When I walked into LCO #2430, the thought that entered my mind was..."This must be a dream!!"  (What made it more evident was the fact that Pat was sleeping!!!) All of us...part of a dream come true...to work with the best people in the world...all coming together in Ross County, Ohio!! 

The dreamer, Pat Slagle as our guide...The first characters in this reality play that I called my second home for many, many months besides my dream guide, Pat....was Kevin ("that shirt looks good on you")  Anderson, Cheryl ("Gifted, Headstrong and Loving") Cox , Betty ("Sweet, Understanding and a Wonderful Listener") McAdow, Holly ("Younger then me, but able to move mountains with her intelligence") Wagoner and Carolyn Brown.  I believe that Steve Martin was there also on my first day.  Who would of ever thought there would be a world full of comedians searching for employment at the same time?? 

I was instructed to follow the lead of Recruiting Assistant, Kim ("paperwork to a perfection") Spradlin.  Diane Hughes also was a key R.A. that I was to soon look up to. 

The course of the dream drifted into a Recruiting oblivion or maybe it was just out for lunch (bite sized for Holly and lots of Bell Peppers for Betty please!!) When I came back into dream world...there were deadlines...but besides that, there were a lot of wonderful people now aboard....my dream family now included a basement full of dwellers (aka: the cellar dwellers)  The office was not quiet any more...all that was heard was a mass array of voices...either through the halls or down the stairs...included in them were these  (before I go on with my story I must include a brief note: I am horrible with names...)

To my recollection (dreams have a way of letting one forget) 

 There was Larry  ("lets shred till we die")  Bernhardt, Yvonne  Corzelius (ahh dreams don't remember how to spell names either!!) I walked down the stairs one day...or maybe I floated...(dreams are strange that way)  In front of me sat a man that I had enumerated with;  Dan Stultz. (A man that brought to me the gift of appreciating...and the sad fact of letting go)  and little Shelly Lyon...always full of energy and a story that could always make our mouths gap open....

Back in my primary domain....Upstairs; we were graced with Angy ("everyone that has an ex...by the name of Steve....raise your hand") Shadix, our Administrative Assistant...always looking for a job to do and always had a listening ear.  Carla Colburn and Shelly Hill; both excellent Recruiting Clerks/Recruiting Assistants.  Jannine Petrel...a talent individual in Recruiting and in everything else.......There was also, Pru Crocoft...that never let a detail slip by..

As I look around...I start to see people that I have administered the examination (aka: Census Test..."I am looking for another job; outside of this dream.....and I should start to sound intelligent; ya know!!" teehee)

Ron Springer, Angie Warren, Cindy Day, Mandy Harris, Grace Baer, Jan Harper, Gloria Beechler, Howard Schuenaman, Tim-Tom-Tim, Diana Hagerman, Jerri Jackson, Sally Salt, Penny Sommers, Susan Bower, ...where did ya'll come from???  All I remember is that I enjoyed working with each and everyone one of you.  Paula Halasz ...thanks for all your help with the Newsletter...you are a gifted writer.  

Names are starting to fail me now...but not faces!!  Mitch Karnes...a unique man that I had the privilege to train...and Dwight "the FBI is calling" Hedrick...dag gone, I miss ya'll....Karen Johnson and Linda Lovensheimer...two terrific ladies that deserve only the best that life has to offer!!  Ida Vance...evening laughs in Recruiting...Tiny Howard and Cheryl Waddell (C.W.)..I wish that I had a way of corresponding with the two of them.  The Census Hummingairs not mentioned before:...Karen Ingram, Dan Smart, John Daubert, Luanne Norman...Your performances were always top-notched!! Oh geesh, who all I have I not spoken of???  Karen Fry...her expert advice was enduring!!  The re-interview clerks that I so much enjoyed having just a desk away from me.....Melissa Corona, Alice Reynolds, Cheryl Kallner, Shannon Lowman, Nici Workman...Patience is a virtue and ya'll diffidently shown that!!!  Recruiting Assistants that I did not mention above...but made everything in the Census work like as it did...(like clock-work)...Pat Miller, Doug Thornton, Rob Griffith and Shonda Green, Mike Wilkes, 

To those in the basement...or those that I did not mention above...(teehee), Tosca Geeslin, Chet Goedde, Donny Musick (how is the basement dog?), Kim, Melodae, Margaret, and who could forget sweet Rita???  Terri, Michael, Kenny, Sandy, Pam, Chris, Daniel, Penny (another super sweetie), Valerie, Heather, Kathy (I seen the pictures...teehee), Rick, Dan, Nate (are you always at Krogers??), Phillip, Tom, Beth, Judy, GJ, Jenny and Chucky (Are ya'll married yet?), Diane, Patti, Lorita, Karen, Ashley, Carol, Autumn, Debbie, Bridget, Kelly,  and hmmm  *thinking...I wish I had of kept some of the old newsletters....I know that I have forgotten some...but please don't take it personal...I see faces before me...but names, I have never been good at...

Even the perfect dream has a way of failing us when names and dates are concerned!

But there are moments that I will remember forever...and times that will always last.  Those moments have all of you in them.  

In closing, I must say...Thank you Mrs. Cheryl Cox...not only were you my Supervisor, but you were also my friend.  You were the insight behind the Census Newsletter....you were also the insight behind who I now am.

  "There was some recruiting, some testing, some grading, some singing, some deadlines, some eating, some shredding, some humming, some aggravations, some worrying going on."

Now all there is...is remembering....

tis you I remember the fondest.

It was the dream to beat all dreams...it was a fantasy come to life....it was 

Census 2000

~Jo~