: About Me

Rick De Bruyne Bio
My name is Rick Refin De Bruyne and I am 53 years old, happily married, for 30 years now to a wonderful and extremely patient wife, and I am father to 3 great boys. If they were reading this they would ask that I not use the term "boys" any longer, perhaps finding a way to define them as men, without making them sound "too" old. They probably don't care if you get the impression that I am old, but surely not them.

I am a Canadian citizen, but a legal resident alien here in the United States and I have lived for about 15 years now in Howell, Michigan. A nice town, with malls and plazas at both ends and empty stores in the downtown area. A sad sign of the times I'm afraid. My past may be a bit extensive to go into too much detail on, but, I am quite proud of the fact that I may be the only Phoenix University student who has worked the fields using horses, and I began to perform physical farm labor at age 9. That may be considered child labor, and may even be illegal today, but, remember, I did point out that I am 53 years old.

My brother and I have owned our own agricultural supply business in the past. We hit sales levels that awarded us with trips to the Bahamas, a Cruise, and a trip to Portugal. However, when the Canadian hog market fell to catastrophic levels in the early 80's, we experienced several farmers having to declare bankruptcy and my brother and I were forced to practically give our business away.

I was forced to begin looking for, that proverbial, "employment elsewhere."

I have stockpiled gravel, worked in a small zoo, and I have been a professional roofer. I have worked in a multitude of factories performing tasks like drumming tobacco stems, slinging farmers bales of tobacco, driving forklifts and dipping car parts in oil, prior to their shipment to assembly plants across North America.

In 1986 I was hired as a Production Supervisor, in the town I lived in. I worked in one of the oldest and largest Polyurethane Foam Plants in the world producing 34,000 foam car seats and 24,000 armrests and headrests each day. We shipped across North America to primarily Chrysler, GM and Ford. They were the "big three" and you heard little of Toyota, Honda, Nissan or any of the foreign transplants at that time. Their rise in popularity really didn't start until the mid-ninety's. I enjoyed my job, working with people and though I didn't consider it hard work, I worked hard at it. I was promoted to a Shift Superintendent, a Plant Superintendent, an Operations Manager, Assistant Plant Manager and then, the Plant Manager within 7 years. Following the Plant Managers position, I was promoted to a Launch Manager responsible for working with a Team to launch a new polyurethane foam operation designed to specifically supply Toyota's expansion into the Georgetown, Kentucky area. My life in the USA had begun.

Following the successful launch of the plant in Kentucky, I became a Quality Director for the company, followed by the Polyurethane Technology Center Manager, followed by the HR Director for Recruiting, then Compensation and Benefits, and finally the Health, Safety and Ergonomics Director. I had the opportunity to travel the world in these positions. Sadly, with the recent decline of the automotive economy in Michigan, primarily at GM, Chrysler and Ford, I found the company that I had worked for and dedicated 20 years of service to, decided that I was no longer needed.

In a new career now, as a Community Relations Officer for a non-profit agency, I have decided that I should, at last, pursue my educational degree. I have chosen the Health Administration Field because of my interest in the area and the outlook for employment looks promising for the future. As I have reached the age of 53, the pursuit of "employment elsewhere" has become a bit of a more frightening experience than when I was younger.

Creative Writing > Memoirs Testimonies: 18 years old and pregnant

5 of 7

DID YOU KNOW That, there will be 1,000,000 Teen Pregnancies this year in the United States and that 95% of those will be unintended? That, 40% of young women become pregnant before they reach 20 years old? That, the USA has double the adolescent pregnancy and birth rates than any other industrialized country? That less than one-third of all teen mothers will finish high school? That almost half of all teen mothers end up on welfare? That it is estimated that 38% of all females under the age of 18 have been involved in non voluntary sexual activity. This includes "date rape", incest, and ot...

More..

• Helium Charter Member