A very special day indeed…

The first day of the rest of my life! And so the adventure began! 10/01/2017 officially retired after 35 years of dedicated service to Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation.

I have enjoyed an interesting, rewarding, and lucrative career which allowed me to develop many life skills, meet the most interesting and talented professionals, work with some of the legends of the automotive industry, brilliant engineers, and superb managers.

I realize and acknowledge how incredibly grateful I am to have achieved all of the goals set for myself, from the very first day that I set foot on the campus of the General Motors Technical Center at the age of 20. I had five brothers to thank for this, as I grew up singing: “whatever they can do, I can do better, I can do anything better than them!” They fostered a healthy competitive nature; combined with a steely determination inherited from my Granny. This has served me well throughout my career.

I was one of the very first women to enter the then male dominated industry; and vividly recall that first day that I walked into a huge facility filled with a sea of the old fashioned drafting tables, one of which became my desk. I was proudly promoted three times over a period of five years, traveled extensively within the US and Canada launching new model vehicles at GM Assembly Plants. I recall the feeling of excitement and exhilaration when I mercilessly bugged my manager to allow me to take one of the first ever buyout packages (aka golden handshake) that allowed me to quit my job and join a fellow female colleague on a cross country coast to coast bicycle tour.

After an 18 month sabbatical I then hired into Ford Motor Company where I was fortunate enough to complete both undergraduate, and graduate degree programs graduating summa cum laude from A tier universities, while working full time, all paid for by my employer. For the first time I entered the management ranks where I learned the ropes from some of the finest, hardest working, most dedicated and decent managers in the industry. I traveled the world training hundreds of hourly and salaried individuals in Stamping and Assembly facilities, launching the highest quality vehicles in the world, and having the distinct pleasure of experiencing diverse cultures, meeting many different people and their families, and making lifelong friends.

In the last four years I have worked diligently to achieve Instructor Certifications through the Chopra Center in Primordial Sound Meditation, Ayurvedic Perfect Health, Davidji Masters of Wisdom & Meditation Instructor Certification, Reiki Master Certification with William Lee Rand through the International Center for Reiki Training and pursuing Yoga Instructor Certification while working full time. I wouldn’t have changed a single moment of any of this, or even traded a second of it for all the tea in China!

Once again, I stand on the threshold of change; embracing that feeling of excitement and exhilaration; as I step into my future, poised to achieve the highest vision of good that I can imagine for myself…. and then, just a little bit more, and then even a little bit more again. And yet again, just a little bit more. Thank you to each one of you who have been a part of my journey, and my life.

So now, as I boldly step into the next chapter; I close with the words of William H. Murray, from the Scottish Himalayan Expedition as I am off both figuratively and literally to climb a mountain or two!

This may sound too simple, but is great in consequence. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!