What working at EP!C
means to me…
Hello- My name is Brad. I have been
working at EP!C for 5 years now. When I
started working at EP!C, I had just moved to the Peoria area after substitute
teaching in Wisconsin for a few years and I needed a summer job. I applied at
EP!C and started working in one of our group homes in the community. I had planned on just working for the summer
and then going back to teaching in the fall, but I quickly became very attached
to the people who lived at the home and didn't want to leave.
It wasn't the easiest schedule, working second
shift and every other weekend. I missed some family holiday get-togethers due
to working on Thanksgiving and Christmas, etc. but I loved it. After a
few years I ended up transferring to the day program and working in our classrooms.
I got the chance to meet many more great people that way and loved doing that
job too.
Eventually, I became a Program
Coordinator and moved into an office. It’s not your typical office job though,
because there is still a lot of interaction with our participants and a
constant stream of visitors to the office. I still get to do fun things, like
our EP!C radio show, and there are plenty of community outings and special
events to go on, which is probably my favorite part of the job.
I know there are many people
working at EP!C who share the same feelings as myself. Many who have devoted
10, 20, 30 or more years of their lives to our individuals and this
organization. They are very busy every day, putting in all the time and effort
to do the things we try to do to help improve the lives of our individuals.
They might not have the time to write something like this, so I wanted to share
some of these thoughts… All of our employees deserve a big thank you for
all they do, but I bet many of them would just shrug it off and say it’s no big
deal at all. We love to have the opportunity to do it…
The individuals at EP!C are some of
my best friends- I don’t say that to sound “cute” or something, that is the
absolute truth. I am more than happy to do all I can do the help improve
the quality of life for our individuals, and I get exactly the same in return.
I feel like my own quality of life is so greatly increased by getting to come
into work each day and spend time with people that I love and who bring me so
much joy as well.
One of the closest, most loyal and
loving friends I have ever had, passed away earlier this year. His name
was Mike and he lived at the group home where I first worked when I started at
EP!C. And when I transferred to the day program, we were constant
companions there, just as we had been at his home. You could see us every
day going up and down the halls of the building- a sixty year old bald man in
his motorized wheelchair and me, a kid half his age, walking along side by
side- the best of friends…
When he suffered a sudden heart
attack and was in the hospital, I visited him several times, just as I'd hope my
friends would visit me if I were in that situation. While there visiting,
I often ran into other EP!C employees who also came on their off time to
visit. I remember asking Mike if he was getting tired of being cooped up
in a hospital room and he said, No, it wasn't so bad- the nurses were really
nice and he had a lot of visitors and company.
The night that he eventually passed
away, I was visiting and brought him the huge stack of get-well cards his peers
and staff had made for him. One of our busiest employees, the head of our
Physical therapy department, was there visiting too, as well as his twin
brother who had cut short his vacation in Italy to come back and visit at the
hospital. I remember Mike sitting up in the hospital bed that evening,
smiling and laughing as we talked. He said “I sure am glad you've been
coming to visit…” and asked for a hug- when I bent over to give him a hug, he
whispered “Remember what I call you- You’re my ‘dad’…”
I still think about that all the
time and what an experience it was to get to share in so much of a person’s
life- to spend time with them in their home, at their work, to go to church
together, to be with him at our Awards night when he won the EP!C “Star
Achiever Award” and was so excited he needed help driving his wheelchair up to
receive his award… J
When Mike passed away, we had a
memorial service for him at EP!C. His family thought it would be the most
fitting place to have it since EP!C was such a big part of his life and he
loved it here so much. I led the service, even though I have a bit of a
phobia of public speaking, and there were literally hundreds of people who
showed up- Mikes family and friends from around the area and all of his many
friends from EP!C. I usually avoid speaking in front of crowds if at all
possible, but I wanted to do something to honor the man who had been such a
great friend to me. It was just one more time that he brought out things
in me, that I didn't know I was capable of.
Working at EP!C has definitely
changed my life and enriched it in so many ways. I know there are a lot
of employees here that feel the same way and we all hope that we can do the
same for our individuals. It can be difficult to do everything we hope to
do with budget and funding difficulties, especially in our state, and one thing
that is a big help is support from our local community. I hope that more
people will continue to become aware of the work we do at EP!C and get involved
and help support what we do in any way they can. I’m sure when they do,
they will see what a positive effect it can have on so many lives and find that
they will get so much joy and happiness in return…. Thank you for letting
me take the opportunity to share these thoughts…
Sincerely,
Brad Johnson
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