Welcome to the electronic edition of Thrive, the Benchmark employee newsletter. Enjoy, and please share with Courtney Heiser or Simon May any stories you would like to include in a future issue!
From the Front Lines
Donald Miller, DSP, Lima, OH
What is the best part of your job?
Interacting and building solid relationships with the participants and watching them grow and exceed limitations.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Finding ways to engage all participants in activities that they can all enjoy and do together.
What is your favorite burger topping(s)?
Ketchup, Mustard and pickle, who’s buying?
Favorite musical artist or band?
Anything from Mozart to classic rock to country to hip hop. Just not Jazz.
TV show you are currently binge watching?
I binge watch school books, I don’t have time for television. Education is essential to achieving my goals.
Ikya Wilson, DSP, St. Louis, MO
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is teaching the consumers new things, and watching how excited they are to learning how to take care of themselves and be more independent.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
The challenging part of my job is trying to prevent behaviors, I’m aware behaviors happen but my main goal is to redirect and dissolve any problems.
What is your favorite burger topping(s)?
I’m actually not a fan of burgers, I don’t like the look of any ground meat.
Favorite musical artist or band?
My favorite musical artist is Tupac Shakur, or Rihanna.
TV show you are currently binge watching?
The show I am currently binge watching is Riverdale.
Big Win/Big Loss in Georgia!
Benchmark Georgia is celebrating some major victories for Doug. Doug, who came into our Region 5 IDD Crisis home in January 2017, is getting ready to move in with a provider in what will hopefully be a permanent home setting.
“Doug came to us in crisis, as all those in our program do. His mom had passed away, and his dad was in depression, and unable to really care for Doug,” said Christy Sellers, RN. Doug also weighed in at over 500 pounds when he entered the home. He couldn’t walk and would crawl to get around. The staff was determined to help him lose some weight so he could have a better quality of life.
“To date, Doug has lost over 200 pounds,” Sellers said. “He’s controlling his diet, walking, going on outings, and just generally experiencing a better overall quality of life.” Sellers attribute much of Doug’s success to the team working with him. “The staff has done such an awesome job with Doug. I just really want them to know and be proud of what a difference they’ve made in his life.”
Post Masters Goes to Washington
The folks at AWRC (which includes Post Masters and Blue Octopus Printing Company) recently took a trip to Washington DC. Antonio W. who works out of Post Masters’ Indianapolis, IN facility, attended a Grassroots Advocacy event on Capitol Hill along with AWRC and Benchmark Vice President, Jeff Harris, and John Kelly, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs, from SourceAmerica. Antonio advocated by representing his peers, and sharing with members of the House and Senate the importance of the AbilityOne program and how it creates meaningful jobs for people with significant disabilities.
Summer Fun!
Photos from summer activities throughout Benchmark Human Services.
Milestones
Thrive honors employee hire anniversaries for July, August, and September, celebrating those who have worked at Benchmark for five years and longer.
Kristin Adkins – 5
Patricia Allen – 5
Shari Arnsan – 5
Alethia Bacon – 5
Christopher Bailey – 5
Alex Berrios – 5
Janet Brown – 5
Dawn Brown – 5
Kimba Brown – 5
Patrice Buchanan – 5
Zachary Cook – 5
Benjamin Cruse – 5
Valencia Davidson – 5
Sue Ellis – 5
Emilee Fasbinder – 5
Kearstan Flynn – 5
Willie Gardner – 5
Patti Greer – 5
Amy Harner – 5
Heather Hazen – 5
Tonya Hill – 5
Kelli Holley – 5
Julia Hooper – 5
Sandra Houston – 5
Sean Irons – 5
Mysti Joye – 5
Paul Kabutha – 5
Annette Lee – 5
Tori McQueen – 5
Sandra Moore – 5
Faustin Nkundumukiza – 5
Eucharia Okendu – 5
Joshua Rabold – 5
Kara Richlak – 5
Angel Ripoll – 5
Kacianne Sealy – 5
Brenda Severns – 5
Duane Sharpe – 5
Marissa Spiess – 5
Crystal Strole – 5
Ashley Taper – 5
JoAnn Taylor – 5
Keyuna Thomas – 5
Megan Tracy – 5
Noelle Utley – 5
Imahn Wakefield – 5
Falon Ward – 5
Christy Ware – 5
Shannon Winston – 5
Majorine Zinabara – 5
Gloria Baity – 6
Festus Bolarinde – 6
Maryann Caldwell – 6
Anthonio Corley – 6
Angela Couch – 6
Aurora Diaz – 6
Brandon Evans Knox – 6
Jason Frame – 6
Karen Geiger – 6
Rodney Geis – 6
Darryl Grady – 6
Marvin Harris – 6
Nicole Infante Forsythe – 6
Sharon Jackson – 6
Lamont Johnson – 6
Mallory Leatherman – 6
Bryson Lowe – 6
Bueford McKinney – 6
Eureke Moorman – 6
Mary Nguru – 6
Tamera Pendarvis – 6
Brenda Quintana – 6
Diane Ressler – 6
Lakeisha Ross – 6
Jennifer Ryan – 6
Betty Short – 6
Danielle Smith – 6
Christa Smith – 6
Derek Starling – 6
Roberta Swathwood – 6
Amber Tatro – 6
Andrea Walker – 6
Selly War – 6
Antonio Wilson – 6
Kimberly Anthony – 7
Robert Ashlock – 7
Peter Belsky – 7
Kwabena Boaitey – 7
Erin Bonnette – 7
Franklin Briggs – 7
Marilyn Bryan – 7
Army Burks – 7
Antwan Byrd – 7
Joseph Darling – 7
Franklin Davis – 7
Kathleen Delaney – 7
Matthew Doctor – 7
Cynthia Driggers – 7
Yvette Eccleston – 7
Lucky Erenven – 7
Debra Fischer – 7
Jerri Flowers – 7
Thomas Foster – 7
Marcia Fowlkes – 7
Katrena Gibson – 7
Max Gilyan – 7
Antionette Godwin – 7
Denise Good – 7
George Harris – 7
Christie Hinton – 7
Betty Holloway – 7
William Hopkins – 7
Adrienne Hubbard – 7
Mary Jessup – 7
Joyce Johnson – 7
Anjali Joshi – 7
Litonlya Lester – 7
Melissa Martin – 7
Sheshawn Miller – 7
Jennifer Minotti – 7
Charles Osei – 7
Ladoria Rankin – 7
Tywanda Rivers – 7
Janet Romo – 7
Adriana Romo – 7
Teresa Salemi-Gumiran – 7
Sharon Sanchez-Lopez – 7
John Sesay – 7
Stanley Soles – 7
Jayne Spitznogle – 7
Ginger Sunbom – 7
Christine Taylor – 7
LaShonda Thomas – 7
Iris Varela – 7
Pamela Walker – 7
Connie Walters – 7
Jeanne Warno – 7
Evelyn Wimbley – 7
Leslie Armstrong – 8
Brenda Arnold – 8
Maritza Baden – 8
Jean Beausoleil – 8
JoAnn Bowman – 8
Barbara Brown – 8
Shannon Clark – 8
Minerva Coker – 8
Kimberly Finn – 8
John Guercio – 8
Vicki Kennedy – 8
Nancy Lunsford – 8
Joel Mbugua – 8
Derrick McGraw – 8
Gladys Muchemi – 8
Tony Rainbolt – 8
Shelby Taylor – 8
Velena Taylor – 8
Comfort Alade – 9
Eileen Baker – 9
Melody Bolka – 9
Cassandra Clubb – 9
Solomon Daniel – 9
Juliann Darlington – 9
Dawn Forney – 9
Cheryl Galbraith – 9
Kristen Gentilini – 9
Victoria Halbert – 9
Ashley Johnston – 9
Hazel Kuczmanski – 9
May Listenberger – 9
Beatrice Macharia – 9
Peter Mbugguss – 9
Nancy McClimans – 9
Heather Morelan – 9
Katie Motil – 9
Ryan Moyer – 9
David Muthike – 9
Christina Narasimhan – 9
Ruth Nothdurft – 9
Jodi Phillips – 9
Elizabeth Reynolds – 9
Courtney Schaffner – 9
Christina Simon – 9
Donna Ward – 9
Joella Wiggins – 9
Amber Adams – 10
Jeffery Ahrens – 10
Katherine Carr – 10
Deborah Cartwright – 10
Galla Johnson – 10
Lucinda Kirkpatrick – 10
Kristina Lambert – 10
Amanda Musser – 10
Tamara Nash – 10
James Ngugi – 10
Jeremy Njoroge – 10
Alice Pilarski – 10
Michele Poglese – 10
Tamra Stauffer – 10
Maureen Wilder – 10
Ella Ayers – 11
Philip Boakye – 11
Evelyn Brock – 11
Janet Mullins – 11
Gladys Mushatt – 11
Robert Taylor – 11
Dewayne Totten – 11
Jayne Underwood – 11
Erma Wims – 11
Jeffry Harris – 12
Michelle Maio-Venezia – 12
Kerrie Miller – 12
Staci Wimes – 12
Elaine Armstrong – 13
Ada Campbell – 13
Kimberly Dick – 13
Jason McCain – 13
Pascaline Ruhaya – 13
Rosa Sturgis – 13
Patty Chambers – 14
Mary Weller – 14
Mbaso Katundu – 15
Linda McClish – 15
Lennie Singano – 15
Margaret Davis – 16
Mary Martin-Lawrence – 16
Tammy Schmitt – 16
David Casebourn – 17
Melanie Dahms – 18
Wilma Gaustad – 18
Angela Heller – 18
Lorraine Di Novo – 19
Cynthia Graeber – 19
Wallace Lacy – 19
Mary Zumbaugh – 19
Elaine Berning – 20
Joy Dennison – 20
Holly Eykholt – 20
Michelle Desmonds – 21
Brandy Patterson – 21
Thomas Titus – 21
Paula Tucker – 23
Karen Lichtsinn – 24
Anne Titus – 26
Margaret Cantey – 27
Karen Shollenberger – 30
Movin’ On Up!
Below is a list of employees who were promoted in April, May, and June and the position to which they were promoted. Congratulations to all!
Indiana
Juwanda Boughton, Residential Manager
Catherine Conner, Team Leader
Carolyn Derrick, Residential Manager
Velma Conwell, Program Coordinator
Joseph Gootee, Program Coordinator
Kayla Curtin, Residential Manager
Laura Marker, RN
Anastasia Loomis, Team Leader
Gloria Winston, Team Leader
Sonja Evans, Supported Living Manager
Jernita Morris, Day Program Coordinator
Marc Rumpf, Program Coordinator
Jennifer Rozinski, Team Leader
Gloria Rogers, Supported Living Manager
Margaret Miller, Supported Living Supervisor
Amber Tomkinson, Team Leader
Brittani Arnold, Team Leader
Neema Stalling, Supported Living Manager
Donna Gaul, Supported Living Manager
Marcus Cyprian, Supported Living Supervisor
Marleen Sandridge, Program Coordinator
Charlotte Ellis, Team Leader
Lynell Ellis, Supported Living Manager
Lynnia Noel, Residential Manager
Florida
Jeffery Gordon, Lead Service Coordinator
Georgia
Bremeka Gilbert, Crisis Zone Lead
Leslie House, CNA
Ayesha Thomas, Associate Licensed Clinical Staff
Missouri
Audrey Cooper, Supported Living Manager
New Jersey
Lawrence Jones, Team Leader
Ohio
Jennifer Young, Supported Living Supervisor
Christina Murray, Program Coordinator
Kenneth MacCutcheon, Supported Living Supervisor
Jessica Hoopes, Supported Living Supervisor
Cameo Hall, Team Leader
Laura Reed, Team Leader
April McBride, Team Leader
Mary West, Team Leader
Jeannie Anderson-Rapp, Supported Living Supervisor
Charles Thompson, Team Leader