My Office Farewell Experience

Here is a chance to read my article that will be appearing in next week's Sanilac County News:

If you ask anyone who knows me what my favorite thing is, they would instantly exclaim, “Television.” My Before 30 Bucket List even includes meeting a celebrity. Little did I know that two months after creating my Bucket List, I would get the chance to meet not only one celebrity, but thirteen. All of whom star on one of my all-time favorite television series.

I remember the day I had heard the good news. It was opening day at Comerica Park and I had taken the day off of work in anticipation of a Tigers’ win. I awoke to a text from my friend Trisha informing me of a wrap party for the TV show The Office.  The festivities would take place a month later on May 4^th in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the “mockumentary” is based.

We arrived in the Electric City (Scranton’s nickname) at 10 PM Friday evening May 3rd. Finding ourselves famished after the 8 hour trek; we headed to Coopers Seafood Restaurant. This establishment has been a staple on the show since season one. It was surreal to actually be eating at a place I heard mentioned so many times on TV.

After a good night’s rest, we prepared ourselves for an entire day of celebrating one of the greatest shows of this decade. The morning started out with a Q and A panel with executive producer Greg Daniels. He expressed to the audience some of his favorite moments and talked about his experience working on the show for the last nine years.

Later that afternoon, the city of Scranton hosted a parade for the show’s farewell. The city was expecting

10,000 fans.  I was going to finally get a glimpse of my favorite actors from the small screen. A majority of the cast came out for the day including: John Krasinski (Jim), Jenna Fischer (Pam), Rainn Wilson (Dwight), Ellie Kemper (Erin), Kate Flannery (Meredith), Creed Bratton (Creed), Phyllis Smith (Phyllis), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin), Oscar Nuñez (Oscar), Paul Liberstein (Toby), Craig Robinson (Darryl), and Andy Buckley (David).

The parade was followed by a street festival where the cast was able to mingle with the fans. It was at this point where I was able to get an autograph from Phyllis Smith and Andy Buckley. Plus, I got my picture taken with John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, and Brian Baumgartner. I even had a brief conversation with Kate Flannery and Ellie Kemper.

The day’s events concluded with a panel discussion at PNC Field, home to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. They are the Triple A Affiliate for the New York Yankees. The entire cast was called out on the field to many cheers and applause from the audience. Once everyone was seated, an announcement was made that the empty seat still on the field would be filled by none other than Steve Carell. The audience went crazy as the original manager of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company walked out on the field.

The audience was treated to bloopers from the last nine seasons, a sneak peak of the following week’s new episode, free Dunder Mifflin swag, and another opportunity for autographs and pictures. The night concluded with the cast thanking the fans and a fireworks show. To end our time in Scranton, we ventured to the hotel the cast was staying. We were able to talk to Craig Robinson and even got a sight of Rainn Wilson heading to his room for the evening.

My time in Scranton is something I will forever hold close to my heart. As someone who is obsessed with TV, it was dreamlike being only five feet away from some of the most talented television actors. My next goal is to sit in the studio audience of a TV show. I hope it will compare to my weekend in Scranton with the employees of Dunder Mifflin. What a great way to say good-bye to a show that always left me satisfied and smiling. In the words of Michael Scott, “That’s what she said.”