we completed the B1-B Contract Margaret went to work for the Department Of Defense as an Inspector for the Army trucks at BMY in Marysville.

While at Rockwell, Margaret asked me to review her resume and also asked if I would be a reference for her. In her resume I noticed that she had been a Registered Nurse. I asked why she had given up that career to go into such a dramatically different field.

She answered, "I knew that I could no longer be a nurse when I drove home one night and saw a body along the side of the road and I merely went in the house and telephoned the Sheriff's Department instead of going to help!" She said she realized that she was suffering from "Burn Out" because she didn't care enough to check on that person and knew that she could no longer function as a nurse. Ironically and serendipitously, Margaret was instrumental in my going to work at BMY.

When Margaret asked me to review her resume I asked what her plans were for the future and she said that she had applied to be a government inspector at a "place in Marysville building Army trucks." I said, "I should apply there." After I finished at Rockwell I did apply at BMY and the Personnel Manager telephoned me and told me that although they were impressed with my qualifications, I was very "overqualified". I returned to International Trucks. One evening, I was surprised to receive a call from Earl Pittman, with whom I'd worked at Rockwell. He told me that he was working at BMY and that John Wood wanted to talk to me. John and I had worked at International and I had heard he'd gone to BMY. I asked why John didn't call me and Earl said John thought it might be a "touchy situation" as John had left International for BMY and I'd only recently returned there. I called John and he asked, "What would it take for you to come over here and help me?" I answered, "TWO WEEKS!" John asked, "Aren't you going to ask me about the position or salary?" I said, "Don't need to; I know you'll be fair!" When I'd returned to International it was at a much lower salary and position than I'd had at Rockwell. I went the following Saturday to BMY and spent eight hours interviewing with the different Department Heads. John let them believe they had a say-so in my hiring!

As I toured the plant with John, Margaret came over and said, "I told this guy he better get you over here to straighten out this mess!" John nodded and Margaret winked at me and said, "I'm kinda getting BURNED OUT!"