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| White Plains, New York |
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| This is at a Nationwide Insurance sponsored
party. I'm in the center with the blue lei. My partner here is the wife
of Bill Mathis, a co-worker. No one should get the impression that I can
dance. Basically I just shuffle my feet randomly and pray that I bump into
no one and respect the feet of others. |
| I was transferred, with a promotion, from the Nationwide Insurance
Company regional office in Harrisburg, Pa. to the regional office in White
Plains, NY. The office serviced Eastern New York state from New York City
to the Canadian border. My new job was as a technician in their Statistics
Department. The department used IBM Electric Accounting Machines (EAM) to
process Claims, Premium Billings, Agent's Commissions, and all accounting
functions. My main function was to wire the control panels that made the EAM
equipment perform the functions we required. I also operated the equipment. Nationwide's transfer policies were great. They paid all our moving expenses and all my room and board for a month. For a month I stayed in a hotel and ate in the best restaurants in town. When I took the job I was unaware that the Statistics unit in White Plains was the worst or among the worst in performance among all of Nationwide's regional offices. Consequently, my supervisor was under constant pressure to make improvements. Then, within several weeks of my arrival he left for another job. After the search for his replacement had gone on for a couple of weeks, I decided I'd Try to get the job. I went to the Personnel Office and made my pitch, strongly emphasizing that I could turn the unit's performance around. I was a little suprised when they took me up on it and made me their new Statistics Supervisor. It took a several months to find a place to live. When my free hotel privileges ran out I stayed in a room in a large private home that was converted into many single rental units. It was tolerable except that everyone had to share one bathroom. Jean and the kids were staying with her mother in Mount Carmel. On those weekends when I could not get back to Mount Carmel, Sunday was particularly lonely. Those were the days when Blue Laws were in effect and White Plains was painfully inactive on Sunday. Eventually, we found a garden apartment on North Broadway in White Plains that was within walking distance of the Nationwide Insurance office. We liked the apartment and all the neighbors were great. White Plains was about 30 mile North of Times Square. It offered suburban living with tremendous access to all kinds of amenities. My kids were thrilled each year when Macys reproduced their Thanksgiving Day parade on White Plains streets on the Friday following Thanksgiving. The parade did not include the balloon figures from the Manhattan parade but was nevertheless most impressive. Jean and I were interested in buying a house. In order to get the necessary money to accomplish this I took a job in the White Plains Post Office. I worked from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the cancellation tables and sorting mail. It was interesting to experience the governmental rigidity that seems to be applied to all procedures. I still wonder, from time to time, about the effectiveness of their practices. As Statistics Supervisor, I was determined that the assurances I gave to turn the units performance around would be upheld. Working evenings and weekends became commonplace. Jean claimed she was a "Nationwide widow". Gradually, our unit's performance improved to the point that we were always near the top of all regional offices in the company. A large part of that success was due to all the people in the unit and to my boss, Enos Burigana. He was easily the best boss I ever had. He demonstrated that he had confidence in me and gave me the freedom and support I needed. Unfortunately, the White Plains office made money in only one year that I was there. This was due to the losses that were continuously experienced in New York City that overwhelmed the excellent results obtained in the rest of our territory. Eventually, the frustration of the home office brass caused then to sweep out most of our upper level management. My boss was sent to the home office in Columbus, Ohio and replaced by a boorish jerk. My new boss apparently felt that he was obligated to implement changes regardless of how successful our unit was. I found this intolerable. Within several months I took another job in Williamsport, PA. |
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