Nancy Grinder
December's Statewide Employee of the Month is a solid example of ARS succeeding at its mission. Nancy Grinder, Accounting Technician II in the Central Office's Accounts Payable Department, has not only given the agency almost three decades of service, but she also knows the rehabilitation process from the inside, having been introduced to it as a student.
Born in Massachusetts, Nancy's father was a truck driver who believed in keeping the family together whatever it took, so before settling in Arkansas in 1975, they had lived in several different states as they followed the jobs. They settled in the Northwest Arkansas area and lived in Fort Smith, Gentry, and Maysville; Nancy graduated from Ozark Academy and was working as a nurses' aide at a Siloam Springs hospital when her supervisors realized that problems she had with her back would not sustain her in a nursing career. At that point, Nancy got in touch with the ARS office in Fayetteville and began working with her Counselor, Wayland Stumbaugh.
Life took a positive turn when Nancy enrolled in Bookkeeping studies at the Hot Springs Rehabilitation Center. Not only did she study the fundamentals for her future job, but there she met her first husband, Ed Davies, also a student. When Ed left the Center, the two now married, he interviewed in Little Rock at the ARS Central Office for an Accounting position. Hired for the job he'd have for the next 17 years, Nancy remembers, "Mr. Williams [who interviewed and hired Ed] interviewed me as well! Since Ed was in a wheelchair and I was his primary care giver, he felt it was important that I was a part of the whole thing...And right at first, I would stay out in the car all day while Ed worked since driving back and forth from home to work wasn't financially a good idea. So I guess they figured that since I had the background, and I was already there all day, why not offer me a job when one came open?"
That's just what happened, when Maxine Finley hired Nancy as a File Clerk in the Case Cost division in March of 1977. Over the years, her job title has changed, but she has always had a knack for organization which has been key to whatever she is given to do. Her duties today include filing, checking travel reimbursement submissions, stamping mail and mailing checks out; she e-mails or phones staff statewide about travel paperwork, and according to a colleague, "She does her job with enthusiasm. We may not realize how important her responsibilities are, but she does and she could probably tell you exactly where every invoice she has ever touched is.
"Nancy does her job with grace and poise. She is a true asset to her department."
In response, Nancy says, "I love the job; I love the responsibility, and I think one of my strongest points is keeping things in order, especially to be able to help the auditors when they're here. I think what I want people to say about me is that I'm responsible and dependable."
Adds one who has worked closely with Nancy for years, "The auditors rely on her for information… they know they can come to her and she'll know right where something is. Nancy is organized, efficient, competent, and likes to make sure everything is handled correctly."
After 20 years of marriage and together raising daughter, Jeanie, Nancy's husband, Ed passed away. Then, nine years ago, to Nancy's surprise, "I got a second chance." She married Danny Grinder, "such a good, kind, and giving person," whom she'd also known as a student at HSRC. Today they enjoy movies, hunting, fishing, riding in the woods, and spending time with Jeanie, son-in-law, Clint, and granddaughter Emily, 6 ("the love of my life!"). Nancy also looks ahead to the time when she retires – she is 14 months into the Drop program – and she and Danny will have even more time to indulge in their love of the outdoors and family. And at that time, Nancy hopes to be able to be an advocate for the elderly, providing services such as helping folks get to doctor's appointments, to the grocery store or to church. "Life isn't worth living without giving back something," she believes.
Of her selection as Statewide Employee of the Month, Nancy says, "Rehab has been and is my life; I'm proud of that. And for me, it's important that I leave a reputation of honest hard work, being on time and kind to others. I like the new part of the newsletter where we cover retirees… these are people who showed us what work ethics were and we should honor that." Nancy Grinder learned from her role models very well.
