Nate S. of Lawler-Wood Y-12 and Jan West, deputy manager of Production and Operations, take a moment to exchange cost-free kindness. Nate has been working in Oak Ridge for 35 years, and he says he has enjoyed every day of it.
“It doesn’t cost a thing to be nice.”
That’s a good thing for Nate S. of Lawler Wood Y-12, because if it did cost, he’d probably be penniless.
If you haven’t met Nate, it might be that you’ve never visited Y-12’s Jack Case Center. Every afternoon, he makes the rounds of the Y-12 Field Office and CNS workspaces, and his infectious laugh and ever-present smile always go with him.
One person who has received Nate’s unlimited graciousness is Production and Operations Deputy Manager Jan West, and she believes there is something to be learned from him.
“Nate is the kind of person that makes your day better when you see and talk to him. He is always smiling and has a kind word to say,” she said. “We’re lucky to have him as part of the Y-12 team, and I am lucky my path has crossed his.”
“I believe that if you work happy, you go home happy,” Nate said. “You can’t carry around bad feelings, whether they came from home or from work. You have to take a problem, look at it, and find a way to deal with it. That way, you and everyone around you can do what it takes to do the best job possible.”
His cheerfulness has been with him his whole life, but his teamwork philosophy goes back to his days playing football and other sports at his alma mater Myrtle Beach High School. Athletics came easy (he still holds the 100-yard dash record there), and he was asked to play football at the University of Tennessee.
What did he learn? Playing from 1975 through 1980 for coaches Battle and Majors, he found out not only that it takes a team working together to win, but even when you don’t win, you still maintain faith and look for ways to improve.
Set with these principles for life, Nate spent time working for a cable company before applying in 1990 for Martin Marietta’s guard force, which then covered three sites in Oak Ridge (K-25, Y-12, and Oak Ridge National Lab). He got the job, but he was immediately faced with a challenge.
The physical portion of the qualification test was easy for Nate, but the firearms qualification test was something he’d never encountered before.
“I’d never shot a gun before, and you had to qualify with a score of 25,” he said. “They had me train with experts and I qualified, but it was a struggle. I never really was great at it.”
Nate spent time at ORNL and Y-12 as a security police officer until 2007, when he saw an advertisement for a new employer, Lawler Wood Y-12. They were just completing construction of the Jack Case and New Hope centers, and the company was looking for employees to staff both buildings. He decided to trade his security police officer uniform for the uniform of a facilities technician, and he has never regretted the decision.
“I’m truly blessed that I’ve been able to stay in Oak Ridge working for 35 years,” he said. “I’ve worked for Lawler Wood Y-12 for the last 18 years, and it has been a great experience. I enjoy every day that I come to work.”
Sounds as if Nate has gained plenty, and all just by using something that costs nothing. He says he is planning on retiring in the near future. Until then, he’ll be handing out smiles and hellos free of charge.