A while back my English class wrote business letters to companies around the country. I chose to write to Union Pacific because, well, you’ll see when you read it. For those of you who responded to my “Who do I contact?” post, thanks! That really helped me send it to the right dept.
OK, here is what I sent.
Dear Mr. Young:
I would like to applaud you for being a driving force to make Union Pacific a great company. I am a fifteen year-old rail fan, and over the past few years I have had some great experiences with UP. It all started when my mother’s college friend’s brother-in-law found out I loved trains. He is a conductor for Union Pacific and he sent me one of the most valuable presents I believe I will ever receive. A hat, the kind only distributed to employees.
The first time I figured out the hat was something special was June 1st, 2007 in Pueblo, Colorado. A Union Pacific mixed freight was stopped, waiting for a block to clear. My grandfather and I figured this was a good time to take some photos. Upon seeing my hat, the engineer poked his head out the window and asked if I would like to come up into the cab. Stunned, I found myself climbing the ladder and sitting in the engineer’s seat. My grandfather stood outside, taking pictures of his 11 year-old grandson sitting at the throttle of 12,000 horsepower.
The next ‘incident’ occurred last summer. My grandfather and I were at Topeka’s Great Overland Station, watching some new equipment being moved in. We thought we were lucky just to have been able to watch the move. Then a white Tahoe with Union Pacific markings pulled up and four UP employees got out. Presumably they were on lunch break and had come over to watch the move. One of them spotted my hat, and everything
Agreed, but hey, a Senior VP of anything is neat, too!
And as far as the writing goes…well let’s just say the best English teacher I have ever had is my grandfather. Never learned anything outstanding from anyone at school. In fact, aside from the 100% written at the top of the paper, the only comment I got from my English teacher: "Was a bit long, but enjoyed the story! " And yes, the did use a ’ ’ . [:$]
On the other hand, I have been thinking about using this letter as a base for an article I would submit to Trains. I would, of course, elaborate more.
Okay, tonight I finally don’t have any homework. I’m getting started on an article that I am planning to submit to Trains. Who knows if they will put it in, but hey, I can’t say I didn’t try!
For now, my questions are:
Could I get anyone fired for what they did? (See my letter above. UP did not say anything about it being “against company policy” but I just want to be safe.)
I still remember the names of some people, should I use full names (John Doe) or just first names (John) or stick with he/him/they? Don’t want to invade privacy or get anyone fired.
Appropriate length? (<500 words, <1000 words, 1 page, etc. I could write forever about this!)
Leapin’ Lizards ! How fortunate to have a tour of what I call the Railway Mecca of the U.S., from the google maps I can hardly fathom the size of that facility in North Platte, it’s enormous, are your next plans to move to North Platte?
" And yes, the did use a ’ 
