For a number of years, my nephew, Barry Schulenberg’s story has been life as usual, but recently all that has changed. Oh, many things are still the same. Barry still loves to go hiking, bicycle riding, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing with his wife of almost 18 years, Kelli Schulenberg. They also enjoy traveling and attending concerts. In addition to that, Barry is a hard-working man, taking care of their place in the country, splitting wood, watering their many trees, and taking care of their dog, Scout…or maybe, Scout takes care of them. Those things haven’t really changed in his life in quite a while.
The big news is that Barry’s work life is changing. Barry has worked for the State of Wyoming for a number of years now, as a field mechanic. That means that Barry goes to the truck that have broken down, instead of the trucks coming to him. That has meant overtime at times, because the truck, especially the snowplow trucks are a vital part of road maintenance in the Winter. Barry has traveled to several towns and sites around the Natrona County area to service the equipment used in these areas. All that is about to come to an end. Barry was recently offered and has accepted a promotion to a supervisory position. His boss is planning to retire soon, and they have asked Barry to replace him.
That said, Barry has been busily training for his new position, as well as training his own replacement who will be taking over when Barry moves up. For Barry, the promotion is with mixed feelings, because he has really enjoyed his job, but looking to the future, he knew that there would come a day when he would really need to come off of field work and have a job that has less travel, less time in the freezing cold, and less heavy physical labor. No, at 44 years old, Barry is not at that point yet but there will come a day, and if he doesn’t take the opportunity currently being offered, he could miss the opportunity all together. Being wise, Barry saw that, and so he decided to take the promotion now. I really couldn’t be happier for him. It will be a different kind of work, but I think he will find it interesting, and he is well like at work, so I know that the other men all wish him well as he moves up the ladder. I’m really excited for the next part of Barry’s future. Today is Barry’s birthday. Happy birthday Barry!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
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