Showing posts with label introducing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label introducing. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Meet the Child Care Council Staff

Meet the Child Care Council Staff
Introducing Kim G
Belinda @ Kids Matter

Please allow me to introduce a loving mother of two beautiful children and four treasured grandchildren, with a fifth to arrive shortly. She says being a grandmother is, “pure joy” and that, “grandchildren are delightful little beings.” Kim has been married twenty-one years to the love of her life and her hero. When I say hero, that’s exactly what I mean. While vacationing with her family, she was snorkeling off the coast of Hawaii, Kim’s mask became dislodged. Quickly she surfaced to fix the problem. She plunged back under water only to learn the mask was still not properly secured and began losing her breath. With panic looming, she quickly popped to the surface again. Suddenly, a wave overtook her and she couldn’t breathe. To say she was scared may be an understatement. Her husband sped to her side and lifted her up. In the fear of drowning, she almost took her husband out as well. He was, however, able to signal the lifeguards who rapidly raced to her rescue. Today she gives credit where due, to her husband, her hero.
Kim has been an Eligibility Specialist for CCC, serving the counties of Warren, Edmonson, and Hart, for a year and a half. Her bubbly personality and genuine desire to help others are just two of her great qualities.  Kim says that sharing an office space with two very influential people in her life is what keeps her sane. She has such a deep appreciation for her co-workers saying, “They are with me eight hours every work day. They have taught me things, and have listened to me when I needed to talk. They are lovely women, which I am proud to call my friends and blessed to have them in my life.” Though Kim loves her job, when asked if not in the childcare business, what career would she choose? Her answer, “I’d be a judge on American Idol!”
What makes Kim who she is today? She gives credit to her Mom as being the most influential person in her life and giving her that “go get it” attitude. When asked how she maintains that attitude she simply replied while laughing, “I have to pay the mortgage”. Playing a huge role in forming Kim, were the years she spent in the Army. She states, “The Army taught me all that I could withstand and all of my strengths.” She emphasizes, “I’m pretty tough if I need to be, not physically, but mentally.” She also gives credit to her grandparents who taught her to be loving, kind, and patient. All are lessons that she uses in the care of her own grandchildren.
When asked about advice for a happy, successful family, Kim says, “Instill the desire for education into your children and spend great quantities of time loving and laughing together”. She also encourages getting involved in charities. Helping others always gives the greatest of feelings and respect. Kim actively supports St. Jude’s Children Hospital, Warren County Rescue Squad, and Veteran’s organizations. With deep roots in the military, through her own contribution, her husbands, and her fathers, she has great respect for America and those who serve and support the United States. She says, “There are never enough resources to go around”, and encourages us all to give whenever, wherever we can.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Meet the Child Care Council Staff

Introducing Julia W
Melissa @ Kids Matter

               I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Eligibility Specialist, Julia W. in the Jefferson County office. Julia has been employed by the CCC for about 18 months. Julia pursued employment with the CCC after having been a director at a daycare center. Julia felt that being a director in a daycare wasn’t doing enough to promote child advocacy. She felt that the CCC could give her the opportunity for the “grass roots” level of advocacy she desired.
               Julia, or “Peacock” as she is known to her husband, was recently married in a unique Halloween themed wedding. Julia met her “Mr. Right” when she was just a child, as he was the best friend of her older brother. Having no interest in each other romantically, they both pursued other options in life partners. After both found themselves in a “lost period” (post relationship break-ups), they reconnected via Facebook, and the rest is history. Julia says she was attracted to Mr. Right because, as adults, they discovered that they had much more in common personality wise than they’d previously thought. Julia has a unique sense of humor, and says that Mr. Right “gets her humor”. She says she fell in love with his “completely romantic style, humor, intelligence, and the fact that he is her polar opposite politically”.
               Julia explained that Mr. Right calls her Peacock because when they were dating, she would “peacock” for him every time they saw each other. He says she is beautiful and rare like a peacock. He proposed marriage while they were visiting her family for Christmas Eve. He began by playing “You’ve Got the Touch” by Stan Bush which has special meaning for them. He got down on one knee, proposed, and of course, she said, “Yes”.
               Aside from being employed with the CCC, Julia adds professional actress to her resume. She performed in musical theatre for over 10 years and only stopped when she met her previous spouse. While working as a professional actress, she lived in London for over a year and loved it. During her time as an actress, she also lived in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, NY. She describes her time there with humor and love and says she was NOT afraid of the neighborhood because, in true peacock style, she “was destined to be there”.
               Julia moved to NYC one week after 9/11/01 and describes the time following her move there as sad. She commented, “No one had a job and stockbrokers were applying to work at McDonald’s”. She states that while taking the subway to work, the rage, pride, sadness, ego, agony, resilience, and political feelings of the people were all palpable. However, none of this ever deterred her from living there and continuing her life as normally as possible.
               Working in the office with Julia is a treat. I feel privileged to call her my friend AND co-worker. She’s as lovely as she is charming with her warm, funny, sweet, and passionate style.