alabama - Experience Works

Transcription

ALABAMA
David C. Jamison, 74
Associate Director
Southeast Intervention Group, Inc.
Dothan, Alabama
“My love of working with people to
solve problems” has, according to David
Jamison, been key to his success in a career
spanning nearly 50 years. In his first job as
a pastor, after graduating from Princeton University
with a Master’s of Divinity, he learned the importance of creating public/private
partnerships to solve community problems. He put this knowledge to use in
subsequent jobs. A partial list includes executive director of New Haven Council
of Churches, senior development director at the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development, and founder/counselor of ServantCare Counseling &
Wholeness Center in Savannah, Georgia. He currently is associate director of an
organization he helped found, the Southeast Intervention Group, Inc., a long-term
residential rehabilitation center for substance abusers.
He also has his own consulting business, Genesis Associates, Inc., a consulting
and training firm working with public interest corporations and nonprofit groups.
In addition, Mr. Jamison is involved with a nonprofit community group to restore
a downtown neighborhood and with the senior community of Dothan and
Houston County in a planning effort to build a model facility for senior adults.
Add extensive volunteer activities, hobbies including bicycling and photography,
and time spent with his wife and family, and you begin to understand why he says
one of the challenges he faces in the workplace is “allocation of time to the most
important activities.”
As he looks back on his life, what he describes as a defining moment came
during the street riots of 1967 when a neighborhood he was helping develop
became what he calls a “war zone.” He brought street leaders and city officials
together to work out the issues. “The experience,” he says, “taught me much about
the need to build on trust to resolve deep-seated problems.” It’s a lesson he still
applies 41 years later.
Experience Works 2008 Prime Time Awards
ALASKA
Dolly Kvande, 68
Older Worker Specialist
Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training
Juneau, Alaska
Dolly Kvande is an older worker
specialist helping those who are less
fortunate to get back to work. She provides
support services to Senior Community Service
Employment Program (SCSEP) participants in areas
such as job development, personal or vocational counseling, and training. She
counsels seniors about finding services that will help them successfully re-enter
the workforce. She also teaches software skills and accounting to older workers.
Ms. Kvande was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. During her early
working years, she worked in various seafood canneries and cold storages. She
decided that after 22 years of “working in freezing cold storages and working
with crabs, it was time to look for a regular eight to five o’clock job with
benefits.” In 1982, she went back to school in Sitka to complete her GED, studied
business at the University of Alaska in Sitka, then continued her education at
the university’s Juneau campus. While in Sitka, she worked for the Sitka Council
on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, counseling adults and youth about substance
abuse. Her experience in this job would prove invaluable for her later work with
the SCSEP.
In 1988, while she was attending college in Juneau, Ms. Kvande was hired
to work at the Sealaska Heritage Foundation as a receptionist and assistant to
the finance officer. With her subsequent job with the Sealaska Corporation, she
reached her long-term employment goal. She retired in 1994, returned to work
at the Juneau Alliance for the Mentally Ill until briefly retiring again in 2002. She
then enrolled in the Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills program to prepare her to
re-enter the workforce. That program helped her update her skills and led to her
current career with the SCSEP.
Ms. Kvande is a member of Women of the Moose, Elks Emblem Club,
American Legion League of Auxilary, Goldbelt and Sealaska Native Corporations
and the Yees Kuoo dance group.
ARIZONA
John D. Balmer, 68
Chief Underwriter
Sagicor
Prescott, Arizona
John Balmer is the Chief Underwriter
for Sagicor Life Insurance Corporation.
When a financial planner submits an application
for life insurance, he evaluates the risk and approves
the issuance of a policy. In addition, he plans and
implements new products and sets underwriting guidelines. His job requires
extensive interaction with financial planners to determine what is best for their
clients.
Mr. Balmer started his career in the insurance business in 1966, when he
went to work for North American Life and Casualty in Minneapolis. He returned
to work for North American (later Allianz) in 1973 after working for two other
companies, including one in Munich, Germany, and stayed until he retired in
2000.
Mr. Balmer was born in Pipestone, Minnesota. His family eventually moved
to Duluth, where he finished high school and college. When he finished college,
he was drafted into the Army, where he served as payroll clerk. When he was
discharged in 1965, he was referred to a company looking for underwriters. He
found that he enjoyed the work and stayed with it.
In order to stay current, he attends seminars throughout the year. He says
that his initial training in the industry was “on the job.” He believes education
is essential to keep up in an ever-changing world and his company supports
his efforts to do so. His future professional goals are to continue helping make
Sagicor, and his department, one of the best.
Mr. Balmer attributes his success to his thorough knowledge of the job. He
tries to project a positive image to his co-workers and set a good example.
When he is not working or on his 200-mile round trip commute, Mr. Balmer
enjoys reading and taking courses in all topics. He was a marathon runner for
years and says that finishing his first marathon was a defining moment in his life.
ARKANSAS
Edward R. Johnson, 78
Local Veterans Representative
Department of Workforce Services
Rogers, Arkansas
When he was 18, Edward Johnson
enlisted in the United States Army. It was
August 31, 1948. Over the next 30 years, he served in
Japan, Korea, the Panama Canal Zone and Vietnam.
At the time of his discharge in August 1978, he was a
sergeant major and had a chest full of medals.
He went to his local employment office early in 1979 to apply for
unemployment benefits, but instead ended up with the job that he’s held
for almost 30 years. As the local veterans representative at the Fayetteville
(Arkansas) Department of Workforce Services, he helps veterans find
employment and assists disabled veterans on special projects. What motivates
him to stay on the job other than income? “The pleasure of putting veterans to
work and their excitement when hired,” he responds.
Though tasked with finding employment for veterans, Mr. Johnson does
not hesitate to assist others when he can. He has become the mentor for new
employees, particularly veterans in the work/study program. He has also taken
it upon himself to provide recognition (award, certificates) to employers who
provide outstanding service to the department’s clientele.
Not only does he keep up to date on the technology needed to perform
his duties, he shares what he learns with other staff members. Co-workers
appreciate more than his expertise. To their delight, he often fires up a grill in
the parking lot and provides hamburgers and hot dogs to all, or he brings a
crock pot of his wife’s soup.
Outside of work, he is involved in several civic and business organizations.
For example, he is a 23-year member of the Noon Lions Club where he served
as president from 1988-89, and in 1999 he was the Rogers-Lowell Chamber
of Commerce Ambassador of the Year. He’s also the proud owner of a 1940
Chevrolet Club Coupe that he drives to national and local car shows.
CALIFORNIA
Mary E. Riley, 82
Office Assistant III
San Bernardino County Employment Resource Center
San Bernardino, California
Mary E. Riley has spent over 36 years
helping others turn their lives
around at the San Bernardino County
Employment Resource Center, which
provides job counseling, training, and
employment opportunities for the public. She developed
the client tracking system for the center, has supervised staff, and currently
tracks all of the contracts in the office, along with helping with various
projects including job fairs, orientations and seminars. She continues her own
professional development with computer and management courses.
Leaving college in 1946 to raise her eight children, Mrs. Riley did not get
her first business training until she attended San Bernardino Night School in
1965. She was a clerk trainee in the San Bernardino County Human Resources
Department in 1966, when she took a job as a civil service military pay clerk so
she could stay with her husband throughout his Army service in Europe and
the United States.
Looking back over her career, Mrs. Riley says that she is proud of having
“managed to persevere and shine” despite often being the oldest due to a late
start in the workplace and many interruptions. This attitude was reflected in
her supervisor’s comment that she continues to “make significant contributions
to the smooth operation of our office and effective delivery of service to our
customers.”
For over 20 years Mrs. Riley has been an elected member of the NW
Redevelopment Project Area Committee for the City of San Bernardino, an
organization that provides advice on crime, employment, housing, and city
services. She has also been a YWCA Big Sister and is active in her church.
Mrs. Riley has 12 grandchildren and enjoys her family, saying that one
of the happiest days of her life was when her daughter received her master’s
degree. She also enjoys dancing, singing, bowling, running, reading and
gardening.
COLORADO
Viola B. McNeace, 69
Healthy Lifestyles Campaign Coordinator
Colorado Department of Human Services
Denver, Colorado
In 1980 Viola McNeace moved to
Colorado to start a new life. It took her
some time to decide what she wanted to do, but for
the last 10 years, she has been the healthy lifestyles
campaign coordinator for the Division of Aging
Services. Her primary responsibility is to develop and coordinate the monthly
Healthy Lifestyles newsletter and get it out to agencies across the state. She
also represents the division at senior fairs and coordinates information from
different units in Aging Services.
In addition to the Healthy Lifestyles Campaign, she also works on the
Centenarian Project, contacting centenarians and sending out certificates to
Colorado residents who reach their 100th birthdays.
Ms. McNeace’s first paying jobs were running lace for a sleepwear company
and making alterations in a clothing shop. Her first job in Denver was a
sewing machine operator. In 1996, she enrolled in the Senior Community
Service Employment Program (SCSEP) and began training at the Colorado
Department of Human Services. After two years, she was hired as an employee
of the department.
Over the years, Ms. McNeace has sought opportunities to promote
healthy aging. Her service has included the Colorado Commission on
Aging Committee, the Area Agency on Aging Committee, the White House
Conference on Aging, and the SCSEP Older Workers Advisory Committee.
Ms. McNeace’s supervisor says, “She is a bundle of energy, assisting every
department within the agency, creating a truly cooperative environment. Viola
does not back down from a challenge.” She has been recognized with numerous
awards for her work and dedication, including the 2006 Recognition of
Excellence Award for Community Outreach
As a person who at one time was homeless, Ms. McNeace has achieved
remarkable success and is an example of what a person can accomplish with
the right attitude and work ethic. She credits the Senior Community Service
Employment Program as her ticket to becoming self-sufficient.
CONNECTICUT
Gaetano J. Amato, 77
Pre-Practicum Coordinator
Springfield College
Avon, Connecticut
“There is nothing more valuable to
leave behind you than an educated
child,” says Gaetano J. Amato, who followed his
father’s advice and has spent his life as an educator.
He is a pre-practicum coordinator for the Department
of Physical Education and Health at Springfield College. Mr. Amato recruits
public school physical education teachers who will supervise students during
their teaching experience, maintains records for the 400 students in the
department and prepares teacher evaluations.
After receiving his bachelor’s from Springfield College, his master’s from
the University of Connecticut and spending two years in the Air Force, Mr.
Amato began teaching elementary school physical education in West Hartford,
Connecticut. After 33 years, he became the director of physical education
for health for the same public schools and was responsible for developing
the K-12 physical education and health programs. During his tenure in West
Hartford, he was involved in the growth of movement-education programs for
elementary school children. As part of this experience, he wrote his first book,
“Upside Right, A Children’s Guide to Movement.” As part of his current work,
Mr. Amato wrote a teachers’ manual to accompany the book. While he worked
for the public schools, he was featured in an article in Parents Magazine in
1972 about his work.
Mr. Amato retired from public school education after 41 years, but
quickly realized that he still wanted to work. His plan was to work three to
five more years, but 12 years later, he is still at Springfield College. He says
he is fortunate to work at his alma mater. The greatest benefit of his job is
the satisfaction of seeing his college students grow and mature into young
professionals. He says, “I have always loved physical education and I am happy
to have the opportunity to provide service to the profession I love so dearly.”
DELAWARE
Burnaby Munson, PhD, 75
Professor and C. Eugene Bennet Chair of Chemistry
University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware
Burnaby Munson has a long and
distinguished career in the field of
chemistry. He has served on the faculty of the
University of Delaware for over 40 years and currently
teaches undergraduate chemistry. Dr. Munson
continues to work because he enjoys teaching. He says, “Teaching is really all I
ever wanted to do.”
Dr. Munson was born in Wharton, Texas. He attended Tarleton State
College in Stephenville, Texas, and then received his bachelor’s in chemistry
from the University of Texas in 1954 with highest honors. He continued at the
University of Texas and earned his doctorate in 1959.
After his graduate work, Dr. Munson went to work for Esso (now Exxon)
Research and Engineering Company in 1959. While at Esso, he was a research
chemist, senior research chemist and a research specialist. After eight years, Dr.
Munson left to teach and conduct research at the University of Delaware.
Dr. Munson has been an active in many professional organizations in the
chemistry field. He has served as president of the American Society for Mass
Spectrometry, chairman and alternate councilor for the American Chemical
Society, a member of the American Institute of Chemists, and a member of
Sigma Xi.
The American Institute of Chemists presented the 2008 Chemical
Pioneer Award to Dr. Munson for his contributions to chemistry through
the development of chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Among other
honors he has received for his research are the American Society for Mass
Spectrometry Research Award, the American Chemical Society’s Frank H. Field
and Joe L. Franklin Award for outstanding achievement in mass spectrometry,
and the Delaware section of the American Chemical Society Award for
scientific achievement in chemistry.
Dr. Munson loves to teach and is known by his students as a caring,
friendly and humorous professor who is willing to help. His hobbies include
gardening, working in the yard, and riding his Segway.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Sarah Blunt Barnett, 68
Legal Assistant
Duane Morris LLP
Washington, District of Columbia
Sarah Barnett enjoys the challenges of
her job. Since 2001, she has been a legal assistant for
Duane Morris LLP, an international law firm. She works
in the patent section doing paralegal work, reviewing
court dockets of cases, maintaining pleading notebooks
and reviewing documents for discovery. Her job also includes organizing
expenses, travel arrangements, and scheduling.
She says that keeping up with and learning new software and balancing
and prioritizing the workload of the three firm partners makes her job a
challenging one. The interaction with her co-workers and how much she learns
each day are benefits that she says she gets from continuing to work.
Ms. Barnett says that her work as part of the Vonage America trial team
during the Sprint Communications lawsuit in Kansas City was an important
contribution to her job. The case required extensive preparation and quick
action on her part when their lead attorney became very ill during the trial.
Ms. Barnett is very involved in community organizations, including the
AIDS Mission Group at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church and the 2006-07
Mayor’s LGBT Advisory/Executive Committee. She is currently the vicepresident of the Board for Pediatric AIDS, a program for children affected by
HIV/AIDS.
After spending most of the 1970s living and working in Indonesia with
her husband, her life changed course in 1980. She suffered a cerebral aneurism,
divorced, sold her home and paid all of her debts and found a job. Surviving
the aneurism and taking care of her children on her own was a defining
moment for her. For the next 15 years, her focus was raising and supporting her
three children.
Ms. Barnett says that between working, spending time with her partner,
children and grandchildren, enjoying the theater, movies, travel, photography
and her work with Pediatric AIDS, “My life is very full!”
FLORIDA
Sherry Friedlander Olsen, 69
Executive Director/Founder - A Child is Missing
A Child Is Missing Alert Program
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Sherry Friedland Olsen helps find
missing children, elderly people and
disabled individuals by enabling law
enforcement agencies to get the word
out quickly. Her nationwide, nonprofit program,
A Child Is Missing (ACIM), has assisted in the safe recovery of 380 missing
people since it started in1997. The only program of its kind in the United
States, ACIM helps law enforcement personnel locate missing people by
launching alert calls to the surrounding community. Mrs. Olsen’s expertise led
her to participate in the White House Conference on Missing and Exploited
Children and the White House Conference on Small Business.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Mrs. Olsen completed her undergraduate
studies at the University of Cincinnati and Miami University in Ohio. After
graduate work at Syracuse University, she began working in publishing, public
relations and marketing. Mrs. Olsen met her husband, George, in New York
City. When she saw him across the room, she declared to her friend that he
would be the one she would marry. Her prediction came true a year later. She
and her husband moved to Ft. Lauderdale from Ohio in 1964.
In addition to her work with ACIM, Mrs. Olsen has a long history of
community service in Broward County. Since 1999, she has received over 16
community and national awards, including the prestigious J. Edgar Hoover
Award for Distinguished Public Service and the Kiwanian of the Year Award.
When asked why she began the program, Mrs. Olsen said that “sometimes
you are just chosen to do what you do … I had an idea and made it come to
life and help society.” Saying that she “just got started, and can’t stop now,” Mrs.
Olsen’s next goal is to expand ACIM to other countries.
Outside of her work, Mrs. Olsen enjoys reading, swimming, walking, her
dog, travel and writing.
GEORGIA
Lois Cooper, 72
Unit Coordinator
Southeast Georgia Health System
St. Marys, Georgia
Lois Cooper realized after her third
attempt at retirement that it was no use.
She just has to be active. In the workforce for 56 years,
she works 12-hour shifts despite the challenges, aches
and pains that are the residual effects of a childhood
battle with polio.
Her first job was as a secretary/manager of Will County Farm Bureau.
She was also a lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol and performed clerical
duties. Currently working for the Southeast Georgia Health System as a unit
coordinator, Ms. Cooper orders all lab work, X-rays and tests for patients,
maintains supplies and keeps nurses and physicians on track in the busy
emergency room department. Performing her work meticulously, she stays
calm in the fast-paced ER. Always interested in the medical field, her present
and previous work as an emergency medical technician, a 911 dispatcher and a
nursing home administrator illustrates her devotion. She has worked her way
up to unit coordinator, which is a great achievement.
A great mentor to younger, less experienced workers, Ms. Cooper trains
unit clerks and patient care techs, while keeping up on the latest computer
technology used to chart patient care. She feels the most interesting aspect of
her job is working with various peoples’ personalities. Other than benefiting
from the income it provides, Ms. Cooper says that work keeps her mind
healthy and alert. Through her personal obstacles of polio, divorce and caring
for her two children, she can be counted on to have a smile on her face, and
on-the-job, she is known as a valuable problem solver, making every minute
count while remaining ever enthusiastic and cordial.
HAWAII
Dr. Michael Egan, 67
Executive Editor
Trade Publishing Company
Kaneohe, Hawaii
Michael Egan is an internationally
known writer, consultant and
educator, with experience working in England,
South Africa, the U.S. mainland and Hawaii.
Currently a consultant and scholar in residence at
Brigham Young University in Hawaii, he was until recently the executive
editor at Trade Publishing Company. In this position, his redesign and
reconceptualization of two trade magazines helped generate greater
advertising revenues and put the publications on a more secure footing. One
of these trade magazines, “Generations Hawaii,” is a lively publication geared
to those age 50+.
He has a doctorate from Cambridge University, where he was the editor
of the Cambridge Review and founding literary editor of the London Times
Higher Education Supplement. Author of 10 books, his most recent was
an exhaustive 2000-page study in which he postulates that an anonymous
handwritten play about England’s King Richard the Second, first discovered in
1865, is the work of Shakespeare. Scholars have been debating it for years, but
he is the first to tie it historically and linguistically to the Bard’s earlier works.
His book, “The Tragedy of Richard II, Part One: A Newly Authenticated Play
by William Shakespeare,” won the 2006 Adele Mellen Prize for Distinguished
Contribution to Scholarship, and he is currently working on shorter volume
for a much broader audience.
An energetic participant in the community-at-large, he helps out at
his children’s school functions and has assisted Easter Seals with its public
functions. As a consultant, he has conducted courses in leadership, business
writing, public speaking and team building, and he has worked with the
local military and the National Park Service (Hansen’s Disease colony) at
Kalaupapa. In February 2008, he was appointed editor of “The Oxfordian,”
the Shakespeare Oxford Society’s flagship scholarly publication.
IDAHO
Robert G. Trueblood, 75
Substitute Teacher
School District 271
Coeur D’Alene, Idaho
Robert Trueblood celebrated his 75th
birthday doing what he loves: teaching
high-school kids who have suffered some hard knocks
and are at risk of dropping out of school.
Teaching is not Mr. Trueblood’s first career. After
serving in the Air Force during the Korean War, he worked at Conoco until his
early 50s. When Conoco left Idaho, he had difficulty finding work, taking jobs
in restaurants as a waiter and a cook. Finally, he landed a job at North Idaho
College as a custodian on the swing shift. Determined to get his bachelor’s
degree, Mr. Trueblood, in his mid-50s, decided to take classes even though
his supervisor told him he was too old and a degree was not going to do him
any good at his age. He persevered and got his degree from Lewis-Clark State
College.
He’d always wanted to be a teacher. Friends encouraged him to take a
job as a substitute teacher. Sixteen years later, he has gained a high degree
of respect and appreciation from students and teachers alike. Many students
go to him for help with personal matters, as well as advice on school issues.
Teachers request him months in advance, even a school year in advance, and
during the school year he rarely has a weekday off.
His family has benefited as well. His daughter Donna says, “My dad
passed a love of learning on to me and my daughter. I believe that also helps
him with his work as a teacher.”
He’s won awards for volunteering in GED, ESL, and other learning
programs. He’s active in the Elks and in the “Old Fuddy Duddies” Car Club.
Other hobbies include restoring old cars, bike riding, enjoying “Rod Runs”
with his wife of nearly 50 years, and, of course, reading.
ILLINOIS
Ernst Chester Bone, M.D., 93
Medical Consultant
Illinois Department of Human Services
Jacksonville, Illinois
Dr. Bone attributes his success to his
love of people and being of service to
them. His first job, at age eight, was carrying water
in a pony buggy to men working on a grain thrashing
crew. He taught high school chemistry and physics
before accepting a position as the admissions director at Illinois College in
1938. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War,
managing to complete his medical degree in between his military service. In
1947, he opened a medical practice and over the years delivered more than
4,000 babies.
When he was 74, his doctor advised him to slow down. He retired, but
“slowed down” only long enough to begin a new career as a medical consultant
for the Illinois Department of Human Services. Currently, he reviews medical
evidence provided by doctors, hospitals and claimants to validate allegations of
disability made by SSA applicants under the age of 65. His work week averages
32 hours, and he drives the 76 miles to and from work every day.
His contributions to the medical field have not gone unrecognized.
Awards and honors include Jacksonville’s Citizen of the Year, Illinois’ Family
Physician of the Year, and the Social Security Administration Regional
Commissioner’s Award. The magazine “Good Housekeeping” named him one
of the nation’s top 10 physicians.
He and his wife continue to be involved in their community. He’s led
many fundraising efforts for colleges and organizations such as The Salvation
Army and Tri-County United Way. A partial list of other service includes
Presbyterian elder, a MacMurray College trustee for more than 25 years, and
an Illinois State 4-H Alumnus.
Life hasn’t been all work. In addition to spending time with his family,
he’s enjoyed hobbies such as horseback riding, golf, singing, acting, watercolor
painting and traveling. As he says, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”
INDIANA
Esther Richards, 84
Fitting Room Associate
Wal-Mart
Rensselaer, Indiana
Esther Richards has worked all her
life and has never stopped learning. For
example, she learned computer skills at the age of
71, early in her career with Wal-Mart. Currently, she
monitors the fitting rooms, helps customers find their
appropriate sizes, keeps the department organized, answers the phone and
checks returns back into the department. She keeps her skills up to speed with
Wal-Mart’s training programs.
She started at Wal-Mart as a part-time holiday employee 12 years ago.
“They must have liked my work because when Christmas was over, they asked
me to stay,” she says. She finds people interesting and loves working with them
in her job, seeing people she knew previously and meeting new ones.
Mrs. Richards grew up in rural DeMotte, but moved to Chicago
immediately after high school to take a job as an operator for Western Union.
She also worked for the Santa Fe Railroad and Standard Oil of Indiana in
communications, for a total of 18 years. As a young woman she volunteered
with the USO.
Her children were still at home when she divorced. One of her proudest
moments was her realization that she could make it on her own. “I managed
to keep my house in spite of financial problems and circumstances,” she says.
A daughter concurs. “She did whatever it took to take care of her family as
a single parent.” That included seven years of getting up at 2:30 a.m. every
morning, rain or shine, to deliver newspapers.
She’s put her computer skills to good use outside of work, writing columns
and publishing a monthly newsletter for her church. She’s also active in the
DeMotte Historical Society and the Golden Gems Senior Citizens. Traveling is
another avocation. A favorite destination is the Albuquerque Balloon Festival,
which she has attended three times. “I loved it!” she reports.
IOWA
Glenn W. Guengerich, 92
Electrician
Self-employed
Wellman, Iowa
Glenn Guengerich enjoys his work and
will not let anything stop him from
doing it until he’s ready. When he was 90,
Mr. Guengerich fell 14 feet on a job, spent months in
the hospital, endured three surgeries and extensive
therapy before returning to work a year later. He has been in the electrical
business since graduating from Coyne Electrical School of Chicago in 1940. He
started his own company in 1942. Although he originally wanted to fly planes,
seeing the high-power line coming through to provide electricity to rural
Wellman changed his mind.
Mr. Guengerich has a history of hard work and helping others. He says
that his volunteer work at a mental hospital during WWII gave him a lifelong
respect for all people. He has served on crews for the Mennonite Church
Disaster Service in Iowa and other states, using his knowledge and skills as an
electrician to rebuild homes and towns after floods, tornadoes and fires. He
also volunteered for 15 years at the annual Mennonite Church relief sale to
raise money for people in need all over the world.
His desire to help others led Mr. Guengerich to what he calls his most
interesting project. After the great Alaskan earthquake of 1964 – the largest
ever recorded in North America – a call for help went out. He responded and
spent several months working on electrical crews helping rebuild Alaska’s
infrastructure.
The Wellman community is important to Mr. Guengerich. He has served
on the Wellman Fire Department for over 50 years. Active in his church he has
served as an usher, in the choir, and is the “go-to-guy” for anything electrical.
His interests include family (wife Elsie, three daughters, five grandchildren
and one great grandchild) and their history, astronomy, travel, and computers
for both work and pleasure.
KANSAS
Lila Fritschen, 70
Human Relations Officer
City of Hutchinson
Hutchinson, Kansas
“You have a unique ability to make even
the most difficult situations pleasant”,
is how a respondent described working with Lila
Fritschen in her role as human relations officer, ADA
coordinator, and EEO coordinator for the City of
Hutchinson. She has worked for the city since 2001 processing complaints of
illegal discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.
She also plans and carries out forums and seminars and the compliance of city
programs, buildings and facilities with ADA.
Mrs. Fritshcen was born on a farmstead in Oklahoma. Her family moved
to Kansas and managed a hotel and restaurant. Her first job was in her family’s
cafe. After changing her major in college from nursing education to elementary
education, she began her teaching career in 1958. Her first teaching job was
at Centerview School in Russell County and then in Scott City, Wamego and
Hutchinson. After 40 years, she briefly retired before becoming the director of
Sylvan Learning Center.
Mrs. Fritschen believes that there is never a shortage of things to learn
about and seldom a lack of opportunity for learning. She continues to seek
training and courses to stay current in her job. To this day, former students
locate Mrs. Fritschen to express their appreciation for how she taught them not
only the “three Rs,” but responsibility and caring.
During the last five years, Mrs. Fritschen’s spinal stenosis has taken away
her ability to walk. Although she uses a wheelchair and has continued to have
serious medical conditions, she has not slowed down. She says, “Good grief,
who wants to sit around feeling sorry for oneself!”
Mrs. Fritschen considers her family to be the “center of her universe.”
She enjoys spending time with her daughter, two grandchildren, three greatgrandchildren, and her three Shelties and five cats.
KENTUCKY
Nancy P. Larkin, 83
Holter and Pacemaker Tech
Cardiology Associates of Southern Kentucky
Glasgow, Kentucky
Medical monitors, EKG machines,
changing computer programs, new
medical procedures and terminology,
none of it intimidates Mrs. Larkin.
Employed by Cardiology Associates of Southern
Kentucky, she says that although change is constant in the health field, she just
has to relearn how to do the same thing in a different manner. Staying up-todate is important. “I continue to learn from the nurse practitioners and the
nice doctors,” says Mrs. Larkin. “It’s something I want to do, so I also read up
on it and periodically attend classes.”
Mrs. Larkin not only does EKGs and Holter monitors, she also runs a
pacemaker clinic with help from the pacemaker representatives or sometimes
on her own. One of the major changes she’s seen in laboratory work is the
change in the use of real animals for testing. As she describes her earlier
working days, “If we wanted to find out if someone was pregnant we injected
rabbits, or if someone had TB we’d inject a guinea pig.” Today, of course, live
animals are no longer used for pregnancy and TB tests.
The medical field has been of interest to her since junior high school
when she began accumulating health related articles, including some about
lab technicians. She received her medical certification in 1945 from the state
board of health in Louisville. She credits much of her success to a good
education and caring parents who inspired her to learn.
She believes one of her greatest assets is the patience she has with the
older patients, a patience she developed raising five children with her husband
Joe. Retirement is not on her mind anytime soon. As she says, “Work keeps
your mind active, and I have no desire to live out my life in a nursing home
doing nothing.”
She enjoys sewing, quilting, gardening, church work and traveling.
Recently she and her husband completed trips to Alaska and the Panama
Canal. “Now that was fun!” she exclaims.
LOUISIANA
Jean S. Ducote, 74
Accounts Receivable Representative
Acadiana Computer Systems, Inc.
Lafayette, Louisiana
Fifty-seven years of hard work, a
positive attitude, and a million smiles
are what 74-year-old Jean Ducote has
given and continues to give the workforce, her
community and family. She began working her junior
year in high school. As store clerk pumping gas and handling charge accounts,
she remembers that in those days a person’s word was as good as a signature.
Marriage and family took her out of the workforce until 1965, when at the age
of 35 she returned to the world of retail business. Her third job during this
period, working for a doctor, was the hardest of her job transitions. Having no
technical training at a time when computers were becoming a vital part of the
workplace, she took computer classes at night to gain the skills she needed.
Her retirement 23 years later lasted all of six months. In 2002, at age 68,
she began her current career with Acadiana Computer Systems (ACS), the
largest medical billing company in Louisiana. She started out as a receptionist.
Promoted to her current position, she calls patients and counsels them about
financial obligations. Her boss says her sensitivity and gentle nature towards
her clients is not something that can be taught. “We are very lucky to have such
a dedicated employee,” he states.
She has also played a big role in making improvements to the computer
system at work and is responsible for training those in her department. When
asked about retirement, Ms. Ducote says, “I hope to remain active in the
workforce for as long as my health will allow. I feel I can bring wisdom to
the younger workers and set an example of good work ethics. Many of my
co-workers have adopted me as ‘grandmother’ of the office, a title I cherish. I
feel that staying active in the workforce helps me to maintain a positive attitude
towards life.”
MAINE
Rose Golek, 69
Caregiver, CRMA
The Vicarage by the Sea
Harpswell, Maine
Her daughter says Rose Golek has
worked steadily since age 15, first
picking crops at local farms. She was one
of the first women hired by McDonalds in Brunswick,
Maine, in 1968. A succession of other jobs followed,
including 19 years as a housekeeper at MidCoast Hospital.
She’s had more than her share of challenges. She had to drop out of
high school to help pay the family’s bills, while caring for a mentally disabled
son and two other children. Recognizing that her lack of education was an
impediment to better jobs, she got her GED at age 42 and completed classes in
custodial care.
When The Vicarage by the Sea opened in 1998, she was ready for a career
change and was among the first workers they hired. That same year she took
her first class to become a certified residential medication aide (CRMA), a
certification she’s kept current by returning for a certification course every
two years. Her CRMA certification allows her to provide medications at The
Vicarage by the Sea, a small home that specializes in dementia care. She has
not missed a day of work, even in bad weather. She works weekends and fills in
when people are on vacation, sometimes working overnight shifts.
In 2003, she took a second caretaker job with a company called Neighbors,
Inc. Between her two jobs she works at least 40 hours a week, often more,
and still cares for her adult disabled son. “She is the hardest, most dedicated
worker I have ever known,” says her daughter, adding, “Truth be, she is almost
twice my age and could work me under the table. She just has a huge amount
of energy.”
She is dedicated to her two grandchildren, who are both wrestlers, and
rarely misses their meets. Among her other pleasures are beach walking, soap
operas and karaoke.
MARYLAND
Marlene J. Dunsmore, 72
Clinical Psychotherapist
Family Services Agency, Inc.
Rockville, Maryland
The clinic where Marlene Dunsmore
works serves the most fragile, lowincome, mental-health clients. She is the
senior clinical psychotherapist for Family Services,
Inc., in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and works with the
persistently and chronically mentally ill, with a specialty working with clients
who have experienced severe trauma in their background and continue to
experience symptoms that interfere with their recovery.
The director of Family Services says that Ms. Dunsmore is deeply caring,
highly skilled and well-organized, and that her willingness to work with those
who have suffered severe child abuse and other serious trauma is a significant
contribution to the mission of the clinic. She also devotes time to teaching
peers and students to work with these traumatized clients.
Ms. Dunsmore says, “The key to my successes has been hard work, a joy of
working with this population, and a keen desire for continuing education.” She
attends conferences and workshops throughout the year to stay current in her
field.
Her first job was in nursing as a pediatric staff nurse in 1958. She later
began work as a research nurse at the National Cancer Institute, assessing
breast cancer treatment results. From 1978 to 2001, she was the database
manager and principle investigator for clinical trials and studies for NCI. She
earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland in
1989.
Ms. Dunsmore has dedicated many hours to volunteer work, including the
D.C. HIV Community Planning Committee, Montgomery County HERO in
HIV education, and 10 years with the Baltimore Penitentiary and the Maryland
House of Corrections helping run the Left Bank Jazz Society. In addition, she
played second base for 14 years on the Golden Girls, a local senior softball team
that won the Gold medal in the 1999 Senior Olympics. She enjoys movies,
music, travel and spending time with her grandchildren.
MASSACHUSETTS
William F. Lutz, 75
Sales Associate, Footwear Department
Macy’s
Brockton, Massachusetts
With 50 years in the shoe business, Mr.
Lutz has seen a lot of changes. When he
first started, Brockton was world-renowned for the
quality of its shoes, and most of the shoes he sold
were made in local factories. Now, the factories have
moved overseas or to other areas of the U.S., so he’s no longer selling many
local brands. He’s also seen a decline in customer service. His solution is to
encourage his colleagues to take greater pride in their work and increase their
commitment to customer service.
He’s been a sales associate at Macy’s (formerly Jordans) since 1995.
Previously, he’d been a manager for several local shoe stores over the years, but
says he prefers directly serving customers. His many repeat customers over the
years attest to his salesmanship.
He started selling shoes right after high school, but interrupted his career
to enlist in the military and serve during and following the Korean War. He
describes being a member of the Color Guard as “a great honor because you
have the opportunity to present and carry the symbols of your unit as well as
your country.” Afterwards he decided to return to selling shoes because he
really enjoyed the job.
Mr. Lutz and his wife are involved in volunteer efforts for the City of
Brockton and the Brockton Historical Society. He enjoys playing golf and
attributes the exercise he gets from playing to improving his health. He
frequently participates in senior citizen and charity tournaments.
One of his proudest moments involves golf. When he was nine, a local
golf course was running a contest. Anyone who hit a hole in one would receive
a case of whiskey. He hit a hole in one. Naturally, they couldn’t give him the
whiskey and instead had to come up with a special prize more appropriate to
his age: a case of Wheaties cereal.
MICHIGAN
Bernice Metzger, 74
Clerk
St. Joseph County
Mendon, Michigan
Although Bernice Metzger’s title is
clerk, she actually has many jobs as
an employee of the St. Joseph County
government. She works in the St. Joseph County
Clerk’s Office, the Treasurer’s Office, Register of Deeds,
Probate Office, Circuit Court Judge’s Office, Animal Control, Land Resource
and the Michigan State University Extension, wherever she is needed. She is
also deputy clerk for Nottawa Township.
Her duties vary, but she easily adjusts to the different environment of
each office. For example, she may be sending out 6,000 jury questionnaires
and preparing them for the court upon their return, removing Social Security
numbers from death certificates, entering bank loans on deeds or maintaining
computer files.
“She is a ray of sunshine no matter where she is working, and that could
be any of multiple offices,” says a co-worker. “She learns quickly and has
impeccable work habits, not only in her work but in her everyday life.”
Her employment with St. Joseph has been, at 20 years, the longest she’s
had. Married to a husband in the military, Mrs. Metzger moved 17 times
during her married life, making it difficult to have much of a working career.
Instead she concentrated on her family of five, now expanded to grandchildren
and great-grandchildren.
Her parents were naturalized citizens from Poland who taught her that
citizenship is a privilege and that it is important to always vote. As a result, she
has also worked on the local election board and volunteers at the Lions Club
and the VFW of Sturgis.
Throughout her life she has never let small obstacles stop her. As her
supervisor says, “I’ve never heard her utter the words ‘I can’t do that.’ Bernice
does a great job with whatever task she is asked to do, and she does it with a
smile and a laugh that brightens everyone’s day.”
MINNESOTA
Rosalee Wedul, 76
Registered Nurse
Meritcare, Thief River Falls Campus
Thief River Falls, Minnesota
Even after 58 years of nursing, Rosalee
Wedul doesn’t take her experience for
granted. “A nurse who thinks she knows it all
is dangerous to the profession,” she says. At 76, she
isn’t content to rely solely on wisdom. As a registered
nurse (RN) in the obstetrics and medical surgical units at MeritCare Thief
River Falls Northwest Campus, she keeps up her nursing credentials through
training and learning whatever she can.
Mrs. Wedul enrolls in continuing education to get credits for
recertification for such skills as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, neonatal
resuscitation and a program that focuses on specialty care for stabilizing sick
newborns. “It has always been very important to me to help improve care and
keep education up to date,” she says. “I keep studying and learning every day.”
Nursing has always intrigued Mrs. Wedul. She worked through high
school as an obstetrics and surgical aide, discovering first-hand just how
deeply she enjoyed helping others. She describes graduating from the Jewish
Hospital of Nursing in St. Louis as one of the happiest days of her life. After
graduation, she joined the Air Force and began working at a base hospital in
Houston, Texas. She then moved to Alaska with her husband and worked as a
pediatrics nurse and finally settled in Minnesota.
Mrs. Wedul is a mentor for younger nurses and is active in her
community. The United Methodist Church has been a very important part
of her life and she gives back by teaching Sunday school, directing choir and
counseling campers at Bible camp. She works as a nurse at the Boy Scout and
4-H Camp and she teaches CPR to campers.
She enjoys her job and the people she works with and plans to work
for many more years, saying that delivering babies and seeing young cancer
patients survive are highlights of her work.
MISSISSIPPI
Nelson Wall, 75
Center Director
Northeast MS Community College
Booneville, Mississippi
Nelson Wall is a firm believer in
building the future for young people
and works diligently to help make
their dreams become reality. Since 2003, Mr.
Wall has been the Center Director for the Northeast
Mississippi Community College at Corinth. He has had the opportunity to
be in on the planning, building and operation of the center. One of his major
duties was to work with businesses and the community to raise money to
finance and equip the second phase of the facility expansion.
He had wanted to become a teacher since he was in the 1st grade. After
obtaining his master’s degree from Mississippi State University in 1960,
he went on to spend 35 years as a teacher and administrator. He began his
teaching career in a three-teacher 1st through 8th grade school. He served as
principle and taught all subjects in grades six through eight, coached, cleaned
the building and drove the bus part time. He continued his career in Arkansas
and Mississippi as an elementary and high school principle, superintendent of
education, college teacher and dean of community services.
Mr. Wall has made numerous contributions to Alcorn County. He was the
first director of the Head Start program, worked with church youth groups,
and assisted in establishing the first special education program. He was also
a technical advisor for the Faith-Based Intermediary Project operated by
Experience Works in Alcorn County.
After all of these years, Mr. Wall is still just as excited about what he
does as he did when he began. When he was asked when he might retire, he
answered, “When I can no longer help people reaching their goal or I am not
physically able to do the work. My hope is that my last day on earth can be
spent doing what I have enjoyed doing all my working life.”
MISSOURI
Jean E. Hines, 83
Finishing Supervisor
Carden Machine Shop, Inc.
Sullivan, Missouri
When asked how she has so much
stamina at age 83, Ms. Hines says, “I enjoy
going to work every day and thrive
on the importance of what I do.” Always
a hard worker, she was born in Eunice, Missouri,
attended grade school in a one-room schoolhouse, and drove a horse and sled
for her dad in a stove bolt business. To complete high school, she moved to
Summerville to stay with an aunt and took a job to pay her high-school costs.
She married her high-school sweetheart in 1945 and spent 17 years as a
homemaker, raising five children, before re-entering the workforce, delivering
parts and working as a supervisor for Scotch Die Casting. The company
downsized in 1999, and at age 75, she was unemployed.
Undaunted, she found a new job in 2000. As a machinist with Carden
Machine Shop, she works 40 hours a week, finishing parts for a host of aircraft
including the F18 Hornet, the Osprey helicopter deployed in Iraq and the new
F23 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter. When Ms. Hines gets the parts, they are at
their most valuable state, some worth $6,000. A few seconds of grinding on
the wrong area can result in the part being scrapped, but she has never ruined
one.
A role model and mentor to new and younger employees, she has
not missed a day of work, left early, been tardy, or declined a request to
work overtime. Ms. Hines helps other machinists solve unique problems.
As Carden’s director of operations notes, “On many occasions, Jean has
discovered new, fast and more efficient methods to complete complicated tool
operations and procedures,” he said. By working harder and more accurately
than many of her fellow employees, it is no surprise that she is fondly referred
to as “The Mean Jean Machine.”
MONTANA
David A. Viste, 71
Assistant Financial Associate
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
Great Falls, Montana
Many people would buckle under the
pressure of a complete career change at
age 50. Not David Viste. In 1987, after working in
computer sales for 23 years, his company downsized,
eliminating his job. Instead of becoming discouraged,
he decided to begin an entirely new career in financial services and is currently
licensed in the sales of securities and insurance for Thrivent Financial for
Lutherans. “I’m committed to my clients in helping them secure their
financial futures,” he says. “I like working with people to help make their
dreams become realities.”
A graduate of Concordia College with additional schooling toward a
degree in clinical psychology, he served as a United States Marine from 1960
to 1963 during the Cuban crisis. He achieved the rank of Captain. To this day,
he remains active in the Marine Corps League, including gathering toys for the
annual Toys for Tots Drive. He faithfully takes an unmarried elderly veteran
to League meetings and to the Marine Corps Ball as well as out to lunch on
a regular basis. A long-time member of the Sunrise Lions Club, he received
the Lions Club International Foundation’s highest honor, the Melvin Jones
Fellowship, recognizing his commitment to humanitarian service.
Faith is important to Mr. Viste. An active member of Our Savior’s
Lutheran Church in Great Falls, he serves as vice president of the
congregation, a member of the property and finance committee, and on the
youth task force. He is also involved in the Kogudus Retreat Ministry, a church
program that helps prepare inmates at the Montana State Prison for their
eventual return to their communities and families.
He cites loyalty and dependability as key to his success. As for a reason he
stays on the job, he says, “Making a difference in the lives of people is a huge
benefit to me.”
NEBRASKA
J. Blaine Runner, 79
Rancher
Self-employed
Ashby, Nebraska
A steward of the land, Blaine Runner
ranches in an area so remote that, even
while standing atop a hill on a clear
day, and being able to see for miles around, except for
a fence or hay bales, there are no signs of humans. No
roads, power lines, buildings, TV antennas – only land, cattle and nature. Mr.
Runner, with his wife Betty, lives in an earth-sheltered home nestled into the
side of a sand hill 43 miles from the closest town. Here they raised a family
while establishing a reputation for taking care of the land and people who
work on it. Today, he continues to oversee and carry out day-to-day ranch
operations.
Known as an awesome boss, he shares his lifelong wealth of knowledge
with his ranch hands, even helping several of them start their own herds.
He combines his passion for learning and writing with his love for the
cattle and the land, authoring articles about how to successfully care for
and raise cattle, as well as evolving ranching and conservation practices.
He has received awards and recognition throughout the years for his soil
conservation practices and grassland management, has served on the Hooker
County Extension Board, and served on the board of the Upper Loup Natural
Resources District. A rancher who is interested in and concerned about all
that lives and abides on the ranch, he enjoys the wildlife that abounds there,
and respectfully lives alongside it.
Mr. Runner has an unquenched thirst for knowledge and loves to read
in his spare time. He is an avid airplane and science enthusiast who has had
a pilot’s license for over 64 years and continues to fly his plane. He also enjoys
recording family history—truly a man of many talents and interests!
NEVADA
Joseph R. Scamihorn, 82
Supervisor/Service Officer
Amvets
Reno, Nevada
Joseph Scamihorn believes in his
veterans and is determined to do the very best he
can for those he represents. Mr. Scamihorn has worked
as a service officer for AMVETS for 24 years. When
military veterans come to his office, he guides them
step by step through the process of obtaining benefits through the federal
government and the Veterans Administration office. He assists veterans in
obtaining the proper rating for disabilities that occurred as a result of their
military service and serves as a “go-between” for the veteran and the U.S.
government. He has helped thousands of veterans and their families.
Mr. Scamihorn joined the Navy at age 17 during World War II. He was
discharged in 1948, re-enlisted in the Army for two years, and then re-enlisted
in the Navy in 1950 until his retirement in 1981. He feels that because of his 36
years of military service, he truly understands what the veterans need and how
to communicate with them.
The greatest obstacle he has faced is his health. He survived five heart
attacks, has diabetes, had a triple bypass, and diabetes related surgeries. Mr.
Scamihorn has over a 100 percent disability rating due to military service.
“Dedication and believing in where you are going, showing your really
care, and being the best representative you can be for your veteran” are
qualities noted by Mr. Scamihorn as the keys to success. He often works with
widows of military veterans who come in for help to get the benefits they are
entitled to.
Though at 82 he has cut back some on his community service
activities, he remains a 32nd degree Mason and a member of the Sons of
Confederate Veterans. He has also been able to present 28 vans to the Veterans
Administration hospital to transport veterans from outlying areas.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Josephine Elliott, 76
Home Health Homemaker
Pemi-Baker Home Health and Hospice
Plymouth, New Hampshire
Josephine Elliott has built her success
in life around love, caring and respect
for those in need. In her current job as
homemaker, a job she’s held for 20 years, she often
goes well beyond her job responsibilities of helping
clients who are elderly or disabled remain in their homes. She might crochet
an afghan to cheer someone up or ease clients preparing for a move by helping
them sort through accumulated possessions.
One of her clients, a woman in her 80s, had always wanted to be an artist.
Mrs. Elliott encouraged her in this pursuit and helped arrange a show of her
art at a local library. Her employer is appreciative of Mrs. Elliott’s perfect
combination of no-nonsense work efficiency and caring social interaction,
often assigning her to help train new workers.
Homemaking wasn’t her first career. She was a machine operator in a
factory for 15 years, where suggestions she made helped improve the machine
operations. She left the factory to become a Cumberland Farms store manager,
a job she recalls as a defining moment in her life. Despite having only two
years of high school, she effectively managed two stores and supervised a team
of exemplary workers. She retired in 1968, but missed the social interaction of
working so much, she re-entered the workforce as a homemaker.
When she’s not caring for friends and family in her spare time, or
indulging in her love of crafts such as knitting and rug hooking, she might
head off to a local bingo event. She wins often enough that co-workers call her
Lady Luck. She’s as likely to use her winnings to buy a special treat for a friend
or client as to keep the money for herself. And she has no plans to retire. As
she says, she enjoys life to the fullest, and that means being there for others
whenever she is needed.
NEW JERSEY
Gladys Chersack, 90
Assistant Secretary
New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs of GFWC
Bound Brook, New Jersey
Gladys Chersack is a shining example of
lifelong learning. From her first office job
earning $10 a week to the present, she’s trained and
re-trained for numerous jobs, including office worker,
teacher, guidance counselor, social worker and welfare
director, even earning her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees while working.
Mrs. Chersack wanted to enlist in the military during World War II, but
her father forbade it, so she joined the Red Cross with the intention of going
overseas. Unfortunately, her appendix ruptured and she was hospitalized for
10 weeks. She then was assigned to Staten Island, New York, as a caseworker
in a hospital for wounded and sick servicemen, where she met her future
husband. After they married, Mrs. Chersack became so involved in her
husband’s interests in archery that they competed nationally and she became
state champion twice.
She’s been active with many local organizations including the Elks,
Presbyterian Women’s Association and Women’s Literary Club. Volunteer work
at the New Jersey Federation headquarters led to her employment there. She
gave so many hours that they just had to start paying her. Her supervisor says,
“Her ability to organize material, ideas, people and places are a tremendous
asset. Her enthusiasm for completing tasks and keen sense of humor make
working with her a joy!”
Mrs. Chersack has overcome many challenges, especially her twin infant
sons’ deaths. She and her husband also took in her sister and her children when
her brother-in-law died. In recent years, she has learned to accommodate
hearing loss, which doesn’t deter her from her work or her volunteer activities.
She continues to visit the sick in hospitals, nursing homes and at home,
bringing good cheer, a winning smile and assurance of prayers. People in her
community think of her as an advocate who not only supports people, but also
determines if they are getting necessary help and care.
Asked her secret to success, she replied, “I can’t think of any job that I
didn’t like – every day is a blessing – make the most of it!”
NEW MEXICO
Martha Elizabeth Derrick, 88
Owner/Operator
Martha’s Fabric Shop
Ruidoso, New Mexico
Texas-born Martha Derrick traveled
to New Mexico at age three in the back
of a wagon driven by her parents. They
homesteaded a section of land near Lake Arthur. Her
first paid work was teaching grades one through eight
in a one-room school. During World War II, she served in the Women’s Army
Auxiliary Corp before returning home to the family ranch. She married, and
for 10 years was a homemaker raising four children.
At age 42, Mrs. Derrick had a vision for a business, a quality fabric store
offering unique fabrics and diverse trimmings. She made her dream come
true and this year celebrated her 46th year as owner/operator of Martha’s
Fabrics. She’s weathered the advent of chain stores and economic changes,
always holding fast to her original dream of providing customers with the
most desirable goods. In fact, her customers say, “If Martha doesn’t have it,
you don’t need it.”
Her customer service is legendary. It is not uncommon for her to answer
an after-hours home phone call from a customer desperate for a zipper or
another yard of fabric to finish a product needed the next day. Hundreds of
4-H members have benefited from her assistance, and she’s helped clients with
everything from wedding gowns and cheerleading outfits to men’s suits and
upholstery. In her spare time, she’s active in her church and in the chambers
of commerce of Artesia and Ruidoso.
She welcomes challenges. Three years ago, she moved her entire extensive
inventory to a new location in a mountain resort town of Ruidoso. With the
help of a technology-savvy grandson, she started accepting credit cards in
2007 and now has a Website as well (www.marthas-fabrics.com).
She’s an inspiration to others in her community. In recognition of her
accomplishments, the mayor of the town of Artesia declared a Martha’s
Fabrics Day in her honor in 2002.
NEW YORK
Clara C. Murphy, 95
Legal Secretary
Grasso, Rodriguez and Grasso
Altamont, New York
At age 95, Clara Murphy continues to live
an active lifestyle and enjoys work that
helps others. She drives to the bus stop each
morning, takes two buses and then walks up the hill
to the law firm where she has been the secretary to Mr.
Grasso for 26 years.
She worked in two legal offices previously, but found that after graduating
with honors from Albany Business College, many jobs were reserved for
men. She worked doing payroll at a garment factory for $12 per week before
qualifying through a civil service test for secretarial work at the Schenectady
Army Depot during World War II, where she supervised the shipment of
vehicles overseas.
Prior to secretarial work, she had an unusual occupation as one of the few
women licensed as an embalmer and funeral director. She earned a special
honors diploma from the Simmons School of Embalming, a certificate for
proficiency in derma and plastic surgeries, and was rated among the highest
applicants by the state board of examiners. When asked about this line of
work, she replied, “It didn’t bother me a bit. It’s another way of helping
people.”
Her husband John had a stroke that left him paralyzed after their second
son was born, and she had many difficult years raising her sons and caring for
her husband until his death. She says that one of her biggest challenges was
learning to drive. She’s currently a member of her church and the Mt. Carmel
Women’s Society. She also runs errands for the home-bound and visits the sick
and elderly.
A vibrant and active individual, Mrs. Murphy exemplifies the knowledge,
skill and dedication that mature workers bring to the workplace. “You must like
your work and like to help people,” she says. “Who wants to be at home alone
when there are opportunities to help others?”
NORTH CAROLINA
Jessie Lee Donathan-Howard, 78
Director
Home Care Geriatric Services - Private Duty
Greensboro, North Carolina
Jessie Lee Donathan-Howard’s life
journey is one that is deeply rooted in
her upbringing as a child. She remembers
helping elderly neighbors at the age of nine. Mrs.
Donathan-Howard is a home care private duty nurse
whose efforts have allowed hundreds of homebound seniors to receive needed
services and remain independent. She helps seniors by reducing complex
care plans so that they require less effort and time. She advocates for medical
equipment, medications, reducing utility charges and financial assistance for
prescription and insurance plans.
Mrs. Donathan-Howard has been recognized many times for her
dedication and work. These recognitions include the Old North State Award
and the Long Leaf Pine Award presented by two governors. She was also given
the North Carolina Legacy Award by AARP.
A lifelong resident of Guilford County, Mrs. Donathan-Howard has a long
history of service. She is a founder of the local Blood Mobile and has been a
Red Cross volunteer for 20 years. She teaches preventative health care classes
to local residents. At her own expense, she has provided hundreds of wellbalanced meals to homebound seniors who live outside of regular Meals on
Wheels routes.
Mrs. Donathan-Howard is the youngest of seven children, growing up in a
three-room house with no modern conveniences and little money. Her first job
was at age nine, harvesting produce to sell in order to purchase school supplies
and replace her worn shoes. She did this for seven years, earning 50 cents a day.
She earned a degree in business from the University of North CarolinaGreensboro in 1949, where she worked at Woolworths, Lane’s Laundry and
cleaned houses to pay for college. She trained at Greensboro School of Nursing
to become a LPN in 1961 and became a RN in 1972.
Since 1947, Mrs. Donathan-Howard has been famous for her comedic
portrayal of “Minnie Pearl” for numerous groups and events.
NORTH DAKOTA
Charlie Kourajian, 77
Ambassador/City Councilperson
Main Street Downtown Association/City Council
Jamestown, North Dakota
Residents of Jamestown, North Dakota,
rave about Charlie Kourajian’s zeal for
promoting and improving his city. With 32
years experience in city government, he is a gold mine
of expertise as an employee and a community activist.
He became the ambassador for the Main Street Downtown Association in 2007
and was elected to the City Council in June 2008. He organizes and runs a
variety of activities including Crazy Days and the Holiday Dazzle Parade, and
works to promote downtown and Jamestown. He ran the first street festival this
summer during Jamestown’s 125th anniversary celebration. He also puts out
a monthly newsletter called The Downtowner. Previously Mr. Kourajian had
served on the City Council for 22 years, and nine years as mayor.
Through the years he has been involved in community projects such as
recycling, Christmas tree lighting around town, youth activities, supporting
those engaged in military service, mayor’s prayer breakfasts and tree plantings.
He also helped supervise flood control, wrote a large FEMA grant to make
Jamestown disaster-ready and secured grants for parks and green spaces.
Mr. Kourajian started in the newspaper business at age 11, delivering the
Jamestown Sun. Within two years, he advanced to a mailroom position and
later the composing room where he was production supervisor for more than
20 years. He stayed until 1989 when the family-owned paper was sold to a
Canadian firm. After leaving the paper, he sold cars for three years and then
drove busses for James River Transit.
Mr. Kourajian is actively involved in the Knights of Columbus, Eagles,
Elks and the American Legion. He also serves on the Alfred Dickey Library
Foundation, city and county planning commissions and the Jamestown/
Stutsman Development Corporation.
In 2007 he was named Jamestown’s Outstanding Citizen and received
the State Chamber of Commerce Community Leadership Award. In 2001 the
Washington Post foundation named him an outstanding faith-based leader for
North Dakota.
OHIO
Howard E. Koch, D.D.S., 84
Dentist
Howard Koch Denture Center
Lima, Ohio
“When you like what you do, it’s not
work,” quips Howard Koch. A dentist for 57
years, he has come a long way from riding a streetcar
for over an hour every day after school to his grocery
store clerk job, where he earned 40 cents an hour.
At age 19 he served in World War II as a bombardier in the 8th Air Force
flying over Germany, finishing as a 2nd Lieutenant. Dr. Koch says, “I wouldn’t
want to do it again, but I wouldn’t have missed it either. I was a poor kid with
no money for school, and the GI Bill allowed me to go to college and get my
dentistry degree. I’m very thankful for my service and its benefits.”
Early in his career Dr. Koch often calmed nervous patients by getting
them to relax in the dental chair as much as possible, and pioneered the use of
nitrous oxide to put extremely fearful patients at ease. Additionally, his special
knack with children often resulted in other dentists in the area referring their
youngest patients to him.
Concerns for children’s education and health led him to co-chair a
committee to levy school taxes, as well as another committe in Lima, in the
1960s, to get fluoride added to the city’s water supply. “The difference it made
in children’s teeth is unbelievable,” says Dr. Koch. Also in the early 1960s,
he began making the first mouth guards for the area’s high school football
players.
In his free time, Dr. Koch enjoys photography, baking his own bread and
cooking. He and his wife Patricia have been married for 63 years and have
three daughters, a son, nine grandchildren and one great grandchild. His
advice to those considering retirement is “don’t quit too early, you’ll live a lot
longer.”
OKLAHOMA
Rozella Pevehouse, 72
High School Counselor
Fox High School
Fox, Oklahoma
Guiding students toward success
occupies only one part of this
extraordinary educator’s busy
workweek. As part-time counselor and test
coordinator at Fox High School, Mrs. Pevehouse
enrolls students, helps them through growing pains, and ensures that
they meet graduation requirements. She provides them with tools such
as scholarship information, concurrent college courses and trade-school
alternatives, giving them every opportunity to build careers after high school.
She is so beloved by her students that last year’s senior class chose her as their
graduation commencement speaker, honoring her with a standing ovation at
the end of her speech.
Several hours a week Mrs. Pevehouse, a licensed counselor, sees private
clients. The rest of her time she assists customers at her Living Word Bible,
Book and Gift Store, and does the bookkeeping, payroll and inventory control.
She credits tripling the size of this business, started in 1995, to her employees,
whose dedication also enables her to keep doing her counseling work.
Starting work at only 15 years old as a one-person switchboard operator
for the Pike City Telephone Company, she put herself through college to fulfill
her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher, and reduced her tuition loans by
teaching in poverty-stricken areas. As a novice art and music teacher at VelmaAlma Public School, she found creative ways to keep 300 students interested
in projects using ice cream sticks, milk cartons and even tie-dying – a big hit
in the 1970s. Eventually she became the school’s first woman counselor, a job
previously only held by men.
In 1988, Murray State College hired Mrs. Pevehouse as their first-ever,
full-time academic counselor. Every semester for 11 years she enrolled nearly
900 students and taught psychology courses. During this same period she
was also a GED instructor, encouraging former students to continue their
educations.
Mrs. Pevehouse loves spending her spare time with her husband, Carl and
their three children, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
OREGON
Ross N. Roe, 80
Owner
Roe Motors
Grants Pass, Oregon
In 2008, Mr. Roe celebrated two special
events: the 25th anniversary of owning
Roe Motors and his 80th birthday.
Retirement is not part of his vocabulary. He not only
owns and manages Roe Motors, he also keeps busy
with community and professional activities.
Born on a family farm in South Dakota, he graduated from Northwestern
University in 1950, then served in the Army for two years as motor officer at
Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. During his service he received three service patents
for improvements to the M47 General Patton tank.
He left the Army to pursue his passion—automobiles—working first
for General Motors in Michigan, then as sales manager of Harrelson Motors
in Illinois. He also began his long-time commitment to community service,
serving as president of the Friends of Niabi Zoo.
He took over a GM dealership in Michigan in 1967 and stayed active in
his community. A highlight was receipt of the Minute Man Award from the
Michigan governor for helping keep the WSOO radio station on the air after a
snow storm knocked out other stations.
In 1983, the Roe family purchased a GM dealership in Grants Pass.
Known for its integrity and commitment to excellence, Roe Motors has
received several awards, including ‘Small Business of the Year’ in 2006. As an
employee explains, “Ross is always helping customers, personally going out
in the field to assure customer satisfaction. I worked at another dealership in
town, and I would never see the owners do the wonderful, customer-oriented
things that Ross does.”
Of his community activities in Oregon, Mr. Roe states that his proudest
accomplishment is the annual Tree Plant, which he helped organize in 1989
after a forest fire. Over 10,000 young volunteers have planted 51,000 trees on
80 acres. In 2007, ReTree International recognized Mr. Roe with the Frank
Lockyear Award for his part in the planting effort.
PENNSYLVANIA
Madeline R. Kuhn, 78
Dot Mounter
Dal-Tile Corporation, Gettysburg Division
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Doing a physically demanding job for
over 55 years, Mattie Kuhn works on a
high-speed production line, 40 hours a
week, inspecting mosaic tiles and replacing defective
ones. Sometimes she switches to creating intricate
tile patterns on a hand-assembly line. And, she has not missed a day of work
since breaking her foot over 20 years ago. Coming from a farming family of 10
children, hard work was the norm for her. As a high schooler, she got her first
paid job at a silk mill, working every evening until nine o’clock. She continued
to work there until 1953 when, after her fourth son was born, she took a job
at the tile plant. A company-wide celebration was held recently to honor her
extraordinary tenure.
Her employer states, “Mrs. Kuhn has the strongest work ethic of anyone
I’ve ever encountered. Some may work more hours, but few are as productive.
Her character and commitment to the principles of hard work make her a role
model for everyone.”
Although described as “happy all the time”, Mrs. Kuhn has overcome great
sadness, such as the death of an infant son. More recently, she cared for her
husband of 56 years every day before and after work, during the two-year-long
illness preceding his death. She says work kept her busy and focused, and,
“When Pete died, this job was all I had to hang on to.”
Outside of work, she spends time with her family -- three sons, nine
grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren, gardens (bringing vegetables to
people at work), and makes fudge. At Christmas she makes fudge for the whole
plant, and during the Viet Nam War, she made fudge every week and shipped
it to servicemen.
With no plans to retire, she believes in, “Work, work, work! Respect your
job, go to work every day, and do the best you can.” She can’t imagine doing
anything else.
PUERTO RICO
Cecilia Talavera, 91
Professor of Piano
Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music
San Juan, Puerto Rico
With a preordained love of music
from a piano-teacher mother and a
conservatory-trained father, it is not
surprising that Cecilia Talavera is still captivating
music students at age 91. She married early,
continued her piano studies, and taught students at home. Her 32-year
marriage ended tragically when her husband was killed in an automobile
accident. Mrs. Talavera’s daughter Luz says, “My mother was lucky that my
father never made her give up the piano, so she was able to earn a living.”
After her husband’s death, Mrs. Talavera, in her late 40s, joined the Puerto
Rico Conservatory of Music as an instructor. More than 40 years later she is
a full professor, teaching bachelors and masters-level students. During the
1990s, she was also chair of the piano department. The conservancy’s current
chancellor says of her work, “Since the day the Conservatory opened its doors,
she has formed dozens of pianists and other musicians who were privileged to
be touched by her magic, enthusiasm and her immense love of music.” Many
of her students have gone on to successful professional careers, such as the
renowned composer Roberto Sierra.
Not just a teacher, she’s recorded on the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture
label, and been the accompanist of choice for vocalists, choral recitals,
theaters, ballet performances and more. With her sister Luz Hutchinson,
also a professional pianist, she’s performed with the Puerto Rico Symphony
Orchestra. As the other half of the Hutchinson-Talavera Duo, she and her
sister have played in venues throughout Puerto Rico to Washington, D.C. A
highlight of her musical career was playing Johann Sebastian Bach’s concerto
for pianos with three other notable pianists, under the direction of Maestro
Pablo Casals.
Her door is always open to her students and her extended family, many
of them musicians. At age 91, she still drives to work. And she’s still learning,
just getting around to some Bach Preludes and Fugues she hasn’t played yet.
RHODE ISLAND
Robert A. Taylor, 74
Merchandise Stocker
CVS/Caremark
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
A “heck of a sense of humor” has been
the key to success in life for Robert
Taylor, a merchandise stocker for CVS/
Caremark for the last 15 years. His job is
physically demanding - regularly lifting 20-45 pounds
and occasionally lifting 45-75 pounds – but he often exceeds the required
percentages of volume and accuracy. He is responsible for cutting boxes and
preparing all merchandise for the order pickers to obtain optimal picking
conditions. He likes working autonomously and having sole responsibility for
his area, ensuring the product is ordered and cut correctly.
Mr. Taylor decided to become a merchandise stocker because he likes to
keep busy and he enjoys meeting people. He lives alone now and he says his
job gives him peace of mind as he looks forward to the interaction with his
peers in the workplace. He feels far less stressed or rushed as he did when he
was younger.
Mr. Taylor was diagnosed with cancer 11 years ago. He says that his job
has saved his life because the physical requirements of the job keep him in
good shape and “keeps his body working”. He claims that if he sat home all day
watching television instead of working, his health would decline.
In 1950, at age 16, Mr. Taylor worked in a dye house as a “Dye House Rat”,
running the back washer. He also worked in the Woonsocket Worchester Mill
as a bobbin cutter for $1.00 per hour. He left the mill to join the Navy just
before he turned 18.
Mr. Taylor served in the Navy from 1951 to 1955 during the Korean War
as a seaman/captain’s orderly. Traveling the world, he met all kinds of people,
including Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, and Aristotle Onassis. His favorite
stops were Paris, France, and Nice, Italy.
A member of the American Legion Fairmount Post for over 50 years, Mr.
Taylor also enjoys building boats, softball, playing cards and bowling.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Ted Ross, 90
Sales Associate
Dillard’s Department Store
Surfside Beach, South Carolina
Theodore Ross is having too much
fun working to even think about
retirement.
Mr. Ross, who recently celebrated his 90th
birthday, has been in the workforce for over 64
years. For the last fours years, he has worked 25 to 40 hours a week as a sales
associate for Dillard’s Department Store in Myrtle Beach.
Mr. Ross’ friendly attitude, work ethic and salesmanship have made him
an outstanding employee and he is usually the daily top sales person in the
housewares department. Always available for a schedule change, an additional
shift or to substitute for a fellow employee, his great attitude has made him a
favorite of management, customers and co-workers alike.
Mr. Ross has been a salesman all of his life. His first job after the Army
was a salesman for Firestone. Next, he opened a bookstore in New Jersey, sold
advertising displays for Hess, and worked in sales with Atari in California. At
age 74, he moved to South Carolina, tried to retire, but began working for a
Corning store. Eight years later, he was recruited by Dillard’s and left to help
them open their store.
Mr. Ross enlisted in the army in 1942. After training, he was shipped to
England and then landed on Utah Beach. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge,
earning a Silver Star.
Mr. Ross says that continuing to work has helped him stay healthy and
mentally sharp. “It’s not how old you are, but how old you think you are that
counts”, he says.
Mr. Ross has three daughters and two grandchildren. He was married to
his late wife, Claire, for 60 years. Over the years, he has been active in civic
organizations including the VFW and the Knights of Columbus. He has
worked on campaigns and election boards for the Democratic Party in every
election since 1952.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Iola Brendtro, 89
Corporate Assistant Secretary
Henry Carlson Company
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
What started out as only a temporary
job for Iola Brendtro in 1940 has lasted
68 years. Henry Carlson, Sr. initially hired her to be
the bookkeeper on a project to build officers’ housing
in western South Dakota, telling her the job might only
last three to four months. Miss Brendtro is currently the assistant secretary
doing bookwork for the company. At age 89, she still works 40 hours a week at
the Henry Carlson Company alongside employees who are as much as 70 years
her junior.
Co-workers say, “Her unprecedented work ethic, dedication and
unsurpassable knowledge of the construction industry have been key factors
in her career success.” She moved up the ladder from bookkeeper to corporate
assistant secretary to corporate secretary and treasurer. Henry Carlson, Jr.
credits Miss Brendtro’s knowledge of how the office was run, daily procedures
and her attention to detail for helping him making a smooth transition
possible when his father passed away.
Over the years, taking many different training courses have enabled her to
keep up with evolving technology. She has supported community groups such
as United Way, American Red Cross and Lutheran Social Services. She belongs
to the Augustana College Fellows, an organization that provides financial
support to the college and scholarships for students. She’s active in her church
and was one of the first women elected to its Board of Trustees.
Miss Brendtro keeps working not only for financial reasons, but because
she enjoys her work. “I can’t think of anyone I haven’t enjoyed working with.
Seeing all the completed building project is satisfying,” she says.
“Iola is just as dependable and reliable in 2008, as she was in 1940,” says
Mr. Carlson. “Iola is undisputedly the most respected employee in the history
of the Henry Carlson Company since it was begun in 1919.”
TENNESSEE
Robert L. Vickers, 84
Personal Trainer
CMC Wellness Complex at Fairfield Glade
Crossville, Tennessee
Robert Vickers has taken his life
challenges and turned them into
something beautiful. As a personal trainer,
Mr. Vickers encourages and motivates people to go
beyond their own expectations to reach their goals.
He develops ongoing exercise programs to enable his clients to become
stronger and healthier and teaches them to train with weights, and perform
cardiovascular and balance exercises.
Working as a personal trainer requires him to constantly update and learn
new skills. He is required to be certified in CPR, First Aid, Water Safety and
Automated External Defibrillator (AED). He also attends workshops annually
to renew his personal trainer certification.
Mr. Vickers has remained loyal to his clients even through his own health
problems – lung cancer – and the recent loss of his wife of 24 years. He started
a fitness group for a group of women who vary in ages and health status, and
these women take great pride in wearing t-shirts he purchased for them with a
picture of a weight lifter and “Bob’s Girls” emblazoned on the front.
His supervisor says that Mr. Vickers is always willing to help people who
are going through tough times and stays with them through the end. For
example, when his wife was undergoing treatment for cancer, he started a
monthly cancer support group to help other cancer patients and continues to
serve as the group leader. He also assisted in raising over $10,000 to benefit a
co-worker’s spouse who was diagnosed with cancer.
As a young boy, Mr. Vickers had an intense interest in airplanes and used
the money he earned at a grocery store to pay for flying lessons. He was 17
when World War II started and he joined the Air Force graduating as an Army
Air Force pilot.
TEXAS
Jack Borden, 100
Attorney At Law
Borden & Westhoff, LLP
Weatherford, Texas
Former FBI special agent Jack Borden has
made it his career to uphold the law. Mr.
Borden, who just turned 100, has practiced law for 73
years. He shares an office with his nephew and works
about 40 hours a week, mostly doing real estate and
probate work.
Mr. Borden worked hard to put himself through college. After earning
his AA degree at Weatherford College, he graduated from the University of
Texas Law School in 1935. His first job was as a district attorney, for which he
ran unopposed. When World War II started, he wanted to contribute to the
war effort in the Army, but discovered he was colorblind. He then applied to
the FBI to become a Special Agent and served for four years. He was recently
recognized by the FBI as the oldest living former FBI agent.
After the FBI, Mr. Borden joined his wife, Edith, also an attorney, in a
private practice in Weatherford. Over several decades, he opened law firms
with several partners. He also was elected mayor of Weatherford from 1960 to
1964.
Mr. Borden has always been very active in the community. He is currently
the oldest member of the State Bar of Texas. He served on the philanthropic
and ceremonial Parker County Sheriff ’s Posse for 63 years, was honored as an
Admiral by the Texas Navy, has been a member of the Knights of Pythias for
73 years and the Masonic Lodge for 67 years, and was selected as Outstanding
Citizen of Weatherford in 2005.
Mr. Borden’s attributes his long career and life to his drive to practice law
in a manner that would encourage younger generations to become lawyers.
His proudest memory is graduating from law school.
Mr. Borden’s favorite activity outside of practicing law is fishing. For his
100th birthday, he planned a two-week fishing trip to New Mexico with friends.
UTAH
Max De St. Jeor, 85
Parts Delivery Man
Carquest
Orem, Utah
Max De St. Jeor became a parts
deliveryman for CarQuest at age 80.
He tried to retire at 72, but returned to work for a
friend’s welding shop before moving on to CarQuest.
He routinely drives 100 to125 miles a day and enjoys
being able to see old friends and stay current in the auto industry. His motto is,
“I’m going to wear out, not rust out!”
Mr. De St. Jeor was the fifth of seven children born into a farming family
in Utah in 1923. He learned the value of hard work from his parents and older
siblings at an early age, doing daily chores on the farm.
As a young man growing up, he was interested in automobiles and
motorcycles. At 18, he became an aircraft mechanic for Lockheed in Long
Beach, California. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II and
was stationed with the 8th Air Force at Warton, England.
After he left the military, Mr. De St. Jeor returned to Utah and married
his sweetheart, Betty Smith. Together they had five children. He became a
steelworker and then took a job in 1950 as a mechanic for the Ford dealership
in Provo. He was a mechanic and service manager there for over 45 years.
Throughout his life, Mr. De St. Jeor has served his community in many
ways. He coached Little League baseball for 17 years and coached boxing. He
lost one of his three brothers in World War II and has honored his brother’s
service by acting as commander of VFW Post 8376 for over 25 years and by
helping establish the Orem Veterans Memorial. He was recently awarded the
Walter C. Orem Community Award for his efforts to honor veterans.
When he is not helping someone else, he enjoys fishing, spending time
with any of his 22 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great
granddaughter.
VERMONT
James J. McNichol, 76
Learning Partner
Vermont Technical College
Essex Junction, Vermont
Mr. McNichol has made some significant
contributions in the area of e-learning,
involving improved use of learning
technology for distributed learning.
His contributions are the result of an unusual
educational partnership in which Vermont Technical College employees
are stationed onsite at IBM facilities as learning partners, working with
the company to facilitate the capture and transfer of knowledge to a global
internal audience. They use readily available technology and standard
corporate communication infrastructure to accomplish this goal. Some of
this work was described in a paper he co-authored and presented in January
2008 in Florida at the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA)
Workforce Development Forum.
Mr. McNichol has been associated with IBM for many years. The first of
his Irish immigrant family to attend college, one of his proudest moments was
graduating with high honors: summa cum laude with highest Math Award.
After graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he started
a 35-year career with IBM. His first job was with the IBM Watson Labs in
New York City and involved engineering analysis of an advanced computer
technology, work that he describes as unsuccessful because it was too far
ahead of its time. He was transferred to Vermont, continuing his work in
engineering and computer technologies.
After retiring from IBM in 1993, he was a self-employed semiconductor
industry consultant for two years, work that led directly to a consultant
positions with CDI Corporation, the University of Vermont, and finally to his
current position.
He and his wife have four children. While they were growing up, he was
involved in family activities, including coaching, managing and refereeing in
little league baseball. In addition, he has been chief referee and officer of the
Essex Youth Hockey Program, a member of a school board study group for
the new high school, treasurer of the Essex Children’s Choir and active with
his church.
VIRGINIA
Jameson George Buston, II, 72
Staff Physician
Bon Secours Richmond Health System
Glen Allen, Virginia
Treating over a thousand indigent
and uninsured patients as a Care-A-Van
physician each month, Jameson Buston brings
medical care to Richmond, Virginia residents who
would otherwise not be able to see a doctor because of
financial and/or geographical barriers. He is also the Medical Coordinator for
Every Woman’s Life, a related program he developed at Bon Secours to provide
free medical exams and follow-up medical care for over 400 uninsured women
each year.
Passionate about educating the next generation of medical professionals,
Dr. Buston provides medical education to the Care-A-Van staff, is an associate
professor in the Family Medicine Department of the Medical College of
Virginia, and is a preceptor for 18 medical residents. To stay current in his own
job, Dr. Buston has taken over 60 hours of continuing medical education this
year alone. He also had to learn to use the Care-A-Van’s portable electronic
medical record system.
Graduating Virginia Commonwealth’s Medical College of Virginia in
1963, he spent 33 years in family practice until retiring in 2000. Saying he
“failed retirement,” Dr. Buston was volunteering with the Cross Over Ministry,
where he led a project to create a free medical clinic for the uninsured when
Bon Secours hired him in 2003. That same year the Virginia Academy of
Family Physicians named him “Virginia Volunteer of the Year”.
In addition to volunteering in his church parish and going on mission
trips in the United States and abroad, Dr. Buston fills his free time with music,
travel, antiques and his three grandchildren. His long term goal is to go to New
Zealand with his wife and practice medicine there.
WASHINGTON
Ray G. Barney, 80
Technician I
HDJ Design Group
Vancouver, Washington
Ray Barney has never retired. Mr. Barney’s
primary job at HDJ Design Group is as an archivist.
He just completed a three-year project for the civilengineering firm creating electronic files of the
company jobs over the last 30 years. He also pursues
delinquent client accounts, delivers proposals to marketing department and
conducts land research. Mr. Barney was one of the first engineering technicians
hired at HDJ and has been with them through two expansions.
Mr. Barney serves as board director for several Vancouver groups,
including the ACE Corporation, which houses low-income families; the Port
Vancouver Seafarers Center, which serves 5000 crew members every year
from cargo ships at the Port of Vancouver; and the Fruit Valley Neighborhood
Foundation, providing supplies for needy families.
When Mr. Barney was 16, he worked as a track laborer - “Gandy Dancer”
- for the New York Central Railroad. After serving in the Navy, he graduated
from Purdue University in 1952 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He
went on to spend a number of years working on the nation’s ballistic-missile
system and later worked in management for several companies.
Mr. Barney maintains an active interest in politics. He met with his
congressman to present his ideas for a bill to offer tax relief to small businesses.
A bipartisan effort resulted in a bill currently in committee in the House and
he has been invited to the White House for the signing if the bill passes.
Mr. Barney is also a math tutor for 5th graders in a local school and finds
it very rewarding. One of his favorite moments was when a student who was
struggling with his lessons looked up and said, “Now I get it, Mr. Barney.”
Mr. Barney’s hobbies include boat building. He has built small water craft,
including a cedar canoe and a sailboat, and is planning to build a kayak.
WEST VIRGINIA
June W. Butterfield, 70
Office Manager
West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management
Charleston, West Virgina
Asked what she likes least about work,
Ms. Butterfield joked, “I wish I could
think of something. Then I’d retire.”
Retirement is far from her mind. Working since
she was 18, she started in the private sector but has
been a government employee with one branch of government or another for
the past 38 years. In her current job as office manager for the Board of Risk
and Insurance Management (BRIM), she’s responsible for the daily operations
of the office, including purchasing, paying invoices, handling personnel issues
and attending meetings. The most challenging aspect of her job has been
the computer. When she started with BRIM, she had no experience with
computers. She’s learned enough to keep pace with the state’s constantly
changing programs but says she’d like to learn more. “I like challenges and
want to be more efficient in everything I do.”
Her co-workers give her more credit, stating that Ms. Butterfield “is a
sheer wizard in knowing and understanding how to navigate through the
state’s financial management system.” She likes doing new things, and a
challenge she enjoyed this year was planning an upcoming 2008 national
conference hosted by BRIM.
Outside of work, Ms. Butterfield enjoys reading, watching movies,
dancing and exercise. A competitive runner until she was 58, she encourages
others to get involved in healthy activities. For example, she convinced several
of her co-workers to participate in a benefit walk for the West Virginia March
of Dimes. Other activities include church and family. This summer, her three
grandchildren spent two months with her.
Her advice to older people is to keep working. “I think retirement is for
people who are not physically or mentally able to work. Working keeps you
young.” It is hardly surprising to learn that she considers a “positive attitude”
to be the key to her success.
WISCONSIN
Ruby Johnson, 94
Manufacturing Associate
MTE Corporation
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Ruby Johnson comes from a family of
strong women. Her mom always told her, “Be
thankful for what you got.” Her grandmother, who
lived to be 114, gave her similar advice, “Don’t give up,
and never look back. Always look ahead.”
She’s worked for the MTE Corporation for 57 years. MTE designs
and manufactures power quality electromagnetic products used to protect
equipment from power surges and improve the efficiency of motor drives. Ms.
Johnson is proudest of the 35 years when she performed the highly skill task
of winding large electrical coils, part of the process of manufacturing complex
transformers. She currently works on preparing coils for final production.
As any employee at MTE will attest, she remains as sharp as a tack and can
still dish it out to her much younger co-workers. When recently asked if she
feels any different than 40 years ago, she replied emphatically, “No, no, no!”
She then added, “Though when I sit down it takes the old girl longer to get up.”
Get up she does, every morning at 4 a.m., to arrive on time for her fulltime shift starting at 6:45 a.m. She drives herself and confesses she has what
she calls a “fuzzbuster” (a radar detector) in her car.
Currently she’s helping her niece through nursing school. As a member of
the Milwaukee Chapter of the Eastern Star Sisters for 42 years, she has learned
many nursing skills and continues to visit local hospitals to aid with the elderly
and sick.
Her attitude about life is positive. “I am always happy and I leave trouble
on the bottom of my feet. Trouble comes if you make it.” She is an inspiration
to others, as her co-workers, family, and friends will attest. Recently she asked
her doctor for some vitamins to keep her going. He looked at her and stated,
“You don’t need vitamins, you need something to slow you down!”
WYOMING
Barbara Hughes, 75
Head of Markdowns and Customer Service Supervisor
Big Lots and TJ Maxx
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Barbara Hughes is proof that age
doesn’t have to be an obstacle when it
comes to vigor. At 75, Mrs. Hughes still works
75 hours every week at two different jobs. “I love
people and being out in the public,” she says.
Ms. Hughes puts customer service first. Her main responsibility at
TJ Maxx as customer service supervisor is to make sure that cashiers give
excellent service to the store’s patrons. At Big Lots, she ensures that price
markdowns are accurate for customers. The markdown team that Ms. Hughes
supervises is first in the region for accuracy.
She began her career 57 years ago at a theater where she was head cashier.
Since then, she worked as a security manager in Macy’s for ten years, as a
training manager at Joslins for over 15 years, and as head cashier at Hobby
Lobby for over seven years. She attributes her career success to love of people,
pride in herself and giving what she has to offer of herself.
Ms. Hughes also created a program to teach young potential workers
interviewing and job-seeking skills. Her abilities helped many new high school
graduates find employment. She even serves as a mentor to these teens after
they gain employment.
Ms. Hughes overcame many health issues in order to keep working.
She has gone through two back operations, surgery on her sciatic nerve, two
shoulder operations and complications brought about by ulcers.
A mother of four, grandmother of ten and great-grandmother of thirteen,
she says, “I love being around everyone at work, giving of myself and making
friendships. You can’t replace this!” She does not plan on slowing down
anytime soon, although she says that she may cut down to one job when she is
80.

alabama - Experience Works

Transcription

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