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Have you ever had to reinvent yourself, because of the big changes in our local economy or in your personal life? Did you lose a job, go back to school, do things you never thought you’d be doing? What is that like?

ReInvention Stories: Debbie Bradley

Debbie Bradley
Debbie Bradley

General Motors started manufacturing trucks in Dayton in 1951. Fifty-seven years later, GM closed its Moraine Assembly plant and over two thousand people lost their jobs - including Debbie Bradley of Fairborn. After 13 years at GM, Bradley started hearing rumors. GM was struggling. The plant might close. Bradley wanted to have a Plan B. So she took a placement test at Sinclair Community College. 

In the spring of 2008, before GM announced they would close the plant, they wanted to reduce the size of their workforce. They offered workers like Bradley a cash buyout. They made the offer twice, and the second time Bradley took the money.

This ReInvention Story was produced by Julia Reichert, Steve Bognar, Eric Risher and Sarah Buckingham.

Also visit ReInventionStories.org.  You’ll find a super cool multi-media, interactive website that tells seven more reinvention stories in a longer format. And that’s where you can tell your story and include your
own photographs.

ReInvention Stories is brought to you by WYSO and Localore, a national initiative produced by AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio, Incorporated – in collaboration with Zeega- with financial support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Originally broadcast January 30th, 2013.