There are “Army Brats” and Then There are “Home Depot Brats”…

Katie McCranie (Store Manager, Store #1511) is a self-proclaimed “Home Depot Brat.” Growing up, she and her family moved all over the country as her father helped opened new Home Depot stores. Her mother, Della, also worked for the company.

The journey started nearly 23 years ago. Jim and Della McCranie owned a restaurant in Louisiana before Jim set his sights on Atlanta in search of new opportunities. By chance, Jim walked into a Home Depot store. After starting as a plumbing associate, he was promoted to Assistant Store Manager a short time later.

With each promotion came a new adventure for the McCranie family.  Together, they travelled the United States as Jim assisted with opening new Home Depot locations. Their travels included stops from New York and Connecticut to Boston and Texas.

“Some of my earliest memories involve being in the store,” says Katie. “Everyone loved my Dad. He was the manager everyone wanted to work for.”

Little did Jim and Della know that their daughter Katie would eventually follow in their footsteps in Carrollton, Texas, where she got her first job as a cashier. After a hiatus to attend college, she returned to the company and helped open the Flower Mound, Texas store where her brother currently works (Yes – Katie’s brother, Hunter, also works for The Home Depot!). After stints in Lewisville, TX, Durango, CO, and Farmington, NM she landed at the Pueblo, CO store that she now manages. At the end of it all, Katie lived in seven states in 28 years!

Today, Jim McCranie is a Garden Department Supervisor at Store #6566. Della McCranie works as a Flooring Department Supervisor at the same store, where they carpool to work.

“My parents always spoke so fondly of the company and everything that it has done for our family,” she says. “It has become the family business in an interesting way.”

So from shore to shore and store to store, Katie McCranie has been a valued employee of The Home Depot – and in this case, it runs in the family.

For more associate stories from beyond The Home Depot aisles visit http://beyondtheapron.tumblr.com/.