HR Coordinator Kayla Wells and her team hosted a Bring Your Child To Work Day event at our Columbus, Ohio branch. Read about the activities parents shared with their kids on this special day.
Simpson Strong-Tie Columbus hosted Bring Your Child to Work Day this year. We had a total of 63 kids and parents in attendance. The day started out with Zachary Harrison, the Plant Operations Northeast Region Director, and Bryan Rychlik, our Branch Manager VP. They both helped introduce our branch to the kids and gave them a rundown on what we do here.
We then went into our lab for a robot demonstration. Our robot picked up some hardware to smash some plates, picked up a knife to pop some balloons, then pulled on a string that made balloons fall from the ceiling. Afterwards we did a tour of the plant where the kids were able to see how our products are made from start to finish and get a glimpse of what some of their parents do on a day-to-day basis.
The last activity of the day was building a workbench using our WBSK kit. Using precut wood, we completed a half-sized workbench. We plan on placing these workbenches in Lowe’s or Home Depot stores around Ohio as displays. Our team had a blast, and I can’t wait to host again next year!
After the event, I reached out to a few of our employees who attended this event with their children to share a little about themselves and what their children thought about the event. I was excited and happy to hear that the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. This was a wonderful way to give kids a better understanding of what our company does and where their parents go to work every day.
From Bryan Donohue — Shipper/Receiver
“I started in the manufacturing department in 2020. I was a material handler to start, then transitioned to the UPS department in August 2021. It’s been a great experience and there’s always something to learn. The Bring Your Child to Work Day was a lot of fun. My kids learned where I worked and what I did here at Simpson Strong-Tie. They enjoyed the tour and had a blast building the bench. They can’t wait to return. Both of my kids made new friends and took away a whole new experience for the day. Thanks, Simpson Strong-Tie, for having them!”
From Bill Megahan — Regional Sales Manager, National Retail
“Bring your Child to Work Day was a big success in Columbus this year as we had record participation. My 14-year-old son, Patrick, participated this year (probably his last, as he starts high school next year) as he has done four or five times previously. When we were driving home at the end of the day, he told me right away that this was the best one yet by far. When I asked him what made this one better than the others, he talked about the workbench build as his favorite thing, followed closely by the robot demonstration in the test lab. He loved the fact that the workbenches we built were actually going to be used to help us sell more Simpson products in Lowe’s and Home Depot. Special thanks to the HR team for making this day so memorable for all the children, as it was great for them to see what all of their moms and dads do to make the world we live in a place with safer and stronger structures due to all of the products we manufacture.”
