From a tent to homeowner: Pallet employee Alex on accomplishing his goals 

In April 2019, Alex embarked on the path of recovery after using substances for more than a decade. Once he got his life back on track, Alex focused on setting and accomplishing goals, such as getting his license back and buying a car. He joined Pallet along the way and shared the challenges of his journey last year. Since then, Alex has accomplished even more. He shares the details below.  

The following has been lightly edited for length and clarity.  

Pallet: Things have been going well for you these days. 
Alex: We bought our first home, which was huge. Going from a tent to owning my own home in three and a half years, that’s pretty big. I didn't even remotely think that we would be close to even qualifying for it, but my brother gave us his realtors information and we contacted them, and we got approved. Never thought that. With the market the way that it was at the time, I mean, houses were going like that (snaps fingers). We were lucky enough to only look at two houses. And the second house, we put an offer on, and our realtor called us that night and said that we didn't get it. We got out- bid, kind of bummed. But then the next morning she called and said that they retracted their offer and that we got it. So that was pretty exciting. It's a three bedroom, two-bathroom home and it's wonderful. We’ve got a big yard and yeah, it's great. 
 
Pallet: What's it like to own a home? 
Alex: It's phenomenal. Just having our own place and not paying somebody else's bills. And it's just a feeling that I didn't think was possible, at least at this stage. I had set a goal when I got clean to get a home in five years and accomplished it in three. I’m pretty proud of myself for that and Amber. She was a big part of it too. And we also got engaged. I think we're going to be setting a wedding date for September of next year. And we got a dog two months ago named Bud. He's a black lab. Then we got a new puppy, Yoda. He's a beagle bull. So, beagle and a pit bull. And he's just freaking cute. But he is a little ball of joy. Little terror, though. But the kids love him, which is great. 
 
Pallet: You were also promoted. Why did you apply for the role? 
Alex: Another huge step. Went from the manufacturing side and production to Inventory Control Specialist. It’s a brand-new position for this company. I saw an opportunity to take my career to the next level. I was almost at the top of where I was at and saw a chance to get something that will pay off. Another motivator was Damon (Supply Chain Manager) and the rest of the supply chain team themselves and them all being great people. 
 
Pallet: What are your responsibilities? 
Alex: Cycle counting and comparing the numbers that are actually on hand to what our value in QuickBooks says. When there are anomalies, I have to figure out what caused them and then figure out what needs to happen to fix them. Then what needs to happen to prevent them from happening again. It's great working for Damon. He is a phenomenal boss, and all the other supply chain team members are really great. 

I have to take a course, CPIM which stands for Certified in Production and Inventory Management. It's an online college course that will help me with my role. I'm working on that and that is huge. It's a lot, a lot of reading, a lot of studying. And I have to take two exams to get the certificate, but once that's completed, that'll hold some good weight and hopefully help me with my role and my future career. 

Pallet: You’ve reached several milestones in the last few years. Have you set new goals? 
Alex: The next minor, small one is to buy a truck and a boat. My son loves fishing and so does Amber. So that's kind of something I see myself doing in the next three years. But career-wise I would definitely be finishing my CPIM course and hopefully moving up higher in the supply chain team. Obviously staying with Pallet. My heart is definitely with this place. Getting married, that's definitely something that we want to check off. I need to continue to move forward. In order for my recovery to be successful, I need to have those milestones. No matter how big or small, I still have to set some kind of goal to be successful with myself. 
 
Pallet: Have your familial relationships changed since you’ve been in recovery? 
Alex: When I fell off, they kind of stood back. But as they've seen the progress that I've made, it's all come back tenfold. It's been great. Especially the relationship with my dad. It always used to be when I’d call him, it'd be something that he'd have to worry about, why I'm calling, what's going on this time? But now when I call, he's excited and we can have an actual conversation. I've earned trust back. I've earned all of it back. Good standing with the families. Recently my dad, mom and my 84-year-old grandma visited, and they got to see my new home. We spent the weekend with them, and it was a good time. 

Pallet: You’ve been in recovery for almost four years now. Do you stop often and take that in? 
Alex: Time just flies by. I can't believe it's already been that long. But the more I can push that in the past — I still reflect on it from time to time and, you know, remember where I came from. I'm just so thankful every day that I got out. The blessings that I have today are just so great. My family is just wonderful. I love really everything about my life right now. It's just great. I want to continue going up and doing the next best right thing. It’s good.