Farewell to WWSI and thank you

Here is the letter that I wrote to my employer, Western Wood Structures, this morning:

Dear WWSI,

As you know, today is my last day of employment at Western Wood. It has been 9 ½ years since I detailed my first job (Bi-Mart in Medford, in case you were wondering), and I’ve probably done a couple of hundred since. Today that all comes to a close in preparation for our family’s move to the Tacoma, Washington area next week.

I’ve been involved in all kinds of projects during my time at WWSI and along with them came good experiences and bad experiences. I’m sure some days I inspired fist pumping and other days fist shaking. But now that it’s pretty much in the history books, I can say the good experiences have far outweighed the bad.

Along with all of the bridges, trusses and beams, our family has had many ups and downs during my time here. Personal tragedy, loss of family members and illness are on the downside. Getting married, buying our first house, adopting two kids from across the globe and, now, preparing for ministry opportunities are among the things on the upside. Looking back today and knowing all we learned from it, we probably wouldn’t change a thing.

I want to thank all of the salesmen for every disappointing walk down the hall to get some badly-needed help on a behind-schedule job, only to find that Eli wasn’t at work yet again because he was in the hospital with his sick wife. I’m sure this happened numerous times, but you didn’t complain. I hope I made it up to you in some other way.

To the field and shop guys: Yes, I probably did mess it up, but I can tell you how to fix it.

Lisa, Zendra and Arlen have managed my safety, wellness, salary, projects and mistakes for years. You may now officially relinquish those responsibilities. Except you, Zendra, in case I decide to go with that COBRA thing.

I also want to thank Steve Turner for his kindness and for guiding the company through tough times. I hope to see great things in the future.

Thanks to Paul, Jim and everyone in Engineering. Josh will get my desk so he can have room to prepare for that big test. (I guess that’s more than fair, seeing that Brent has left us for whatever that thing is he does.) Working with everyone in the department has been an awesome experience that’s taught me so much. Now if I could just find the seat cut of a sloped/tipped rafter like Jim, or draw a dome like Gary, or find that one Simpson hanger at the skylight like Yumiko…

I guess I’ve said enough. If you need to reach me in the future, you can reach me by e-mail at my personal e-mail address or talk to Zendra. Once again, thank you all and blessings on the days to come.

Eli

P.S. Once I get to the South Sound, Jamie, I’ll go down the street every now and then to make sure Lower Burnett Bridge is still standing.

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Eli Garcia, No-Longer Engineering Technician
Western Wood Structures, Inc.

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