[Rhodes22-list] Results Of My Job Interview

[Roger Pihlaja]

Hi Everybody,

I just got back form Georgia.  The interviews went well.  I was the 3rd candidate out of a total of 5 they are interviewing.  They said they'd get back with me one way or the other by May 19th.  The position was not what I was expecting.  They really want more of a plant or operations manager as opposed to a technical manager.  Initially, I'd be taking about a 20% pay cut vs. my last salary at the Dow Chemical Co. , but down the road there'd be stock options & other perks that would probably make up most of that difference, assuming the company does well.  In a small company, as plant manager, I'd have quite an impact on whether the company does well or not.  I'm a little concerned about the company's senior management & order of succession.  Isotec is privately owned with the bulk of the shares in the hands of present CEO & his two sons.  The present CEO is 65 & will surely retire in the foreseeable future.  Neither of his sons want to run the company.  I'm a little concerned that they might sell out to some larger player in the urethanes business, which could make the current plant manager persona non grata...They sort of hinted that I might be a candidate to take over the CEO spot when he retires?!?  I'm thinking, "Yeah right, you just met me 2 hours ago & now you're telling me you want to groom me for a chance to buy into your family owned business & run it in 3-5 years?"  That's real credible!  Either I REALLY impressed them or they think midwesterners don't have a lick of sense.

On a more personal note, I got invited to a real down south crawfish boil right on the plant floor in the shipping dept.  I met with the CEO twice, right in the beginning & right at the end.  During my wrap-up interview, we got to talking about my experiences with southern cultureI was living in Russellville, AR from 1987 - 1990.  I happened to mention that one of the things I really missed about Russellville were the crawfish boils at the plant.  Well, apparently they were just happening to be having a crawfish boil that very evening & would I like to come.  Well, that decision was a no-brainer.  So, that's where I had dinner & got to meet most of the employees & their families.  One of the wives couldn't believe a yankee knew anything about how to peel crawfish, so I challenged her to a race.  We each had to peel & eat 30 crawfish.  It was pretty close, but she beat me by about two crawfish!  I told her we'd have to try that again when I've practiced a little more.  It was a lot of fun & they made me feel real welcome.

I stayed overnight in Canton, GA.  On Thursday, I explored the town & surrounding area a little bit.  I drove over to Lake Allatoona.  They've had so much rain lately that the lake is 6 feet about normal summer pool.  Many of the day use areas, beaches, & camp grounds were flooded.  So, the area was not looking its best.  But, I could still tell it's quite beautiful.  I visited a couple of marinas to check on boat slips.  It looks like a 25 foot slip with water & electricity will cost about $85/month.  There's also quite a bit of real estate for sale around Lake Allatoona within a 20 mile drive from Canton.  Lake Allatoona itself is about 5X bigger in area than Sanford Lake, where I currently live.

So, the job search goes on.  Stay tuned.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium