September 16, 2020: Bobby Russ
There are times that people act cautious around me trying not to mention the tragedy. However, that's not necessary. Talking about things have always been how I've tried to deal with. Burying it doesn't make it go away and it only brings out the darkness by doing that. As such, I face things head one. I spoke with an associate tonight about preparing for death to help them, because one never knows when it will come. All of this taught me that we must always try to plan for the future, but try to live now as well. It's a delicate balance and I appreciate all of the help that Renee had given me on that.
I've written about how I helped her improve. It's part of what a partner does, but it wasn't one sided either. She helped me to grow and to be better. My successes she helped to fuel and supported me through think and thin. Even when I doubted myself, she had faith in me. It's a challenge now with her gone, but I know part of her will never be gone cause she is in my heart and core. I can hear her love and opinions in my head cause of my time with her.
Tonight, I want to share a post by Renee from 4 years ago even though it seems like it was relatively yesterday:
Septembter 16, 2016: Renee Row
Training is almost over, so glad to be going home to Bobby Russ today..... Missed my honey and of course my daughter Heather Marie Hall. As
of midnight tonight.... I am officially an assistant manager on salary!
She had written that as she was wrapping up her Assistant Manager training. I was so proud of all the hard work she put in. We had a goal and she reached it. She was so excited to be starting her journey as a salaried member of management. She would spend the rest of her Wal-Mart career as one living by the mantra "Happy to Help". Even now, there is a hole in many leadership positions from her being taken from us. Questions that would have simply been answered quickly by a phone call or text... Where do we get that information now?
But it wasn't just information that she provided. Lynn Marie Freda , who was one of the associates that worked for Renee told me that Renee was the best assistant manager they had. She had worked with her the day this happened. Renee was the only assistant that made her promise to go to the doctors when they had bronchitis. She had suffered for over a week at work, but Renee made her promise on her day off to go. When she did, she was out for a week recovering from it. Renee didn't see the associates at any store she worked just as numbers to plug into the equation for coverage. Renee considered every individual as important and each with their own personal life and story.
She saw every associate as a person who needed to be cared for. She believed in people and would reach out. For this, she earned the love and respect of many assocites from all over the state. It's why Lynn (and many others) miss her every day of the week. While someone can fill the title of Manager, no one can truly replace Renee. She was a person that people wanted to be around with. She understood the need to vent... In the end, Renee was very loved for a good reason. I know I am not the only person who treasured the time they got with her even if it was on different levels.
Thank you Renee for helping all of us. Don't forget on September 22nd to pause a moment to honor her.