February 2019 marks four years at Oral Arts Dental Lab as an official employee. Before I was officially hired on staff at the lab on February 16, 2015, I was a temporary employee beginning in November of 2014.

My stint at Oral Arts is the longest job that I have ever held down with one company. I will admit, I thought there were times that I would not last. Although there have been great times and frustrating times, I am glad that I did not quit and I stayed with Oral Arts.

I am enjoying the hours running work in between floors in the morning. This position not only allows me to get exercise but it will enable me to gather ideas for the company newsletter, which I work on in the marketing department a few afternoons each month.

The newsletter has received positive feedback from employees at the company. The publication is a great way to bring employees together and, in my opinion, has been my most significant contribution to making the company stronger.

Last December I did my first video interview for the newsletter with the vice president of the company for Oral Arts’ year in review. Although I was nervous, I feel that interviewing subjects for Alabama Living helped me in going with the flow for this video interview.

This year my goal at the company is not to let all the distractions on the Shipping and Receiving Department floor in the mornings get to me and to solely focus on my task and drown out the distractions. With the newsletter, my goal is to incorporate more interactive features. I am already doing this by adding picture slideshows with music of company projects or events as well as doing more research pieces into trends within the dental industry.

Next year will not only be my 5th anniversary at Oral Arts, but it will also be the company’s 50th anniversary. I thank my co-workers who have helped me to grow and not only become a better employee but being allowed to use my talents to help the company prosper.