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People: Shannon Johnson
Born in North Carolina,
Shannon Johnson spent many of her early years traveling among textile-rich
southern states, calling home wherever her father worked at textile plants.
Interest in foreign languages and travel grew
out of that youth. By then, Shannon had moved to Salem, graduated from South
Salem High School and enrolled at Western Oregon University where international
studies and French consumed her interest. Well, at least intellectually. It was
there in 1991, that she met Eric, the man of her life. Rather than finishing
college, they elected to get married, get jobs and start a family. Their two
daughters, Sarah and Audrey, are 5 and 3 respectively.
S hannon,
a Customer Service Representative at Salem Electric since last September, says
she applied for the job at the urging of employee Craig Koller. "I was working
part time at the Courthouse Athletic Club in West Salem," she explains, "and
Craig was a member there. I worked in the early mornings when he would come in,
and I guess my being friendly, consistent and happy impressed him."
Eric worked for a time at Parker Furniture in
Portland, where he learned to restore wood furniture. In Salem, he has since
owned his own business, restoring chairs, tables, and even pianos. In their
spare time, the couple enjoys gardening, hiking and cycling. Shannon says they
bought a pull-behind bicycle trailer for the girls, so they could frequent Bush
Park, South River Road and Minto Brown trails for pleasure and exercise.
But a recent house fire has put a big dent in
those activities. "While we were away for a weekend in Palm Springs a fire
started in the garage," Shannon explains. "We lost almost everything, including
Eric’s tools and equipment, and one of our cars." Fortunately, the family had
renters insurance which will help get them back on their feet.
With the same attitude that makes her a good
Customer Service Representative, Shannon explains that the fire may have
positive, though unintended, benefits. Eric, who has always shown a great
interest in art, has used his loss of livelihood as an opportunity to go back
to school. He is currently taking courses at a clay-sculpting studio in
Troutdale. The couple is also leaning toward buying their first home instead of
renting again.
Listening to Shannon’s voice, you can’t tell she
learned to talk in the South. She says that when visiting family in North
Carolina and Virginia, “It doesn’t take me any time at all to pick up the
accent again." Likewise, she says that the accent disappears quickly --like a
tan-- after returning to Oregon. It may be an indication of her adaptability, a
chameleon-like quality that allows her to quickly size up and fit into any new
situation.
That same quality is used at work every day at
Salem Electric, especially as she deals with occasional customers with
difficult financial situations of their own. With humor, grace and--most
importantly--compassion, Shannon works with those customers to help them meet
their obligations and save face at the same time. "I've never shopped or worked
in a place like Salem Electric before, where the policy is to give the customer
every possible avenue and opportunity to make their payments and feel good
about it," Shannon
says.
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