PJ in the Corporate World

(I didn't get a picture of PJ all dressed up for his day at the office, because he & Neil left around 6:30 a.m., so this will have to do...)

Here in Ontario, Canada, they have a big "Take Your Kids to Work Day" for all the 9th grade students in the whole province. It's a really big deal, and a lot of fun for the kids. It was actually a couple of weeks ago, but I just didn't get around to posting this until now.

So Neil & PJ left at about 6:30 a.m. to head to work, to start around 7 a.m. Neil usually leaves at that time to avoid the heavy traffic. (After work, he leaves around 4:30, to be home around 5:00 p.m.). It takes about a half-hour to get to his office from our house, if he takes the 407 Expressway which is much faster than the regular freeway.

Sobeys had an entire day planned out for all the 9th graders. There were about 20 of them in all. They started off with a registration and breakfast. They all received a name badge (PJ's said Preston Checketts--National Food Safety, which is what Neil is over), as well as their agenda for the day, a lunch voucher, a certificate, and a "goodie bag" with all sorts of yummy Sobey's products in a nice reusable Sobeys bag.

After the registration & breakfast, they all watched a video about Sobeys over the past 100 years, then they handed out their Job Description assignments, so they could learn more about what their parent does each day. Then they were able to find out about all the different aspects of the company (Private label/merchandising, Recruitment/job opportunities and interview preparations, safety in the workplace, etc.) They got to have a tour of a couple of the facilities (one of the main offices, as well as one of the distribution centers). PJ thought that was really cool & amazing how big the distribution centers are & all that happens in them. Once they were done with that part, they took a bus back to the main office & had lunch with their parents in the corporate cafeteria. Then they got to go tour another warehouse, talk about more jobs invovled with the company, such as pilots that help transport products, etc. PJ thought it was all very interesting & didn't realize all that is involved with a large corporation like that. Then for the last couple of hours, they "job shadowed" their parent in their office, to see more of what they do on a day-to-day basis.

It was a great day & PJ had a lot of fun & learned a lot, and Neil had a great time too. On the way home, PJ said to Neil, "WOW, I'm tired! I don't know how you do that every day!" I think he got a greater appreciation for all that Neil does at his job. :) Now I think PJ needs to follow me around for a day or two to see that I don't just sit around doing nothing all day! Hahahahaha! :) Between cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, shopping & running errands, paying the bills, balancing the checkbook, running kids from one place to another, helping them with homework and projects, volunteering at the school several days a week, doing my church callings, among other things, I stay plenty busy & I think he'd be pretty tired out too. :) After PJ's long day at the office, he was able to enjoy the delicious treats in his "goodie bag" and even shared with the rest of us!