At a time when most people have long retired and called it a career, James Hughes is still hard at work providing service to DFAS customers in the Indianapolis Transportation Pay office.
Hughes started work in Indianapolis in October 1968 when he was 24 after taking the Civil Service exam and started his career in the mailroom delivering mail and packages. Over the years, he has worked a variety of positions and currently examines transportation vouchers.
"I have spent about two thirds my life here in the building," Hughes said. "I got lucky when I arrived and fell into a vacant job; I just kept moving jobs in the building."
Over the years, it has been a transformation for both Hughes and the Maj. Gen. Emmett J. Bean Federal Center. While the mission of paying the Army has not changed, the working atmosphere has.
"When I first came to work in the building there was an open ceiling with wires hanging down," Hughes said. "There was no air conditioning other than the General's office, the windows were painted green and opened using a long pole, plus smoking was allowed in the building.
"Later they brought in the first computer to the basement and needed air conditioning, it just kept going from there. There have been some unbelievable transformations at this place both inside and out."
Hughes can still remember when there were phone booths, "nasty" drinking fountains and partitions in the hallways as well. He appreciates relocating to Building 400 - now Ivy Tech Community College - for the DFAS renovation years.
Other changes have been significant as well.
"After my mailroom job I got a job as a clerk typist where we had to type using eight carbon sheets," Hughes related. "Every job I've had since I've been here I had to learn how to do it.
"I didn't learn how to work a computer until I was 50, but I'm 75 now and I am still learning each day."
One thing that has not changed, Hughes still prefers to dress casually rather than a coat and tie as well as his work ethic. Hughes credits his father for helping him create his work attitude.
"I try to be like my father," Hughes said. "I respect people, I work hard like he did and I get along with everybody like he always taught me to do."
The other piece of advice his father gave him was to join the union and while he no longer belongs due to being close to retirement, he credits them for supporting him and states, "they had my back."
Hughes job does not interact with customers but he has always felt his duty was to do the best he can for them.
"Freedom isn't free," Hughes says. "I don't see where my interactions go but I figure I can do my part to support our troops.
"I'm happy doing what I do and I enjoy the work."
Hughes walks the building each day and has been a regular participant for the past three years in the monthly DFAS Indianapolis "Walk with the Director."
He also credits his wife with taking good care of him and getting him to eat better.
"I wish I had ate better when I was young," he says, "but with a healthier lifestyle, I don't get sick like I used to. I am healthier now than I was at 30 years old. I just wish I'd done it sooner."
When asked whether retirement is on the horizon, Hughes ponders the thought.
"I've thought about hanging it up this year," he states, "I've got some ideas for the future but for the moment I will just keep on working and learning."
| Date Taken: |
05.07.2019 |
| Date Posted: |
12.31.2019 12:39 |
| Story ID: |
357857 |
| Location: |
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: |
36 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
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This work, 50 years of service to customers, by Steven Lawson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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