Meet the Child Care Council Staff

Introducing Patricia W.

Melissa @ Kids Matter

I chose Patricia W for this week’s staff interview because, I’ve emailed with her a lot regarding claims she submits, yet I’ve never actually met her. She has always been sweet and accommodating in everything I’ve asked her to do.  So, I felt others could benefit from knowing more about her.

She’s been with the CCC for 11 months as an Eligibility Specialist in the North region, covering Fleming, Mason, Bracken, Robertson, and Pendleton counties. Patricia says that in addition to being paid money, her career has created value in her life because she has, “always loved working in an environment that allowed you to help others. I knew one day I would work in a government or hospital type environment. In my opinion, true people skills are not learned, you either have it, or you don’t.”

When asked what family means to her, she stated that, “Family means allowing and respecting the differences of each other while still being there for one another during both the good and bad times. It means sharing, caring and unconditionally loving each other all the time. It means get-togethers, traditions, and celebrating everything.”

I asked Patricia who the most influential person was to her as a child. She stated, “My mom is the most influential person as a child and an adult to me.” Patricia also said, “I admire my mom most because it was through watching her work hard and always putting her family first that has made me the person I am today. Family was always first and foremost for her. As a child, she would let me go to work with her and help. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. She taught me the importance of traditions and always knowing, yet never forgetting, where you came from. She taught me to take pride in your job regardless of the position you hold, but most importantly, give it 100% and you will get 100% back. It wasn't until she passed away, ten months ago, that I realized just how much we were alike.”

Patricia loves to plan parties, to bake, and to spend time with her 17 month old grandson, Anthony. He’s helped her cope with the loss of her mother and sister. The accomplishment that she’s most proud of is attaining her Bachelor’s degree while working third shift, six nights per week. She drove 45 miles to and from Morehead, and managed to do all this while raising a family. The HR rep. at her previous job was so impressed, that she uses her story to inspire other workers to go to school.

I asked Patricia if she had any interesting stories she wanted to share. She told the story of when she was 17; her first actual job was working on a military base as kitchen prep. She got to meet people from all walks of life. She was once selected to serve a four star general at the grand opening of the new dining hall on base. The story was featured in the local newspaper, which she still has. Clearly, those people skills were present at an early age in order to have been selected to serve a General. I think Patricia’s clients, and the CCC as a whole, certainly benefit from having her on staff.

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.