Arizona Bound

So we've had a bit of a hiatus from the blog because our world is a bit crazy right now because....we are moving to Arizona!! Crazy huh?? We're right with ya! Brian was contacted to interview for a Director of National Promotions position at PetSmart national headquarters in Phoenix in late January/early February and learned a lot about the position, the team, the culture and whatnot. It would be a great position for him - a big promotion and get him back into more of the marketing world which he loves (which by the way his background is exactly what they wanted - a mix of retail merchandising at Target and vendor marketing at 3M. Did you know he helped launch 3M's Pet Care line? Who knew that would come back to help further his career!) We'd also get to the warmer weather which we've been craving ever since meeting in graduate school!

But the timing was just a bit off because Sara was set to interview two days after Brian got his offer for a promotion of her own. She would be leading a new team from the team she was currently on at Target - a larger team needing strategic direction and with the promotion would be at a new leadership level. And thinking about leaving all of our MN friends and family and Trevor's school and everything else it really was a tough decision to make. In the end after talking all weekend, we decided Brian would take the position and we would move. Eek!!

So Sara told her manager right away Monday morning because she didn't feel comfortable going through the interviews knowing she wouldn't be at Target long enough to make an impact in the new role and not wanting to burn any bridges given that you never know what can happen in the future! Sara's announcement came as quite a shock, which you can imagine (heck Sara was still in shock as she was telling her) but her manager couldn't be more supportive. Sara will always appreciate her reaction and support from that moment on. We decided to wait for a while to tell the larger team because her manager now had to figure out a plan to fill two positions (Sara's current one and the one she was being promoted to). It was almost 3 weeks until we told the larger team but once we did it felt good. Sara hates keeping secrets especially given her close-knit team. Not sure she'll ever work with a better team. She's going to miss everyone so much!! There's an opportunity for Sara to work at Target Tempe in more of a call center role but for now she is going to focus on getting the family relocated and settled until making a decision on the next step of her career.

Back to Brian, he had to keep his leaving Target secret for a bit too because he wanted to be sure he left work in a good place given he was in the middle of busy season. He also knew that as soon as he told his manager they would basically escort him out because that is just Target's policy when you leave to go to a competitor. Although in Brian's case after he told his manager they were trying to find a way around the rule given their busy time, but his VP was unsuccessful. Brian's manager found him in a 4:30 meeting and walked him out, however not before he was able to tell his team what was going on. They had a nice happy hour for him a few days later and he'll for sure keep in touch with his colleagues and friends going forward!

And what does Trevor think all of this? Because we know that's what you all really care about :) When we told him he said 'Cactus? Pool?' and then proceeded to find his swimsuit and attempt to put it on. We think he's going to like his new home just fine :)