It was a Saturday in early September last year. Martha Brown was among the enormous crowd of college football fans at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, standing and cheering wildly. The turnover that had just taken place was a huge play for Auburn. But for Martha, it was personal. Her son, Derrick, had made the fumble recovery in his very first game with the Auburn Tigers.
For this Walmart department manager and mother of three, it was a heartwarming validation of the countless hours she had put in supporting and guiding her son through years of practices, games and recruitment trips.
Twelve years ago, while working as a cashier in Buford, Georgia, Martha made a promise to her kids: She would never miss a game. That meant working overnight shifts and odd hours. “Sometimes, on Friday or Saturday nights, I came straight to work after a game,” she said. But through it all, Martha says her supervisors made every effort to accommodate her commitment to her children.
In fact, her store manager and fellow associates went even further, donating sports drinks and water to Derrick’s team and sponsoring picnics as a way to give back to the community.
Martha’s not working overnights anymore. Her 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. shift gives her the ability to spend time with her daughter and younger son, guiding them through afterschool activities. But that doesn’t mean Martha has stopped taking advantage of flexible scheduling. She’s still able to build her work shifts in such a way that she can make the long drive to Auburn – and away games all over the South – during the football season.