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Alabama
Martha Jane Sparks, 78
Library Media Aide
Dothan City Schools
Dothan, Alabama
Inventing fun ways to learn keeps Martha Jane Sparks looking forward to school every morning. But creative teaching is nothing new for this dedicated educator, who once coached her auto mechanic students for their GEDs while they worked on cars. A graduate of the University of Georgia whose first job was teaching fifth and sixth grade, Mrs. Sparks was on the Houston-Love Memorial Library Board for 18 years and served as president of the Alabama Library Association.
Now, as Beverlye Middle School’s library aide, Mrs. Sparks presents mixed-media lessons to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders on topics they are studying in the classroom, and mentors special needs children. In this role, she has developed fascinating ways to inspire a love for reading and knowledge, such as holding a party with hats, beads and masks to pique her students’ curiosity about Mardi Gras, or, when the children were studying Australian animals, bringing a wallaby to school, prompting great interest and many questions.
Mrs. Sparks’ reward is in seeing students’ reading scores and comprehension improve. She enjoys the benefits of meeting new challenges, interacting with co-workers and students, setting and meeting goals, and keeping a positive attitude.
Continuing her own education, Mrs. Sparks keeps up with current affairs and technological advances equally well. A former stationery store owner, she often addressed wedding invitations in calligraphy, developing a beautiful handwriting friends describe as a work of art. However, when libraries changed from manual card files and book processing, she forced herself to learn how to use the computer, which she now enjoys.
When she is not at school or corresponding with her grandchildren or the two daughters she raised to be very successful entrepreneurs, Mrs. Sparks enjoys playing tennis or bridge, reading, gardening, or giving Sunday school lessons.
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Alaska
Hugh R. Hays, 75
Adjunct Science Faculty
Kenai Peninsula College, University of Alaska
Soldotna, Alaska
After more than 20 jobs, Dr. Hays is happily working as adjunct faculty at the Kenai Peninsula College. His first job was feeding chickens and collecting eggs on his uncle’s farm. His family influenced his life choices, from his uncle who instilled in him the desire to work and to do a good job, whatever the job, to his mother who inspired his desire to read, learn, and solve problems. His father taught him not to give up.
Dr. Hays bypassed his senior year at college to enlist in the Army during the Korean War. After 23 months of active duty, he returned to college in 1955, completing a PhD in January 1961. The jobs he held over the years were as varied as his interests. To list a few: farm hand, wheat farmer, salt miner, flour mill worker, oilfield hand, fruit train icer, teaching assistant, chemical research, author, high school science and math teacher, flight instructor, fish spotting pilot, science instructor for the Alaska Native Health Association, and security supervisor for the BP gas to liquids test facility.
In his current job, his first assignment was teaching "Introduction to Organic and Bio- Chemistries" in the spring 2006. In the fall of 2006, he taught "Life on Earth," lecture-lab course for aspiring elementary school teachers. This fall he plans to teach both the lecture and the labs for General Chemistry I.
He is a 51-year member of the American Chemical Society. Activities he enjoys in his spare time include having breakfast at Louie’s with his wife Marge, hunting, fishing, traveling, gardening, retriever training and flying.
Why does he work? "I get a really good feeling of being engaged in things that are good and productive for both myself and other people. I feel valued and useful."
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Arizona
Blanche Mahaney, 95
Assistant Manager
Grand Vista, Inc., The Cottages Senior Living Apartments
Kingman, Arizona
Blanche Mahaney started working early in her life, like many in her generation. Her father owned a store, and her first job was helping him. Following high school, she briefly attended nursing school, but when ill health forced her to quit she went into newspaper work. She continues to love writing and editing; to this day people remark that her penmanship remains good and legible.
She’s held many jobs in her life. Her late husband was ill for a very long time, and she worked to keep the bills paid. After he died, she became a participant in the Senior Community Service Employment Project. She received training with the Mohave County Treasurer’s office and then with the Western Arizona Council of Governments, performing office work for 17 years. In July 2003 she was hired as a receptions at The Cottages Senior Living Apartments, a Grand Vista property. Promoted to assistant manager, she handles application intake, logs work orders, collects rents, plans tenant events, keeps files current, and helps with fundraising. She’s also mastered the computer for letters and reports.
Nothing keeps her down. After she suffered a near fatal heart attach two years ago, she was back at work within a week. She doesn’t dwell on what she’s done with her time on earth. Her motto is "Just do it," which means her life continues to hold surprises. On her 95th birthday, friends granted her a life-long wish, to ride in a helicopter.
Awards she’s received include a Lifetime Achievement Award from Mohave County in 1999. She’s volunteering less these days but is still active in her church and with St. Jude Hospital. And she has passed on her work ethic. Like her, her older daughter, at the relatively young age 74, continues to work.
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Arkansas
Jack D. Wilson, 82
Proofreader and Columnist
Pocahontas Star Herald
Pocahontas, Arkansas
Jack Wilson’s retirement at 65 lasted six months. As the former Randolph County circuit clerk and ex-officio recorder, he was asked to help his replacement learn the job. While there, someone mentioned that the Star Herald was looking for a proofreader. He jokingly replied, "Heck, I ought to apply for that job." Sixteen years later he says the opportunity to associate with Star Herald employees and continue to learn makes life more enjoyable.
He’s seen a lot of changes. The newspaper has gone from laying out copy to be photographed then printed, to sending computerized material by satellite to the printing presses. Mr. Wilson’s job is to search for misspelled words, correct poor English, and occasionally compose headlines. He also searches old newspapers to report on events that occurred 24, 48, and 72 years ago.
He didn’t start out in the media business. He left school after the 7th grade to work for a brother-in-law, repairing and recapping worn tires. Just before Pearl Harbor, at age 16, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and participated in the invasions of Bouganville, Guam and Iwo Jima. He was 21 when he returned home, and to earn his high school diploma, he completed five school grades in two years.
He attended Draughn's School of Radio, worked two years for KWFC Radio, then took a job offer from KPOC Radio, near his wife’s hometown. He was KPOC’s morning announcer and chief engineer until January 1977, when he won election as Randolph County circuit clerk. Key to his success, he believes, is dependability. "If I am to be on a job, I'll be there—and always on time."
He has been a Mason, is a founding member of the American Legion Post in Ravenden Springs, and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
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California
Arvada Johnson, 71
Customer Service Assistant
American Red Cross
Yuba City, California
Born into a generation of hardworking North Dakotan farmers, Arvada Johnson learned early what work was all about and how to take responsibility. Mrs. Johnson graduated from high school and married. When she was in her early 20s, the family moved to Yuba City, California, and she has called it home ever since.
She had to work while raising two sons. Her first job, in 1964, was as an accounting office assistant at a hospital. Although she says she was and still is extremely shy, she took a job as a receptionist and secretary at a Caterpillar dealership in 1977. By the time she retired in 2002, she’d learned how to prepare proposals for customers and was doing sales work. She had no intention of returning to work but, as she puts it, "God had other plans for me." In 2006, she enrolled as a trainee in the Experience Works Senior Community Service Employment Program and was assigned to the American Red Cross.
The Red Cross hired Mrs. Johnson in July 2007. Her supervisor reports, "There are not many people who learn as quickly as she does. She has helped with disaster services, CPR classes, fundraising, community service and general office work." In her current job as a customer service assistant, she trains new volunteers to answer phones and provide resource information. She also maintains a Web-based program for CPR classes, helps students identify appropriate classes, and registers them. She says the greatest pleasure she gets from working is helping and mentoring others.
Away from work, she likes to read and garden. She is also active in her church and enjoys time with her two sons and two granddaughters.
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Colorado
Warren M. Washington, 71
Senior Scientist
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Denver, Colorado
Why are egg yolks yellow? This simple high school chemistry question led Warren Washington to become one of the nation's most influential scientists in a highly complex field, and head of the climate change research section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. At NCAR since 1963, Dr. Washington has played a pioneering role developing sophisticated computers for modeling the climate, enabling scientists to understand and evaluate humankind’s impact on the earth’s environment, including global warming.
Washing dishes to work his way through college, Dr. Washington received a B.S. in physics in 1958 from Oregon State University, where he was "bitten by the weather bug" while doing radar research, and earned his MS degree in 1960. He earned his Ph.D. in meteorology from Pennsylvania State University in 1964, and went on to become an inspiring educator, earning numerous awards for his passionate support, mentorship and initiatives to guide young people of diverse backgrounds into scientific careers.
Also widely recognized for his fresh approaches to problems and solutions, creative imagination, and unique contributions to science and technology, Dr. Washington’s achievements, publications, and participation in scientific organizations all reflect his leading role in advancing knowledge and understanding of earth's climate.
An official science adviser to every U.S. President from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush, and chairman of the prestigious National Science Board (which advises the President and Congress about science policy), Washington urges government to "think about the world you leave your children. Climate change is an intergenerational problem -- not to be dealt with in one presidential or congressional term" and to "have a shared responsibility to find ways to deal with it." To young people, he asserts their potential is limitless, especially if they're prepared to change careers several times in their lives.
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Connecticut
Rocco J. DiChiara, 80
Limousine Driver
Expressway Limousine
Waterbury, Connecticut
Rocco DiChiara’s ability to put at ease people who are under stress is very subtle but important. Mostly driving limousines for funerals nowadays, Mr. DiChiara describes the challenge of treading a fine line between being friendly and polite, while respecting bereaved peoples’ feelings. This quiet strength makes his contribution to grieving family members very subtle, but important. His passengers are put at ease by his being on time and knowing where to go, which comforts them in their time of loss, and his passengers’ confidence has made him the number one requested driver in his area.
Starting out as a salesman in a men’s clothing store, Mr. DiChiara went on to work for 30 years at Uniroyal Footwear in Naugatuck, retiring as foreman when the plant closed in 1980. He left retirement to work as a salesman from 1980 until 1995, when he began driving prominent people to such places as airports and special events, choosing this line of work because he wanted interaction with the public.
At the age of 80, Mr. DiChiara still loves what he does, and wants to keep driving and helping people get through their sad times. Working keeps him active, and he really loves being involved in the community and meeting new people, as well as seeing people he has known for years. He says, "Nothing keeps you going like interaction with people," and feels his key to success throughout the years has been keeping active and always treating people like he would want them to treat him.
When not at work, Mr. DiChiara enjoys bowling, dancing, playing cards, gardening, and traveling, but says nothing makes him happier than being with his wife and family, including three children, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
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Delaware
Robert F. Senseny, 79
Harbormaster
Diamond State Port Corporation
Newcastle, Delaware
Robert Senseny is a fast learner and problem solver. His first job was as a laborer at the Port of Wilmington, but only a year later he was running lift-trucks and cranes. He moved on to more complex jobs, such as checking cargo, physically lifting the ship’s heavy lines to tie it up to the dock, running the river pilots out to large ships, and finally on to supervision, doing all the hiring and placement of all daily labor at the port.
One of his innovations included converting lift-trucks from handling two pallets at a time to be able to handle four and six pallets at a time. This enabled the lift-truck operator to do two or three times the amount of work with the same lift-truck. Working his way up the ladder, Mr. Senseny reached the pinnacle as Habormaster, where he now makes plans for docking and undocking of all vessels and is responsible for the entire smooth operation of the port.
Among his many accomplishments he cites handling all of the steel for the Delaware Memorial Bridge through his port. When asked why he keeps working, he says, "Knowing that the job is done right, and being able to work with all the men and ships makes work enjoyable. At this point in my life, I don’t have to work, but do so because I enjoy what I’m doing."
He marks the day he met his wife, Betty, who was also working at the port, as the happiest moment in his life. When they started a family, she left the port to become a full-time mother to their six children.
The Port of Wilmington has recognized his long service and continuing contributions by naming their new office building the Robert F. Senseny Building in his honor.
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District of Columbia
Patricia Brittingham, 66
Project Assistant
Institute of Gerontology
University of the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
A love of life-long learning and a few firsts characterize Patricia Brittingham’s life. A DC native, she was the first Black student to attend Holy Name School. She was also the first female altar server at the church she still attends, Saint Thomas More’s Catholic Church.
Born in her grandmother’s house, she was the fourth of nine children. She married at 19 and was a stay-at-home mom until all but the last of her 14 children were in school. She started as a janitor, and worked her way up through a series of jobs, using what she’d learned, to become an assistant resident manger and finally full-time resident manager in a HUD-administered rental property. She left that position to become the Institute of Gerontology’s front desk receptionist in 2005. Using her business background, she developed front desk procedures that have improved the institute’s work and productivity.
In her current position as project assistant and CFR coordinator, she is the point person for the twice-a-year Community Residence Facilities training program, inviting presenters; preparing materials for the students, faculty and participant organizations; and keeping attendance. The program trains 100 to 150 people per year to work in or run community residence facilities in the District of Columbia. She often works late, offers her services on weekends, and is described as "a truly formidable employee."
She keeps on learning. One of her greatest challenges was learning to use the computer at age 50+, and she’s taken advanced Microsoft and Excel training. Currently, she is learning sign language to reach out to the hearing-impaired seniors who are institute customers. In her spare time, she loves to read and is particularly interested in the Black history of the civil war and the District of Columbia.
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Florida
Fred H. Williams, 69
Director of Human Resources
Elder Care Services, Inc.
Tallahassee, FL
Dr. Williams has always been a dreamer and a doer. His favorite quote from architect Daniel Burnham perhaps says it best, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood."
After earning his PhD in higher education administration from Florida State University in 1969, he spent 35 years teaching or administering to Florida’s youth in various capacities at institutions of higher learning (including Polk Community College, FSU, and Thomasville College). His life changed when his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the late 1990s. During the six years he cared for her, Dr. Williams became acutely aware of the many challenges facing Tallahassee’s growing senior population and the powerful impact that volunteers could have on their lives.
In 2000, Dr. Williams changed careers, joining Elder Care Services as the director of the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). Under his direction, over 550 senior volunteers were recruited and placed in the Big Bend/Tallahassee area. He also connected RSVP to Leon County Court’s Mediation Services. Seniors act as volunteer mediators and counselors to expedite case and court proceedings, saving Leon County an estimated $280,000 annually. He next developed an AmeriCorps VISTA project, coordinating a staff of 36 and 73 volunteers. The project reduced poverty among seniors in Northeast Florida by nearly 10 percent.
In 2004, he completed an eight-week program to become the state’s first certified volunteer administrator. When he’s not working as a volunteer administrator, he practices what he preaches. His many volunteer activities range from hospice and Kiwanis to the Barbershop Harmony Society.
Most recently, Dr. Williams was promoted to director of human resources for Elder Care Services. While his role will change, he is still a dreamer, community activist and a passionate supporter of senior’s rights. And he’s still not making any little plans.
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Georgia
Carlos Page, 74
Senior Security Officer
Augusta Entertainment Center Complex
Augusta, Georgia
Being described as the "go-to guy" is quite an achievement, and especially remarkable at age 74. Carlos Page has been the "go-to guy" in many ways and for many years. He was in the military and then became a mechanic for the US Postal Service. Retiring after 29 years, he promptly went to work part time as a ticket seller at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center Complex, becoming a full-time employee 12 years ago.
Currently a top security officer during all of the James Brown Arena and Bell Auditorium events, Mr. Page assigns other guards to their posts, trains new employees, mentors younger ones, and stays until the last light is turned off after a concert or game. His many other responsibilities utilize all of his talents every day, with his ability to operate, maintain and repair the Zamboni machine among his most valuable attributes. Many times Mr. Page has used his mechanical expertise and extra training to save Augusta Lynx hockey team games from being cancelled by repairing the Zamboni, which smoothes the ice before and during games.
Known for his flexibility and willingness to lend a hand and work whatever hours he is needed, Mr. Page is organized, knows the layout of the buildings down to the smallest detail, and is always vigilant for anything out of the ordinary. Working through the debilitating effects of Crohn' s Disease makes his accomplishments even more remarkable. His supervisor says, "He's a very valuable employee and we'll be lost if or when he decides to retire."
When not working his more than 40 hours per week, he spends as much time as possible with his wife and his six daughters and their families.
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Hawaii
Robert Spicer, 88
Clinical Psychologist
Executive Counseling
Honolulu, Hawaii
When Robert Spicer began working as a psychotherapist, Hawaii was not yet a state and had only one or two other psychologists. He says he learned much about people in his first job, from age 5 to 10, as a newspaper hawker in Ohio. He teamed up with an older neighborhood kid who anchored a popular downtown corner while he fetched the newspapers from the printing house.
After Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. His specialty was amphibious operations, the "front guys" as he calls it, who made sure all supplies needed by troops were in place. He participated in the landings on Leyte, Peleliu and Okinawa and came home a captain, with a box of medals and post-traumatic stress disorder. He says he most likely went into psychology as a back-door way to get the help he badly needed, but he’d also started his career during the war. Despite any academic qualifications, he was assigned to help soldiers with behavioral/emotional problems.
He had a masters in psychology by the start of the Korean War and served as a psychologist to soldiers suffering from anxiety and PTSD. He completed his doctorate in 1958, eventually setting up as a solo practitioner in 1971.
A life-long devotee of physical fitness, he continues to be a disciplined runner/walker and weight lifter. A friend says one of the words missing from Dr. Spicer’s extensive vocabulary is "retire." On his 85th birthday, he made a 25-year plan that does not include retirement. "To me there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a person become who they really are," he says. "This drives me in my work and I can’t imagine stopping."
He quotes poet Dylan Thomas, "Rage, rage against the dying of the light…" and offers one piece of advice to those thinking of retiring: "Don’t."Back to Top
Idaho
Osa Beem, 66
Cashier
Maverick County Store
Filer, Idaho
"I am a fighter, I always try to help the underdog," says Osa Beem. Diagnosed with polio at one year of age, doctors predicted she would not be able to speak, walk or attend school. She worked hard and overcame all those difficulties until she had to leave school in the 11th grade to earn money as a waitress.
With more hard work and persistence she got her GED then managed to go to school on nights and weekends and finally received her licensed practical nurse certificate. But after fifteen years as an LPN other problems arose. Cataracts left her without sight in her right eye; she suffered two heart attacks, a serious ankle injury, the loss of a stepdaughter; and she needed to care for her ill husband.
But her desire to work and need to overcome these barriers kept her going. She came to Experience Works in need of training and was enrolled in the Senior Community Service Employment program as a cashier at the Salvation Army. With the help of a very good supervisor at the Salvation Army, she developed solid skills and was hired by the Maverick County Store. Since starting her job she has had three raises and says she is still going strong.
Therapy has fully restored her injured ankle, and surgery in 2006 restored her sight. Though her bout with polio has left a residual speech problem, with lots of work over the years, it is barely noticeable. She says, "I love life. I wanted to be an example to my family that you never give up, no matter how bad life seems." Mrs. Beem is not only a positive example to her family, she’s a role model for everyone.
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Illinois
David J. Thompson, 66
Registered Pharmacist
Granville Drug
Granville, Illinois
Very few strangers walk into Granville Drug because Dave Thompson knows almost all the customers by first name. The philosophy he has followed throughout his career is simple, "Do the right thing for the patient.
"Dave makes people his priority….his special project is making sure seniors get the prescriptions they need at a price they can afford," reports the director of Putnam County Achievement Services. She notes he was also instrumental in helping the county senior center educate people about the new Medicare D prescription program and other state prescription programs.
His great uncle, a pharmacist, got him interested in the business. After graduation from Drake University’s pharmacy school in 1963 and a stint in the United States Marine Corps (receiving a Purple Heart and Navy Commendation among other military honors), he settled in Granville and opened the pharmacy in 1970.
Thompson sold the business in 2004. He took care in selecting the new owners so the tradition of service to the community would continue. He continues to operate the pharmacy along with another pharmacist and is proud of the fact that seven young people who worked for him have gone on to become pharmacists.
Thompson’s list of service to the community is long. He and some friends started what is now the Putnam County Food Pantry. He’s been a district school board member, president of the Athletic Booster Club, and remains active in the American Legion. He was instrumental in seeing a track program reinstated at Putnam County High School and has been a basketball and track coach.
"I plan on working as long as I can and as long as I am able to be of some help to others," says Thompson, explaining he simply enjoys people and being an active part of his community.
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Indiana
Doreen Squire Ficara, 79
Executive Director
Carmel Arts Council
Carmel, Indiana
Considered by many to be "The Queen Mother" of Carmel, British-born Doreen Squire Ficara often starts work at 5 a.m. Executive director of the Carmel Arts Council (CAC) since 1994, her typical activities include answering emails, writing promotional materials and correspondence, and fundraising.
Seven years ago, she started the council’s biggest fundraising event, the "English Silver Tea." This year, the event raised $6,000 for scholarships and $1,000 to support local students competing in art competitions. She also entertains visitors with a presentation about traditional silver serving pieces, including specimens from her heirloom collection.
The CAC’s Childrens Art Gallery, inaugurated under Ms. Ficara’s direction, was recognized as "The World’s Smallest Children’s Art Gallery" by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1999. The gallery features children's art from local schools. More than 3,200 visitors attended exhibits in 2006.
She exemplifies the adage "Where there’s a will, there’s a way." In 2005, at age 77, she learned to use a computer to produce Word documents and to access the Internet. When a hip replacement and two knee replacements kept her from getting out as much, she stayed on top of projects by using a tray table on wheels as a temporary desk.
A board member of the Carmel Clay Veterans Memorial Corporation, she was instrumental in designing the memorial and raising $350,000 for the monument. She is a board member of the Indiana Performing Arts Academy and the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, a committee chairperson for the Carmel International Arts Festival, and historian for Carmel’s Rotary Club. Currently, she is working on a historic walking tour of Carmel’s Arts and Design District. She received the city’s highest honor, The Range Line Pioneer Award, in 2004 and the Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau Star Award in 2000.
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Iowa
Elvin Soll, 72
Security Officer
Terrible’s Lakeside Casino
Osceola, Iowa
Elvin Soll began his third career almost eight years ago, working fulltime at Terrible’s Lakeside Casino. To this day, he has not missed a day of work. He starts every employee’s day with a smile and a "Good morning." As security officer, he distributes paychecks, works the receiving post, handles the responsibility of vendors coming in and leaving the building, and does whatever is required to maintain a secure and safe environment. The casino praises his ability to multitask. Mr. Soll’s supervisor notes that he always gives 100 percent, never complains and volunteers for extra duties.
He likes working with people of all ages but especially enjoys the challenge of keeping up with younger workers. On his own time, he promotes the casino at a variety of events, including setting up a booth the Iowa State Fair and pulling the Lakeside float in parades using his own pickup.
Mr. Soll was self-employed in farming and in a lime spreading business until 1990. When health problems intervened, he became a carpenter, doing finish work and painting, until a heart attack prevented him from doing physical labor. His search for work was hampered by his physical condition. Employers considered him a liability, but he didn’t give up, and in 1999, the casino gave him his chance.
Through the years, Elvin has received numerous awards for his achievements and contributions to the community including four awards from Iowa governors. He has served as mayor, councilman, volunteer fireman, and judge. Currently among other civic activities, he is the vice president of the Iowa Mormon Trail Association and the Clark County representative for Central Iowa Tourism Region.
He enjoys woodworking, going to flea markets and collecting antiques. He shares his interests with Twyla, his wife of 50 years.
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Kansas
Joyce M. Knapp, 80
Registered Nurse Educator
Butler Community College
Eldorado, Kansas
A loving, compassionate instructor and a very energetic person that’s how students and co-workers describe Joyce Knapp, who has been an adjunct professor at the Butler Community College for 10-plus years, teaching certified nurse aide classes under the college’s Allied Health Division.
Ms. Knapp has been a hard worker since the age of nine, when during depression years, she secured a job for 10 cents an hour. At the end of 10 hours’ work she gave the one dollar she earned to her mother for food and rent. But education was always her dream, and in 1986, at the age of 59, she finally achieved that dream by graduating from Butler’s nursing program, with the goal of helping her two children obtain their own college degrees. Prior to her nursing studies, Ms. Knapp worked for the CIT Credit Corporation for 15 years, and following graduation, she worked at the Augusta Hospital for 35 years. Overcoming a stroke three years ago, Ms. Knapp spent two months in a nursing home and went right back to work.
She has been gratefully recognized for her many hours of volunteer work, fundraising, and leadership by entities including Butler County, the Kiwanis International Club, the American Red Cross, and the State of Kansas Hospital Auxiliary. A lay speaker for the United Methodist Church, where she helps with cooking, Ms. Knapp also visits elderly people at nursing homes and paints pictures which she donates to organizations to raise money.
Considering it a personal achievement to help others prepare for and succeed in life, expand their minds, and accomplish their goals, Ms. Knapp advises her students to learn how to think and solve problems, and get on with their lives with compassion, love and understanding, while helping their fellowmen.
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Kentucky
Juanita K. Callahan, 78
Authorized Dealer
Kaeser & Blair, Inc.
Jackson, Kentucky
Juanita Callahan’s knowledge of computer technology made a teenager sit up and remark, "That lady is really cool!" She was helping with a high school leadership seminar sponsored by the Jackson Woman’s Club, one of many organizations for which Mrs. Callahan volunteers.
Remarkably, she’s primarily "self taught" (with the help of friends and family) on the Word, Excel, and QuickBook Pro software she uses in her paid employment as a dealer for Kaeser and Blair products in southeastern Kentucky. She sells promotional items to companies and agencies so they can promote their business and increase sales.
"Her dogged style of ‘getting the job done’ as efficiently and thoroughly as possible sets a precedent for her coworkers and raises the bar for customer satisfaction among her clients," says a former colleague. Callahan began developing her work ethic almost 70 years ago at age 10 when she would go to work with her dad. Over the years, she’s worked in the private sector, for the state, and at a university, mostly in the accounting field. She says her "gift of gab" is a strength that she’s really developed in later years. "I’m a people person and have a good rapport with people."
A devoted wife, mother, grandmother and career woman, she is also a life-long volunteer. Currently, she volunteers or holds a leadership position with several organizations including the Eighth District Kentucky Federation of Women’s Clubs, Morris Fork Crafts, Transylvania Presbytery, Breathitt County Action Team, and Hospice of the Bluegrass.
She is motivated by her ability to remain active and says it’s been good for her. "During the past eight to 10 years my friends have told me I push myself too much," she admits, "but my doctor says as long as I can do it, more power to me!"
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Louisiana
Percy Broussard, 71
Assembly Department Oven Operator
Stuller, Inc.
Lafayette, Louisiana
At age 57, Percy Broussard took up an entirely different line of work—operating hydrogen ovens used to manufacture jewelry—because he wanted to try manufacturing. Most of his previous jobs had centered around the retail industry (his last job was marketing drugs and related products to pharmacists) or the leisure industry (jobs at bowling alleys and movie theaters). As an oven operator at Stuller, he operates three ovens, monitoring temperatures, checking belt speeds, picking up items for the ovens, and cleaning them when they are finished. The job requires him to be on his feet most of his eight-hour shift.
Because of ever-changing advances in technology, employees are required to stay updated in new processes by completing Stuller Learning Institute classes, not a problem for Mr. Broussard. Colleagues note his dedication to the company (he almost never misses a day of work) and his attitude and knowledge. Co-workers say he makes everyone smile and this year voted him "associate of the month." He has also suggested several improvements that have increased production in his area, most notably installing mirrors so that oven operators could see when product was coming out of an oven rather than walking 50 feet every few minutes to check it.
Outside of work, Mr. Broussard enjoys working in his yard, tending to his garden and fruit trees. Stuller co-workers count on him to provide them with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers during the growing season. When not gardening, he’s spending time with his family or church.
He says he keeps working because he enjoys it and has seen others retire only to decline in health. He wants to ‘keep on kicking’ and knows the secret is giving of self and staying active.
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Maine
Patricia "Pat" A. Myshrall, 69
Library Assistant
Hawthorne-Longfellow Library, Bowdoin College
Brunswick, Maine
"Pat Myshrall is the soul of the library," according to one colleague. Every year, she receives visits from alumni, former student employees of the library, and others who fondly remember working or talking with her.
For almost 40 years, she has helped patrons check out library materials, guided visitors through the library building, assisted patrons with research, and supervised some of the library’s many college student workers, among other duties. More recently, she learned computer skills and now maintains the online patron records. The use of ever-evolving electronic systems in the library means that every year she must learn new online functions as the library’s computer software is developed, upgraded or changed.
She performs two other functions that endear her to fellow workers. As one wrote, "We assign Pat to make phone calls to "difficult" library partrons who have overdue books or bills because her manner is so gracious that no one ever argues with her." Miss Myshrall also assembles "The Book," an annual compilation of funny and interesting anecdotes regarding the library that are read aloud, to much laughter, at the annual holiday party.
Her first job was as a packer in a sardine canning factory, work she remembers as dirty, hard and low-paying. Other factory jobs followed. Her life changed in 1968 when she became governess/nanny for the family of a Bowdoin College professor during a sabbatical tour of Europe. When the job ended, he urged her to look for a job at library, advice she took. She was hired the day she applied.
In May 1997, she received the Bowdoin College Employee Excellence Award. Her interests include participating in church functions, rescuing stray cats, auditing college classes, watching film and theatre, following the Boston Red Sox, and staying current on the British royal family.
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Maryland
Robert A. Scott, 79
Recreation Specialist
Chevy Chase Community Center
Suitland, Maryland
Passing on his love of sports to families and youth is one of the reasons Robert Scott still works. Since 1970, he’s been employed full time at numerous playground and recreational centers in Washington, D.C., mostly as a director or recreation specialist. He came to his recreation career through a circuitous route, having previously worked installing home alarm systems, as a food tech, in a hospital morgue, and in the U.S. military
At the Chevy Chase Community Center where he now works, he recruits and supervises instructors, plans and organizes recreational activities, coordinates registration and conducts summer camps. In addition, he serves as a liaison with various civic and community organizations, such as AARP and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees.
Recreation wasn’t his first choice of careers. Although he played several sports in high school, his ambition in the mid-1940s was to be a soldier, and he dropped out of college to enlist in the Army. His first tour, in 1947, was to Hawaii. He’d trained as a demolitions and ammunitions expert, but with the war over, he was assigned to recover and assist in identifying the remains of U.S. soldiers. During off hours, he found time to compete in divisional sports activities—something he was to do throughout his 22 years in the military—and to win a lightweight championship in boxing.
He was posted to Kentucky, Texas, Japan, and finally saw war action in Korea. While he was in France in 1961, sports became part of his job. He helped organize sports leagues, tournaments, and exhibitions. In 1966, he became sports director at Fort Lee, Virginia. His 1969 retirement lasted less than a year.
Sports and family occupy his leisure time. He’s fond of golf and table tennis, but admits arts and crafts are a hobby too.
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Massachusetts
Elizabeth McGinnis, 71
Garnishment Administrator
UNICCO Service Company
Auburndale, Massachusetts
Her ability to empathize helps Ms. McGinnis provide the kind of service her customers need. As UNICCO’s garnishment administrator in a company of 16,000 employees, it is her responsibility to see that deductions from employees’ paychecks are withheld as directed by a federal or state agency, bankruptcy trustee, court, or child support agency. She also created and oversees the system to ensure that every week the 650+ garnishments are sent from UNICCO to the correct vendor. She regularly receives countless phone calls from upset and/or confused employees whose paychecks are being garnished. With kindness and empathy, she addresses their questions and concerns. A worker less than half her age cites Ms. McGinnis as a role model and mentor and says, "Elizabeth’s upbeat and positive attitude is contagious."
Prior to her start at UNICCO six years ago, she had 22 years of experience as an office manager and payroll administration. While working in various areas of office procedures, garnishments caught her interest. To keep abreast of the requirements in her field, she reads and regularly attends American Payroll Association seminars on garnishment.
Although Ms. McGinnis isn’t planning to retire in the near future, she has prepared her office for that eventuality. She has trained another employee to do her job (currently during her rare absences for vacation or sick leave) and has set up reference guides and systems so that her successor will have as much information available as possible. She has also significantly reduced the penalties assessed UNICCO for non-compliance.
Benefits of working, as she sees it, are "learning, friendship, feeling one is making a contribution." During her nonworking hours, she spends time with her five children and seven grandchildren. Hobbies include gardening, cooking, sewing, reading, and the theater. Volunteer work is in her future—after she retires.
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Michigan
John Norman Tower, 74 Marine Technician
Byrd’s Landing Marina
Battle Creek, Michigan
Diagnosing problems that others cannot is one of the reasons J. Norman Tower remains a valued employee with Byrd’s Landing Marina after almost 30 years. As a marine technician, he has seen a lot of changes during his career. Most of the boats he worked on in his earlier years were wooden, and ignition systems were points and condensers. Now they are all electronic. Carburetors have been replaced by fuel injectors. His job requires annual training at manufacturing schools to keep up-to-date with the newest technology, and he particularly enjoys mentoring younger and newer employees.
He has always been an achiever. He earned his Eagle Scout award at 14 ? years of age, joined the Civil Air Patrol at 15, and flew with the Air Reserves on weekends. He started work at a marina the day after his high school graduation in 1951. After a four-year stint in the Navy, and a period working as an automobile mechanic and salesman, he returned to working with boats in 1962.
Outside of work, he’s active in his church (including 34 years in the choir), on family projects, and in his neighborhood association. In his younger years, he was a volunteer fireman. He has worked with scout troops and was a scout master for "about eight years." Although he’s received recognition for his work with youth, his happiest moment was watching his grandson become an Eagle Scout and presenting his grandson with the actual Eagle he had received in 1974.
He plans to continue to work as long as he is able because he enjoys the challenge and the people with whom he works. As he says, "I have never had a job that I couldn’t find some enjoyment in."
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Minnesota
Avis Hoehne, 70
Home Health Aide
Frazee Care Center
Frazee, Minnesota
Avis Hoehne loves being with and helping people, and work has been a part of her life for a long time. She started out as bookkeeper at First National Bank and then worked as a secretary before turning her attention to the family farm where she and her children put in the crops every spring and milked their nearly 40 cows.
Always interested in helping others and her community, Mrs. Hoehne obtained CPR and medical technician training and joined the Frazee Rescue first responders group. When she began working as a home health aide, she realized that providing care to others was her true calling. She received training as a nursing assistant and then her certification as a home health aide. In her current position with Frazee Care Center, she takes care of 19 residents with essential services that range from meal service and housekeeping to medication reminders, blood pressure and blood sugar checks. In addition she supervises baking, crafts, games and exercise groups. She says that one of the most important aspects of her job is being alert to any medical or social issues of the residents and bringing those issues to the forefront immediately.
Two knee replacement surgeries and cancer haven’t slowed her down. In order to maintain her home-health aide certification, she attends at least 12 hours of in-service training each year. She enjoys her flower garden, stamp collecting and oil painting, and she and her husband celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year with their three children and 10 grandchildren. She says, "I know even after I retire, I will always be a volunteer and continue to help people."
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Mississippi
Jobie L. Martin, 88
Substitute Teacher
Jackson Public Schools
Jackson, Mississippi
Jobie Martin is a man of many talents. At the age of 87 he is still teaching school at Chastain Middle School, where despite being a substitute, he sometimes works 40 hours per week.
Though his early training was from the Worsham College of Mortuary Science, he also received degrees at the Chicago Conservatory of Music in voice and piano. While working as an apprentice pathologist, he won first prize on a talent show and got a job singing on the radio until he was drafted into the Army. That led to a tour with the Army Band as a vocal soloist. After the war he became a radio announcer. When a beer company made him their spokesperson, he was able to move to Jackson and start The Jobie Martin Show on WOKJ. He entered Jackson State University in 1960, played football at the college, earning himself the nickname ‘Flash,’ and graduated in 1963 with his B.A. in Elementary Education.
He taught school at Westside Elementary in Hinds County and in the 1970s moved his show to two other TV stations. Among the guests he hosted were Bill Cosby, Mahalia Jackson, James Brown, Nat King Cole, Mohammed Ali and Joe Lewis. His TV show was the first commercially paid TV show in Mississippi.
During the 70s he also opened his own restaurant, Jobie’s Fried Chicken, which was voted as Mississippi’s Best Soul Food. Mr. Martin also dabbled in politics as a member of the Democratic executive committee, establishing the first voting precinct in Jackson State University. In 1989, he was appointed to the Hinds Community College Board of Trustees, a position he still holds today.
Mr. Martin received an award as a Living Legend from the Jackson State University National Alumni Association. His philosophy of life, which he shares with his students, is "go straight ahead," which was also his well-known signoff for his radio and TV programs.
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Missouri
Javada Brown, 73
Operation Support Specialist
Cerner Corporation
Kansas City, Missouri
Javada Brown is a patient woman. At one point in her life, she painted a bedroom with a one-inch brush because that’s all she had. "It took me about 10 hours, but I got it done," she says. "I couldn’t get out to get another brush." She says patience has been key to her success throughout the years.
A stay-at-home mom, she returned to work when her two children were grown. Grandchildren came along, so she quit work to become a "soccer grandma." A few years later, she decided to re-enter the job market. Using computer skills she’d learned doing volunteer work, she took various assignments through a temp agency before being sent to Cerner Corporation, the United States’ largest producer of healthcare technology software.
"I worked there one day a week as a file clerk," she says. "One of the associates on the team went on vacation, so I took her place while she was gone. When she came back she transferred to another division, and I was offered the job. I guess it was my good fortune she took vacation."
But it was far more than good fortune that landed her the full-time job says her supervisor. "The other people on the team Javada was working with noticed her abilities. She didn’t have the computer skills she needed, but she had a lot of other great skills that stood out."
Mrs. Brown has since helped move her department to a paperless system for reviewing expense reports. Cerner processes 3,000 expense reports for staff each week, and her suggestions to scan the receipts and use two screens to review the report and the receipt simultaneously have substantially increased the productivity of the finance department.
Mrs. Brown marked her fifth year with Cerner in August, and she has no plans to retire.
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Montana
Ella Oblender, 91
Customer Service Representative
Missouri River Marine
Great Falls, Montana
Ella Oblender believes that if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. After high school she began a long career in service to others in the health-care field, starting out as a nurse’s aide in the retirement ward of the North Pacific Railroad Hospital in Glendive. Her patients ranged in age from 75 to 93. She then moved to Billings and worked at St. Vincent’s hospital, where she primarily worked on the maternity, labor and delivery floor. She ended her medical career back in Great Falls, where she focused on patient care in the maternity ward.
But her working career wasn’t over. For the last 16 years she has worked as a customer-service representative at Missouri River Marine, where she is responsible for ordering and picking up parts for boats and marine products. It’s her job to make sure that customers are happy with their product and services.
Mrs. Oblender says, "Continuing to work gives me an opportunity to do something worthwhile, to get to meet people, to do a job to the best of my ability."
She calls the birth of her sons the happiest days of her life, and they have blessed her with seven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. She has survived replacements of both knees and cancer surgery. Her hobbies include sewing, crocheting, and singing, and she’s an active member of her church, regularly visiting shut-ins in the community.
She says the keys to her working successes have been punctuality, accuracy and compassion, and plans to keep working "as long as I am able."
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Nebraska
Beth Tielke, 76
Businesswoman/Entrepreneur
O’Neill, Nebraska
If she ever retires from business, Beth Tielke can return to her teaching days and give lessons in entrepreneurship.
In 1974, she and her husband opened the first business, Tielke’s Dairy Supply, because they needed money to send a daughter to college. She was 45 years old, had seven children and was helping run their dairy farm. A deli was added to the supply business. The deli grew and she added a sandwich business, which she ran out of the trunk of her car. Today, three sons run the business that now distributes sandwiches in six states. Other businesses have included restaurants and an Internet shopping business called My Power Mall. For more than 30 years, she has also sold Watkins Products and Electrolux vacuums. She has had as many as 150 Watkins dealers reporting to her, but has now scaled back to 50.
Her volunteer activities have been as varied, from starting the Share Our Dream Foundation to organizing a fund drive to build a bird aviary for a local elder care facility. She’s been inducted into the O’Neill Hall of Fame, received the Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Award, and been recognized as a Friend of 4-H Award. Her most recent not-for-profit venture, called Nebraska Troops, supports men and women in the military by sending packages and letters of appreciation. A poignant moment from this venture was a letter from a sergeant, stating that the best part of the package was knowing that someone was thinking about him and appreciating what he was doing. He was killed in action in Iraq before she could answer his letter
She can’t imagine not working. As she says, "When you get up in the morning, you never know what good is going to happen. It is exciting and there is always good!"
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Nevada
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, 77
Truck Driver
Basalite Concrete Products, LLC.
Carson City, Nevada
Pat Fitzgerald works circles around his co-workers, regardless of age, according to his supervisor. As a truck driver for Basalite Concrete Products, a masonry products company, Mr. Fitzgerald is the only person who has direct contact with masonry contractors, and many of them prefer it that way. Countless times, customers have called to request him for their deliveries because they know if he comes, they don’t have to worry about the job being done correctly. He drives up to 60 hours a week and has been working at Basalite since 1981.
At his first job, he drove a team hauling logs and trucked lumber to railroad sidings. Jobs that followed included work in sawmills, as a mechanic, and as owner of stables. He also served in the U.S. Air Force from 1950 to 1953.
He notes he has been healthy all his life, and the hobbies he enjoys reflect that: running, riding horses, and square dancing. He has completed 100-mile endurance races over the Sierra Nevada mountains, both on foot and by horse. One of his proudest moments was winning his first endurance ride in 1963, and he has been inducted into the Endurance Riding Hall of Fame.
He says he keeps working because "it helps to keep the body and mind healthy." As for reliability, many of the older drivers talk about the days when Mr. Fitzgerald would come to work after an endurance race with his feet so blistered and bruised he could hardly walk. His job knowledge is also legendary. Over the years, he has learned by talking with his customers about how they like things done. His research has been so extensive he can now read blueprints at the jobsite, anticipate what product will come next in the delivery schedule, and plan for its distribution.
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New Hampshire
Ralph L. Rhodes, 71
Letter Carrier
United States Postal Service
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
"Giving a day’s work for a day’s pay" is the philosophy Ralph Rhodes inherited from his grandmother, who carried a newspaper route for 40 years, into her 80s. Inspired by her dedication, Mr. Rhodes has been picking up and delivering mail dependably, and on time, for the past 33 years.
The Postal Service is actually a second career for Mr. Rhodes, who served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, doing two tours of duty in Viet Nam. Only in his late 30s when he left the military, Mr. Rhodes recalled that, as a child, he followed his mailman around the neighborhood thinking, "I’d like to do this when I grow up." So in 1978, Mr. Rhodes began a different type of service to his country by becoming a letter carrier. He has adjusted to many changes since then, such as switching from walking house-to-house to driving a two-ton truck, learning about letter sorting machines and scanners, and dealing with more packages from increased internet shopping.
Having carried many of the postal routes over the years, Mr. Rhodes has made many suggestions to improve efficiency, mentored younger workers, and even taught other drivers how to handle the big trucks safely. He also received a Post Master’s Special Achievement Award for alerting occupants and neighbors of a fire in a building on his mail route, has earned a Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding performance on the job, and saved a young woman from a violent attack by a neighbor.
He believes working keeps him in a positive frame of mind, and despite a bout with prostate cancer, he continues to do a very physically demanding job. Known for his love, support, loyalty, reliability, and dedication to his family, Ralph Rhodes keeps busy outside of work, going to movies, visiting his children, and baking "a mean lemon pound cake!"
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New Jersey
Lisa Gable, 84
President/CEO
L G Accessories, Inc.
Dayton, New Jersey
When she was 14, relatives helped Lisa Gable and her Jewish family escape Germany for the U.S. She enrolled in high school, even though she spoke no English. Teachers responded to her obvious desire to learn, spending extra time helping her to learn the new language. By the time she left school to help support the family, she was getting A’s in English.
She took evening classes over the years and received her GED in her 50s. She describes herself as a lifelong learner, always interested in current topics and learning new things.
Her first employment was as a secretary. She didn’t like office work and held a number of other jobs before starting her own business. At the time she started L G Accessories, women, especially single women, did not have an easy time getting loans for their enterprises. She succeeded and has been operating the home-based business, now international in scope, for over 13 years.
Her products are distributed nationally by Fashion Forms to major department stores such as Nordstrom and Macy’s. Orders are also filled from her web site. She holds four patents, continually seeking ways to improve her products and expand her product line. One of her bestsellers is Strap-Mate, an accessory she developed that fits across a woman’s back to keep lingerie straps from slipping.
Her volunteer activities currently center on SGI (Soka Goki International). The name translates as "peace," and the organization is a United Nations non-governmental organization. For 27 years, she has helped at their community center in East Orange, setting sales records in the bookstore and mentoring the youth division. She also participated in their Women’s Leadership Conference for World Peace.
About older workers, she states: "Most older workers don’t want to stop working. They want to continue contributing, learning and being active."
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New Mexico
Elizabeth "Bess" Winchester Isaacs, 82
Bookkeeper/Secretary/Salesperson
R.W. Isaacs Hardware
Clayton, New Mexico
After completing nursing training, Elizabeth Isaacs went to work in her father’s medical office, and though she left the office to raise her four children, she stayed active in the medical field, filling in at the local hospital and nursing home, giving immunizations and getting her emergency medical technician certification so she could help out the local ambulance crew. When she wasn’t taking care of her family or volunteering in the medical field, she also managed to help out at her husband’s hardware store. When her youngest child was entering school she planned to go back to nursing full time, but her husband convinced her to come work at his hardware store and she’s been there ever since.
Mrs. Isaacs is truly a "Jane of all trades" at the hardware store, with jobs ranging from window washer to purchasing, secretary to ad buyer, and inventory clerk to sales representative. The store is moving from a manual system to computers, and Mrs. Isaacs is quickly learning the new technology.
Mrs. Isaacs is a 59-year member of the Order of the Eastern Star where she has held nearly every office. She has been a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and the Order of Rainbow for Girls, a Brownie Girl Scout leader, health nurse for Girl Scout camp, den mother for Cub Scouts, secretary/treasurer for an investment club, 55-year member of the Belles Lettres club, and an appointee to the Mayor’s Council for Seniors.
She has overcome the tremendous loss of losing her husband in a car accident, and says her keys to success are, "A willingness to do any job I was capable of doing without complaint and with a positive attitude."
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New York
Eunice Osta Esposito, 80
Town Clerk
Town of Rotterdam
Rotterdam, New York
Born to Italian immigrant parents, Mrs. Esposito’s first job was as a "commando" during World War II. Every day after school, she joined a group of mostly boys at the local Army depot, dipping tools used by soldiers, including guns, into hot wax to prevent corrosion. She also helped her mother care for younger siblings, kept up with schoolwork, and was the best girl athlete in her class. Her hard work prompted the dean to comment at graduation that if anyone deserved a diploma, it was Eunice.
A two-year job as secretary for General Electric ended when she married and stayed home to raise a family. In 1969, when her children were in high school, she quite unexpectedly re-entered the workforce. While helping with her brother’s campaign for town council, she filled in at the town hall for a worker on surgical leave. She performed so efficiently, the town supervisor hired her as his executive secretary.
Following her brother’s example, she ran for and was elected town clerk. Her work ethic and caring attitude have kept her in office for nearly 35 years, elected every four years by the citizens of Rotterdam, a community of approximately 28,000 in upstate New York. Her duties include issuing marriage licenses, permits, death certificates, dog licenses and other documents; keeping minutes of town board meetings; and recording resolutions and laws. She’s also in demand to perform marriage ceremonies, imbuing each ceremony with a personal touch. She enjoys helping citizens navigate the town bureaucracy and says, "It’s a pleasure to smooth the way." To keep up to date with her work, she’s taken evening classes a community college and is self-taught on the computer.
She still keeps a vegetable garden. And every week, she makes pasta fagioli for "her seniors" at the local senior center.
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North Carolina
Alice Eason Ballance, 88
Director
Kiddie World/Mary Alice Day Center
Windsor, North Carolina
Her working day starts at 7:30 a.m., when she drives her mini-van to pick up adult and child-care clients. Nine hours later, she returns home, having overseen the delivery of day-care services to 150 children and 25 adults. She works side by side with her staff. As an employee reports, "Sometimes she has more energy than I do, and I am a little more than half her age."
The daughter of sharecroppers, Alice Ballance’s life has centered around helping others, particularly the poor and dispossessed. She believed from an early age that she had the responsibility to help people less fortunate. As an adult, watching white farmers tear down houses and displace poor black tenants, she channeled her anger into action and since the 1960s has worked to help relieve the effects of poverty.
She recognized the importance of voting and mounted a highly successful voter registration drive, personally teaching men and women to read the Constitution so they could pass the literacy test. She has found housing for displaced sharecroppers, worked to open the welfare system to them and developed poverty and jobs programs, just to name a few of her accomplishments. She believes in stressing the positive. "I am as poor as anybody, and I am just as rich as anybody. I tell people, ‘You are somebody. God didn’t make no junk. Just because you’re poor doesn’t mean you aren’t somebody.’"
For her efforts, she has a wall full of awards, citations, and plaques. Her most cherished are the Long Leaf Pine from Governor James Hunt, a Community Service Award from Bill Clinton, and the Nancy Susan Reynolds Award for Extraordinary Leadership.
Selfless in all she does, Mrs. Balance has spent much of her own money on community projects. "If I had a whole lot of money, I wouldn’t keep it," she says. "I’d give it all away."
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North Dakota
Richard "Rich" Ott, 74
Superintendent of Schools
Glen Ullin School District
Bismarck, North Dakota
Rich Ott’s twinkling blue eyes, unparalleled exuberance and giving spirit truly are contagious. His first job was folding boxes for a J.C. Penney Store. He says, "I learned the importance of punctuality, the satisfaction of productive work and the thrill of being paid for my effort." He also worked in restaurants, as a land surveyor, a draftsman and teacher. Among his more recent positions, he served as the executive director for the North Dakota School Boards Association and the director for the Humane Society.
With his career experiences steeped in education, Mr. Ott now shares that expertise as a full-time school superintendent. He helps the school system with the many challenges facing the small school districts of North Dakota, and loves bringing the public to that important point where they feel they have involvement in the school.
School superintendent is the fifth job he has taken since he first tried retirement. He says, "Continuing to work helps keep me mentally alert and physically conditioned." He says the key to his success is "a sense of pride in accomplishment and a willingness to go beyond ‘clock hours’ in the effort to accomplish personal and professional goals."
He has battled back from health problems that included an artificial aortic heart valve, cancer and diabetes. He served in the Army, both active duty and reserves, and has his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from the University of Missouri and his doctorate from St. Louis University.
He is a longtime activist with the Central Dakota Humane Society and works extensively as a volunteer for the North Dakota State Library. He reads to children at a local bookstore and is a life member of the Girl Scouts. He loves golf, reading, music, traveling and working with homeless animals.
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Ohio
Bonnie Dick, 69
Employment Consultant
CGI
Shaker Heights, Ohio
A passion for people is what drives Bonnie Dick, who is now working in her fifth career. Her first professional job was as a medical technologist, followed by a job in medical research. After she and her husband Neal raised her daughter, she went to work as a disc jockey for the public radio station at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. She had her own program four hours a day, three days a week promoting jazz and information.
After relocating with her husband to Wisconsin, she became chief marketer with a business providing relocation services to Fortune 500 companies, but when the company moved to Cleveland, she developed her current job with CGI.
Her role is to coach people in transition to successfully market themselves. She has taught, coached and mentored young and old to build new business relationships through networking. In 2001, Mrs. Dick created the "Management Group" at the center designed to bring together management people who are searching for work so they may network and build camaraderie. Through her methods of coaching and mentoring she has helped thousands of people effectively implement their job search.
Mrs. Dick says that there are always things to learn. "We need to keep up with technology. I don’t want to fall behind." She wants to continue helping people return to the workplace and to assist in anyway possible to shape the face of Cleveland. She says her energy comes from her mother who worked until she was 75. Retirement is not on her radar screen. "I’ve got a lot of energy. I have a lot of friends playing golf, tennis, bridge or whatever. I’m just not ready; I don’t think of retirement."
Mrs. Dick still wants to be challenged. "I want to sing again and make a record. That would be fun. If I could learn how to hang glide, I’d learn that, too!"
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Oklahoma
Pendleton Woods, 83
Director, American Citizenship Center
Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
When Pendleton Woods talks, people listen. A dramatic event in Mr. Wood’s life was his capture behind enemy lines during World War II. After six months as a prisoner and escaping to an American camp, he returned at war’s end to finish his journalism degree at the University of Arkansas. Following graduation, he moved to Oklahoma City and started a 21-year career at Oklahoma Gas and Electric in the public relations department.
When Oklahoma Christian University wanted to inaugurate a Living Legends oral history project, he signed on, starting the first program in Oklahoma. While working on oral history project, he helped at the university’s American Citizenship Center, eventually becoming its director. The center is a campus outreach program with a message to youth about having a sense of purpose, commitment to public service, patriotism, and drug abatement.
Over the years Mr. Woods has written 10 books dealing with Oklahoma history or biography and was recently inducted into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame. He has an extensive history of community service with organizations such as the Variety Health Center, Military Order of World Wars, EX-POWs’ Association, Oklahoma City Beautiful, and the Epilepsy Association of the Sooner State. He headed a program to restore the Veterans’ Memorial at the Oklahoma State Capitol. At the local Veterans’ Hospital, just one of his many volunteer activities, he has logged more than 7,000 volunteer hours.
The Points of Light Foundation recognized his significant volunteer work through a Daily Points of Light Award in 2006. A sampling of other awards includes the Presidents Award from Oklahoma City Beautiful and the Oklahoma Distinguished Service Award (the highest Oklahoma military honor). He’s been inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame and was named the nation’s Outstanding Ex-Prisoner of War for 2005.
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Oregon
Bertha Miller, 78
Fire Chief
Grants Pass Rural Fire Department
Grants Pass, Oregon
Bertha Miller is one of the few female fire chiefs in the country. Owner of Grants Pass Rural Fire Department, she has served as its chief for 50 years. Unlike many fire departments, Mrs. Miller’s service is a subscription-based business, and as chief, Mrs. Miller does it all. She’s a mechanic and ambulance driver, a trainer and mentor for volunteer fire fighters. She is so devoted to helping others that she answers the dispatch line 24/7. Sometimes its not related to her business. She has helped truckers with directions and responded to people who need reassurance when they are troubled.
Mrs. Miller started working for the business in 1957, when she was 29. A year later, she and her husband bought the business. At that time, the fire department had two pumpers and a pickup truck. For many years, Grants Pass Rural was the only fire department in Oregon.
Times have changed. Since 1970, Mrs. Miller has been sole owner of the business. Today the fire department boasts five pumpers, two 4,000-gallon tenders, and four quick-response trucks, and the service area is about 250 square miles. The number of stations has expanded as well, from one to three.
The deputy state fire marshal says, "Miller’s passion and tenacity for the job have made her a legend in Josephine County." That may be due in part because Mrs. Miller believes helping others is important. Before organizations like the American Red Cross were around to help people after a fire destroyed their home, Grants Pass Rural offered temporary housing, clothing and comfort.
When she’s not working, she enjoys gardening, working with her dogs, and spending time with her family. All her children have followed her into helping professions, including a transportation provider, a nurse, and a family counselor.
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Pennsylvania
Mervin "Shorty" Onstead, 67
Truck Driver
CVS Distribution Center
Somerset, Pennsylvania
Shorty Onstead wanted to be a truck driver from the time he was six years old. He would sit in his seat behind the school bus driver and surreptitiously "change gears" with her throughout the ride to and from school. Mr. Onstead held other jobs in his early years, such as working on farms, in a sawmill, and at a shoe factory, and he and his wife had a business mowing lawns. But trucking is his true calling and has included hauling steel on flatbeds, transporting fresh Iowa meat, driving trucks during his military service, and for the past 27 years, supplying CVS stores with merchandise from their distribution center.
In 1994 he was a successful truck driver with an impeccable safety record, but an impaired driver caused his tractor-trailer to plunge over a snowy embankment. Despite extensive surgeries and therapy, he was back driving his truck within a year. His physical challenges also included bouts of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Legionnaires’ disease and bacterial spinal meningitis. Yet he has maintained an exceptional career, serving as mentor and role model to everyone he works with, as well as members of the community.
As senior driver, he gets first bid on truck runs, but he will often give away a plum route to another driver who hasn’t had much work during the week or who has a need for extra income because of misfortunes.
He’s a greeter at two church services each week, mows old cemeteries that have been neglected, and looks out for his neighbors, mowing or plowing as the season dictates. He participates in the Cancer Society’s Walk for Life and is Santa Claus for 20 to 30 parties each year to bring joy to children and those in nursing homes. He says, "Who wants to retire and sit around like an old toad? You’ll just lay down and die if you don’t keep going."
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Puerto Rico
Ruben Diaz Garcia, 98
Independent Insurance Agent
Canovanas, Puerto Rico
At 98, Ruben Diaz-Garcia has no intention of slowing down. He still works at least 20 hours a week, exercises regularly, reads poetry, does carpentry, and spends time with his family. He says, "As long as I can stand firm on my own two feet, see things clearly and think lucidly, I will continue to work."
He was born into a farming family in Guaynabo, the youngest of 16 brothers and sisters. His early days were spent cultivating sugar cane and planting tobacco. At 17, he successfully juggled his enrollment in the National Guard with attendance at the University of Puerto Rico, receiving a B.S. degree in administration in 1930. He became an accountant for the Puerto Rican Emergency Relief Administration and was later hired as the manager of the Palo Viejo Rum Distillery in Arecibo. During World War II, he joined the U.S. Army. He had achieved the rank of Colonel by the war’s end.
In 1946, he joined the Veterans Administration, in charge of re-organizing Puerto Rico’s Veterans Services offices. He also created, in 1948, the first savings cooperative for veterans in the U.S. From his years of serving veterans, he developed a passion for the underdog and helping those in need to protect their rights, so when he "retired" in 1968, he enrolled in Walton College, obtained his brokers license, joined Waddell A. Reed Mutual Funds Corporation, and continued his education, becoming a qualified paralegal. His list of settlements won in support of his clients is too long to list.
In his current career as an independent insurance agent, he provides advice to clients on selecting the most suitable insurance. He’s also a role model for younger individuals at his local gym, where he works out for two hours, three times a week.
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Rhode Island
Joseph L. Yankee, 76
Stock Room Warehouse Engineer
CVS
Cumberland, Rhode Island
Operating special motor vehicles has kept Joseph Yankee interested, busy, and productive for many decades. Joining the Army at the age of 19, Mr. Yankee took tank training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in 1950, and then went to Korea in 1951 as part of the infantry. During the nine years he spent proudly serving in the Army, Mr. Yankee was a training sergeant, was wounded in battle, and subsequently was awarded a Purple Heart. He states that although joining the Army and serving in Korea were some of the proudest moments of his young life, returning from Korea was his happiest day.
Leaving the Army in 1959 with the rank of master sergeant, Mr. Yankee was a commercial truck driver for over 30 years, most of that time for Bakers & Commodities. He has now worked for CVS for almost eleven years, since 1996. After training with CVS as a forklift driver, Mr. Yankee became responsible for retrieving recycled materials from a bailer and loading them onto trailers for shipping to a recycling plant. His co-workers know him as someone who gets along well with others and is always very pleasant, while taking on-the-job safety seriously. He also often contributes recommendations for improving processes at work.
A past president of the Blackstone Valley Community Service, Mr. Yankee enjoys staying active, working with people, spending time with his large family (he and his wife Barbara have nine children and 50 grand-and great-grandchildren), bowling, horseshoes, and softball, and has coached the girls softball team for two years, leading them to victory in the Class B AAA Championship.
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South Carolina
Beverly Craven, 74
Clerk of Council
Charleston County Council
Charleston, SC
Affectionately known as "Miss Sunshine," Beverly Craven has been clerk of the Charleston County Council for 19 years. She’s the "public face of the council," taking calls, listening to citizen grievances, and helping find solutions. "Usually people just want someone to vent to," she says. Working more than 9 to 5, she also takes minutes at the evening council meetings. She has been described as "the heart and soul of Charleston County government."
She assisted her husband in his law practice for years and during his terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives. When he died in 1987, she wanted to continue working, but not in a law firm. She has always loved government. The ad for the clerk of council position seemed a good fit.
Her sense of humor shines through her description of her job interview with seven of the nine members of the council: "I had not gone for an interview in 34 years, so at the conclusion, I didn’t know whether to shoot myself or take poison. Mr. Hamilton, who was chairman of the council at the time, told me if I was hired I would work at the pleasure of the council. I told him I did not mind that, because if they didn’t want me there, I wouldn’t want to be there."
She learned computer skills on-the-job and regularly takes continuing education classes. She represents the county council on the Low Country Senior Citizen’s Advisory Board and the Community Pride Board. Other associations have included the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, volunteer advisor for the March of Dimes, board member of the Florence Crittenton Home, and chairperson of the South Carolina Commission on Women. When not working, her seemingly boundless energy leaves her plenty of time for the pleasures of travel, friends, family and church.
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South Dakota
Grace Fischer, 78
Administrative Assistant / Visitor Center Manager
Aberdeen Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
Aberdeen, South Dakota
Grace Fischer touches lives in innumerable ways. As administrative assistant and visitor center manager at the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, she puts a positive face on her home city of Aberdeen. She oversees all center operations; facilitates the recruiting, training and scheduling of 10 staff members; and prepares the building for opening and closing. She also staffs conventions held in Aberdeen and, to stay current in her field, annually attends the Governor’s Conference on tourism.
The bureau’s executive director describes Ms. Fischer as a key employee. "She is the first person that our visitors encounter. She is always helpful and welcoming, a wonderful example to others. Grace is the person I count on as a sounding board and to bounce ideas off. She always has good suggestions and ideas."
Hospitality is a second career for Ms. Fischer. Following graduation from Aberdeen State University, she taught school for 31 years and earned Teacher of the Year Honors. Her first job was in a rural school with nine students in five different grades and a pot-bellied coal stove to keep the school warm during the long South Dakota winters.
She shares her talents outside of work. For over 21 years she has sewn costumes for the Aberdeen Community Theatre. She is president of her condominium association, plays bridge, grows her own fruits and vegetables, and is passing on her love of gardening to her grandchildren.
To Ms. Fischer, nothing is an obstacle. She advises others to "Cherish life and all that it has to offer." She adds, "I like to keep busy. By working I feel I learn something new every day. My purpose in life is to do what I can when I can to better myself and share my talents with others. This gives me a real sense of accomplishment."
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Tennessee
Sam M. Colvett, 86
Income Tax Preparer
Alamo, Tennessee
To a young boy on a cotton farm in 1929, Wall Streets’ woes were a world away. Working in the fields under the hot sun was a way of life for many in rural West Tennessee during the Great Depression.
Mr. Colvett’s father, a combat veteran of the Great War, taught him a strong work ethic and how to farm. He was a junior in high school when a train accident severely injured his father and Mr. Colvett became the provider for his family.
Determined to finish high school, he went to school when he could, catching up at night. When not farming or in school, he joined his uncles and cousins in custom home building. Carpentry gave him another skill to support his family. He took the advice of an uncle, attending the Internal Revenue Service Tax School from 1942 to 1944 and adding certified tax preparer to his list of job skills. Well into his 60s, he was still working three jobs: farming with his wife, construction, and tax work. Health problems forced him to give up the construction business.
He continues to live on and be involved with the family farm. He’s now been in the tax business for 65 years and every year must review the changes in tax law. Last year he prepared taxes for individuals and businesses, which included over 650 accounts. He does not use a computer. All work is by hand on "hard-copy" forms. His wife assists him in preparing 1099s and typing certain forms for his clients.
In his spare time he enjoys fishing, travel, and armchair politics. Ask him what’s most important in his life, and working—although he likes providing a service—doesn’t make the top five. His church, country, family, friends, and a good nap come out on top almost every time.
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Texas
Martha P. Moyer, 87
Registered Nurse
Westview Manor Nursing Facility
McGregor, Texas
Martha Moyer is known to like the M.A.S.H. re-runs, because she and her fellow soldiers used the same "gallows" humor to deal with the harsh realities of World War II. She enlisted in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in 1942, following graduation from St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing and jobs as a private duty nurse and surgery supervisor. Assigned as a surgical field nurse, she was eventually attached to the 3rd Army under General Patton. "We learned to work and play hard," she remembers. The recipient of five Bronze Stars, she was discharged from the Army in 1946 with the rank of captain.
In 1960, she, her husband, and their two daughters moved to McGregor. After employment as an office nurse, she became the director of nursing at Westview Manor in 1966, helping build the new business from the ground up. Officially, she has "retired" from Westview three times. In 1989, she was brought back to open up a new wing for special needs patients. Two years later she again retired, only to be rehired as an infection control and quality assurance nurse. The last time, she was persuaded to return to do the discharge summaries for discharged patients, the job she still holds. She currently works about 24 hours per week
One of the most respected members of the community, she was named by the McGregor Chamber of Commerce as the Outstanding Citizen of 1978, beating out almost 300 other nominees. She was instrumental in starting McGregor’s first volunteer emergency medical service. She still serves on the board of directors, but no longer rides in the back of the ambulance as an EMT. In addition, she periodically assists in blood drives, is active in her church, and is a lifetime member of the American Legion.
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Utah
Kent G. Koopman, 66
Project Director
Easter Seals Southern Utah Senior Community Service Employment Program
Hurricane, Utah
Kent Koopman is so dedicated to those who have greater needs than his own that when Easter Seals ceased its SCSEP operations in Arizona, he moved from his home and job to direct their Southern Utah program. (SCSEP helps older, low-income people find training and jobs in their communities.) In less than a year, Mr. Koopman’s team successfully brought the Utah program from a deficit of people enrolled to a thriving mix of mature job seekers, recruiting new enrollees, host agencies and potential employers over a vast territory of almost 48,000 square miles.
After serving five years in the Marine Corps, Mr. Koopman joined his family’s commercial art and photo business in Chicago, where he began by drying prints, developing negatives and doing errands. He ended up as a partner specializing in customer contact and billing. Obtaining his Associate Degree in business and accounting from the Metropolitan Business College in 1980, he went on to a career in the health industry, including counseling and financial management positions for the Orchard Association for the Developmentally Disabled, the Care Unit Hospital, University of New Mexico Hospital, and Stanford University Hospital.
Beginning as a SCSEP participant who experienced hospitalization and homelessness himself, Mr. Koopman has been associated with the program and Easter Seals for over four years. By availing himself of training opportunities, and delving into handbooks and policy manuals, he worked his way up from staff participant to Job Developer, helping other SCSEP participants find employment. To this day, he admires all people who struggle to overcome personal challenges, and continues to attend sessions and meetings to learn as much as possible about the fields of gerontology, senior health issues, and other facets of life as a senior in the 21st Century.
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Virginia
Henry F. Deel, 75
Heavy Equipment Operator
Matney Construction
Grundy, Virginia
Operating a bulldozer in the mountains with steep terrain, timber, cliffs and rocks doesn’t deter Henry Deel. Employed by Matney Construction, he excavates mountainsides looking for methane gas well sites. He says it’s pretty complicated work and needs to be precise.
"There’s always danger when you are excavating. Some of the terrain we have to go over is kind of scary and you wonder if it can be accomplished."
Mr. Deel has run a bulldozer for 34 years. He retired from heavy equipment operation at age 62, but didn’t enjoy retirement. He took several part-time jobs including driving a bus for area schools and county transit system. His reputation as one of the best equipment operators in the county landed him his current position. At times he works 60 hours a week. The long hours don’t bother him. "I enjoy the job. I’m just one of those workaholics, I guess."
Mr. Deel’s boyhood on a farm developed his work ethic. "We had chores to do on the farm. We didn’t have time to get out and get into trouble." He began working off the farm while in high school, doing janitorial work in the afternoons and on Saturdays.
These days when he’s not working he serves as a church elder and as trustee and treasurer for a 39-acre Church of Christ Youth Camp. H also enjoys improving his woodworking skills and spending time with his family.
As to future plans, he says, "I think it’s an advantage to get out each day and do what you are comfortable doing and like to do. Working keeps me healthy and in better shape. I have a lot of arthritis, which I guess goes with the birth certificate, but when I’m out on the equipment I don’t think about my aches and pains."
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Vermont
John A. Denison, 65
Program Coordinator
Vermont Associates for Training and Development Inc.
Swanton, Vermont
Helping people move forward in their lives is what John Denison does as coordinator of the Vermont TechCorps Project, which enlists volunteer mentors to provide basic computer literacy training in Vermont communities. Mr. Denison was a retiree when he originally joined Vermont Associates as a part-time older worker specialist. This role soon evolved into a full-time position as a statewideprogram manager. Then, after another try at retirement, Mr. Denison responded to Vermont Associates’ call to develop and manage their new TechCorps program.
Although he was born in St. Albans, Vermont, Mr. Denison had traveled with his military family to every corner of the United States. The morning after high school graduation he boarded a bus for Washington, D.C., to take a summer job, "with plans to be determined later." He ended up staying in the nation’s capital for 38 years, earning certification and success in retail and commercial lending, enjoying a variety of experiences and challenges, and seeking out opportunities for education and growth -- all keys to his career advancement. The most fulfilling aspect of his banking work was addressing the problems and needs and sharing the successes of family-owned local businesses.
Upon his "first" retirement as a vice president of the Small Business Bank, Mr. Denison followed his heart "home again" to Vermont. From the beginning, he considered retirement an opportunity to contribute to the community, keep mind and body active, and experience the satisfaction of helping others all goals he has achieved at Vermont Associates.
Mr. Denison and his wife look forward to traveling to visit three children and six grandchildren, who are scattered from New Jersey to North Carolina.
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Washington
Prepedigma (Cora) McDonnell, 65
Program Assistant
National Asian Pacific Center on Aging
Seattle, WA
As a Filipino immigrant to the United States, Ms. McDonnell understands the importance of cultural diversity and how challenging it can be to speak English in a work environment. That is why she is caring yet firm in her insistence that the Senior Community Service Employment Program job trainees assigned to the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA) practice their English. The most interesting project she has worked on with NAPCA has been helping senior immigrants assimilate into the mainstream of American culture.
After losing her husband, Ms. McDonnell raised her son as a single mother. Concerned that her job skills would diminish, she enrolled in computer and office management classes at the Seattle Vocational Institute. Her first job was as a sales clerk at a Payless Shoe Store in 1987. Promoted to assistant manager, she then took a job with Airborne Express, working in their accounting department until 2003, first as a check processor, then as a specialized billing coordinator. Her next assignment was with NAPCA. After completing a training position, she was hired in 2005 to assist with their Senior Environmental Employment Program. She continues to learn, most recently successfully completing a class in Excel Foundations.
Outside of work, she enjoys reading, gardening, music, and participating in community activities. Active in her church, she has been a Pastoral Council member since 1994. She is a member of the Filipino Community of Seattle. As treasurer and a charter member of the Filipino American Widows Club, she works to support and counsel other Filipino widows living in Seattle. Perhaps most satisfying is seeing her love of learning past on to her son; he is now attending a community college and plans to transfer to a four-year institution to pursue his bachelor’s degree.
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West Virginia
Otis Pence, 80
Executive Director
Monroe County Council on Aging, Inc.
Lindside, West Virginia
Seventy people from one of the smallest counties in the state (there’s not even a stoplight there) signed the petition nominating Otis Pence as West Virginia’s 2007 Outstanding Older Worker. He’s been the only aging director since the senior programs began 31 years ago this fall. His accomplishments include the construction of two senior centers and the maintenance of another.
Most of his days start at 4 a.m. when he’s up in time to take three people to a 6 a.m. dialysis treatment in Virginia. That’s nothing for Mr. Pence who built his own dairy farm from the ground up starting with only three cows and operated it for 20 years. As a dairy farmer he processed, delivered and furnished milk house to house to more than 500 families. “Being self-employed as a dairy farmer, you work continuously,” he says. “It doesn’t bother me because I always did it.” He says the most challenging aspect of his current job is keeping up with the budgets.
He and his wife celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in June. He’s thought about retirement as he lives on a “nice fishable stream” but admits he doesn’t know what he’d do with himself. So for now, he’s not setting any goals and just wants to stay healthy enough to take care of his wife. “Like I tell a fellow who works here with me that’s the same age as me, we don’t set any long range goals, we don’t even plan what we’re going to eat tomorrow.”
Mr. Pence has been recognized with several awards from the state of West Virginia for his achievements. They include the Distinguished West Virginian Award from the Governor in 2003 and the Robert W. Jackson Award for his work as a liaison between aging programs and the governor’s office.
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Wisconsin
Lester B. Gunderson, 85
Scale Serviceman
Rice Lake Weighing Systems
Rice Lake, Wisconsin
Les Gunderson was the first person hired by the two original owners of Rice Lake Weighing Systems in 1948. He learned the skills required of a mechanical scale repairman and traveled northwest Wisconsin for over 30 years, repairing scales in creameries, feed mills, packaging plants, grocery stores or anywhere else a scale was required for business transactions.
As the weighing industry evolved, there was a shift from mechanical scales to electronic scales. Rice Lake Weighing Systems changed from regional to a national and international manufacturer and distributor. Throughout the changes, Mr. Gunderson has remained a full-time employee, now in his 59th year. Today he continues to repair mechanical scale parts and is recognized as one of the experts in the field. The company’s human resource director says, “Les is a perfect employee. He’s never late. He’s never sick. He sets an example for everyone, and he does it in a way that people want to follow.”
Mr. Gunderson was born in 1921 in North Dakota, the son of migrant farm workers. They lived in a tent, moving from place to place as work was available. In 1942 he was drafted into the Army and sailed for Sidney, Australia. Twice his battalion lost more than a third of its men during battles. He had made 1st Sergeant by the war’s end, but admits that getting out of the Army in 1948 “ranks right up there with the day I got married and the day each of my children were born healthy.”
Mr. Gunderson is an outdoorsman who enjoys scuba diving, rock collecting, fishing and hunting. He still skies the slopes at a nearby ski resort, where he served on ski patrol for over 40 years. He is also a member of the Elks Club and the Bethany Lutheran Church.
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Wyoming
Kenneth W. Raymond, 84
President
Ferris Mountain Ranch, Inc.
Rawlins, Wyoming
Kenneth Raymond says he’s been employed his entire lifetime, at least once he was old enough to work on his parents’ farm and ranch. When he was still in his teens, he bought and farmed 640 acres in Wyoming. During World War II he raised grains and turkeys and ran about 150 head of cattle. He’s seen a lot of changes in ranching and faming over the years, such as the replacement of horse-drawn haying equipment with machines. He now breeds Black Angus cattle, raises horses, and farms native hay and alfalfa. Part of his job involves maintaining good communications with various state and federal agencies because his ranch is located in the middle of public hunting and recreation lands.
The Ferris Mountain Ranch is a family business now, with a son working with him on improving the quality of their cattle and rangelands. Why does he continue to work? "Working beats being inactive. Working keeps me healthy, so that I can enjoy my family and friends. It’s nice to be able to ride horses, drive equipment, and drive my automobile."
Interests include lapidary work, collecting antiques, arrowhead hunting, hunting and fishing, bowling, and pitching horseshoes. He’s a champion at the last, having won the Wyoming State Championship in horseshoe pitching 14 times and placing second in the world in his pitching class. He’s also been Carbon County Rancher of the Year, chairman of the Carbon County Centennial Committee, grand marshal of the Carbon County Fair Parade, and winner of the Carbon County Pioneer Award. A few of the organizations and associations with which he’s been involved include 4-H, Farmers Home Administration, the Carbon County Historical Society, and the United Way. He’s been a member of his Elk’s Lodge for over 50 years.
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