Preston Goad wasn’t sure what a probate judge does on a daily basis. After spending a morning last week shadowing Franklin County probate judge Barry Moore, Goad has a much better idea, and appreciation, for Moore’s job.
Along with his 27 fellow Junior Leadership students, Goad took part in the annual job shadowing day last Thursday. Junior Leadership is coordinated by Franklin County Chamber of Commerce executive director Cassie Medley. Medley took student requests for where they wanted to spend the day, and she then contacted local businesses and professionals to see if they were willing to take part.
“They gave three options of professions they might be interested in as a career,” Medley said. “Very few of the businesses turned me down. We had really good participation from our business community for Job Shadowing Day.”
Goad, who is interested in a career in law, learned about the many hats worn by a probate judge.
“He does wills, adoptions, guardianships, conservatorships and issues marriage licenses,” Goad, a Russellville High School junior, said. “I really didn’t know what a probate judge did, so this has been an interesting day.”
Moore explained the duties of his office to Goad and encouraged him to run for probate judge one day—just not in the immediate future.
“I’d love to see him run for public office some day, just not right away,” Moore joked. “It’s good to have young people come in and find out what different professions do and see if they have an interest in that field as a career. I’m happy to be involved in the program.”
With a possible interest in firefighting, RHS junior Jesus Betancourt spent the day with the Russellville Fire Department. He received a first-hand look at what the firemen do during calls and between calls. Although the duties are different, the firefighters stay busy during both times.
“It’s really hard work, and you need a lot of selflessness and patience,” Betancourt said. “The people you serve aren’t as patient as you are, because it’s their home and their lives being affected in an emergency. You’ve got to be patient when dealing with folks.”
Firefighter Aubry Harris gave Betancourt an honest assessment of the job and the relationship among the firefighters.
“We love each other like brothers, and we fight like brothers. It’s a family when you work together 24-hour shifts,” Harris said. “We’re with this family as much as our family at home.”
Working an average of 2,800 hours per year, Russellville firefighters eat, sleep and stay at the fire station for 24-hour shifts.
“I’ve been here twenty years and worked a bunch of days, but I can truly say there’s never been one day the same as another, whether we have a call or not,” Harris said. “You learn to expect anything can happen. You could be seconds from a call that could last fourteen to fifteen hours or as simple as picking someone up off the floor.”
Junior leaders job-shadowed a variety of businesses, including G&G Steel, Russellville Drugs, Joe M. Tucker, CPA, Russellville Animal Clinic, 4th Street Grill in Red Bay, Encore Rehab and others. Medley said she had some unusual requests this time that she hadn’t received in the past.
“We had one student wanting to shadow a chef, so we set him up at 4th Street Grill in Red Bay to see what happens before the lunch rush,” Medley said. “It’s a lot more than people just showing up. He got to see all the prep work and planning that goes into the day.”
RHS junior Jocelyne Solares wanted to shadow a politician, so she spent the day with Red Bay mayor Charlene Fancher.
Regardless of where students went, they had responsibilities to document what their experience was like.
“They fill out a questionnaire about their day, what they learned, what was eye-opening, etc. We want them to learn from and think about the experience,” Medley said.
