About 1,000 Shaw Industries employees and their family members gathered on the lawn in front of the Thomson plant Saturday to celebrate the annual Family/PRIDE Day.
PRIDE Day is a recognition given to facilities in Shaw Industries that reach goals -- including safety improvements, quality improvement, waste reduction and turnover reduction -- set by their upper management.
During Saturday's celebration, employees and family members played games like Bingo and Ultimate Trivia, while kids played on inflatable moon walks, giant slides, an obstacle course, and other midway type games. Food, beverages and snow cones were served throughout the celebration.
Saturday's celebration was coupled with the annual Shaw Safety/Health fair. Several local service providers had educational booths set up for the employees and their family members. Some of the organizations represented included McDuffie EMS, McDuffie Fire Department, Thomson Fire Department, Warrenton Fire Department, Georgia Wildlife Law Enforcement, McDuffie 911 and the Georgia State Patrol.
Medical screenings and information such as blood pressure, cholesterol, dental and diabetes were done by the Medical College of Georgia, Dr. Bill Jopling, Dr. Charles Brunson, Sheppard Community Blood Center and others. The children received a special treat when the Gold Cross Air Med helicopter landed, and allowed visits into the cockpit.
Saturday's celebration was just the beginning for some Shaw employees. A representative group of employees from the Thomson Facility will attend the corporate PRIDE Day celebration at the home office in Dalton, Ga., in May. The employees traveling to this celebration have been selected from the Top Performers.
And there are also plans for another local celebration.
The accomplishments that qualified the Thomson Facility for the PRIDE Day celebration also qualified them to apply for the R.E. Shaw Award -- the highest honor and most prestigious award offered within Shaw Industries. It is based on improvement efforts and business results of the facility.
Recently, the employees were informed they had also won this award for 2003. Celebration plans for the RE Shaw Award are still in the planning stages. This is the second year in a row that the Shaw Industries Thomson Facility has been honored with this award.
